13 October
2005
Bridge Owner Loses Suit to Block Purchase of Property for the Jobs Tunnel
Project
Detroit Michigan - A legal challenge over land in southwest Detroit ended
6 Oct 2005 when the U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed the denial of reconsideration by the U.S. District Court of its
dismissal on summary judgment of a lawsuit filed by the Detroit International Bridge Co. (DIBC) against the Detroit River Tunnel
Partnership (DRTP).
The DIBC is run by Grosse Pointe businessman Manuel (Matty) Moroun who also operates an extensive trucking network in the United States
and Canada. The DIBC sued in an effort to overturn the DRTP's October 2003 purchase of property from Amtrak Corp. The property, acquired
for The Jobs Tunnel project, is next to the vacant Michigan Central Depot owned by Moroun's interests.
The decision affirmed Federal District Court Judge John Feikens' dismissal of the DIBC's suit as lacking legal merit. A DIBC lease on
adjacent Rose Street land, which included a first-rights option to purchase certain portions of the Amtrak property, was
terminated by the DIBC and ended 30 Jun 2003. The land was purchased by DRTP several months after the option expired.
"We are pleased and not surprised that the court recognized the frivolous nature of this nuisance case," said Marge Byington,
Director of Government Relations for the tunnel partnership. "The DRTP had a clear right to purchase the Amtrak property for its
proposed cross-border commercial route, free of any claims by the DIBC."
The Detroit River Tunnel Partnership is a partnership between Canadian Pacific Railway and Borealis Transportation Infrastructure
Trust, a subsidiary of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS). For more information on The Jobs Tunnel project,
please visit thejobstunnel.com.
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