Developer Xerxes Aghassipour has filed a lawsuit against four people, including a member of the Tisbury planning board and the board’s staff administrator, claiming they engaged in a conspiracy to discredit his reputation and violate his rights by abusing the legal process.
The suit, filed Wednesday in Dukes County Superior Court, names as defendants Bernadette and Leigh Cormie, Ben Robinson and Amy Upton, all of whom Mr. Aghassipour says have worked together to derail his controversial housing project at 97 Spring street in Vineyard Haven.
“The defendants share a common goal: to ensure [Mr. Aghassipour is] not involved in the current and future development of Martha’s Vineyard,” the lawsuit reads, in part.
The lawsuit is the second legal challenge connected to the housing project, which has been the subject of numerous contentious hearings both with the town and the Martha’s Vineyard Commission.
The defendants in the case said Mr. Aghassipour’s suit was an attempt to deter the review process.
Speaking with the Gazette Wednesday afternoon, Mr. Aghassipour said his project has been unfairly and illegally impeded by the four defendants.
“We were feeling very targeted,” he said.
Mr. Robinson is a veteran member of the Martha’s Vineyard Commission and of the Tisbury planning board, which repeatedly referred 97 Spring street to the MVC last year. The commission is slated to open a public hearing on the project Jan. 23.
Ms. Upton, of West Tisbury, is the planning board’s staff administrator. She was placed on paid leave by the town for several weeks last year after a records request from Mr. Aghassipour made public some critical, and at times crude, text messages about him between Ms. Upton and Mr. Robinson.
Ms. Cormie and Mr. Cormie are married homeowners living directly next door to 97 Spring street. In November, they filed suit in the state Land Court seeking to reverse the decision by the Tisbury zoning board of appeals to approve Mr. Aghassipour’s nine-bedroom project.
Ms. Cormie also was elected to the Martha’s Vineyard Commission in November.
Mr. Aghassipour’s complaint accuses the Cormies of abusing the legal process, saying they brought a futile Land Court lawsuit after they failed to stop his project by other means, including an appeal to the Tisbury zoning board.
The Cormies’ case has yet to be heard by the Land Court.
Mr. Robinson and Ms. Upton encouraged the Cormies to file the Land Court suit, according to Mr. Aghassipour’s complaint, which charges all four with civil conspiracy.
“I think Ben and Amy have a vision for the Vineyard, and it doesn’t seem to include what we’re doing,” said Mr. Aghassipour, whose superior court lawsuit also claims the defendants have unjustly identified him with Vineyard Wind, one of the employers that rent workforce housing from his company Delano & Co.
“I’m not Vineyard Wind. They’re just a tenant to me,” he said, during an interview at the former Educomp building in Vineyard Haven.
Mr. Aghassipour also leases workforce housing, on both Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, to employers including Stop & Shop and both Island hospitals, he said.
“We’re agnostic as it comes to clients,” he said.
The lawsuit, filed by attorney Peter Brown of Boston, calls for a judgment requiring the Cormies to pay damages, with interest, for losses incurred by the delay in the Spring street project.
The lawsuit, which seeks a jury trial, also demands that Ms. Upton and Mr. Robinson pay attorney’s fees incurred by Mr. Aghassipour as a result of their alleged actions, as well as further damages to be determined by the court.
Ms. Upton’s attorney, Casey Dobel, issued a defiant statement Thursday afternoon that called the litigation “meritless,” asserting her client was being targeted for trying to uphold town bylaws fairly.
“This transparent attempt to intimidate Ms. Upton into silence will not be successful, and she will continue to stand up for the people of Tisbury and Martha’s Vineyard as she has always done,” Ms. Dobel wrote.
Although Mr. Aghassipour is suing the four Islanders as individuals, Mr. Robinson told the Gazette he expects to be represented by an attorney hired by the town’s insurance company. He has been in touch with Tisbury interim town administrator Pam Bennett to begin the process, Mr. Robinson said.
“I’m hoping it’ll be quick,” he said.
“We’re just basically asking people to follow the rules,” Mr. Robinson added.
Ms. Cormie said she believes the legal action violates a state law against lawsuits meant to intimidate the public.
“I personally feel it’s a tactic to intimidate me and my family and my husband and my neighbors and any future planning board or MVC members into doing what he says or you’ll get sued,” she told the Gazette.
“I’m not backing down,” Ms. Cormie said.
Planning board chair Connie Alexander said she was both surprised and saddened to receive Mr. Aghassipour’s letter notifying her of the lawsuit.
“I think there are a lot of misunderstandings on both sides of the issue,” she told the Gazette.
“I think it’s a real shame that there’s this animus,” said Ms. Alexander, who declined to comment on the particulars of Mr. Aghassipour’s case.
“He has every right to do as he sees necessary for himself and his business … My focus is to take care of planning board business, and only planning board business,” Ms. Alexander said.
Comments
Comment policy »