California Town Settles Land Dispute With Former Dealer for $1.4M
The former owner of a Montebello, Calif., dealership will receive $1.4 million despite unsuccessfully suiting the city twice over a 2009 land dispute.
MONTEBELLO, Calif. — The former owner of Ostrom Chevrolet, Ara Sevacherian, is receiving an unexpected windfall of about $1.6 million, including interest and payable over three years, after unsuccessfully suing the city of Montebello twice over a last-minute land deal, the San Gabriel Valley Tribune reports.
In 2009, the city's former redevelopment agency purchased a lot owned by Ostrom Chevrolet for $12 million to help business stay open. A year later, Sevacherian sued the agency for breach of contract after it failed to come through on an agreement to purchase a number of his properties related to the auto business for $3.2 million. Months later, he filed a second lawsuit in an effort to stop the city from using $17 million in redevelopment funds for operating expenses.
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