HIGH COURT RULES FOR HAERTEL IN PABST SUIT

The State of Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled on December 13th 2006 that developer Jim Haertel of Brew City Redevelopment Group, LLC., could resume his suit against Juneau Avenue Partners, LLC. for interfering with his contract rights as minority owner of the Pabst Brewery property. Judge Ann Walsh Bradley wrote the 6-0 decision in case 2006 WI 128. Justice Jon Wilcox did not participate in the decision.
The case dates back to 2004 and earlier. Haertel, as has been recounted elsewhere on this site, was a local guy who managed to get his hands on the option to purchase the former site of the Pabst Brewery in September, 2001. After scouring around for a partner, he joined forces with Wispark, the development arm of the Wisconsin Energy Corporation, the giant utility. As part of the deal, Haertel was to get 5 per cent of the ownership of the multi-acre complex and outright ownership of three of the Pabst buildings, including what he called the "Crown Jewels" of the complex. Wispark would partner with the Ferchill Group, Cleveland developers, to develop the crumbling complex.
The Haertel - Juneau Avenue Partners dispute was already in full force by 2005 when the City of Milwaukee Common Council rejected the Juneau Avenue Partners' plan for PabstCity, leaving Haertel's position even more in doubt than it had been previously. His partners never gave him title to the property, he said, and there was a dispute about a salary he was to have been paid.
In the meantime, the Pabst Brewery, minus Haertel's holdings in three buildings, has been sold to Zilber, Ltd. Haertel says he now has title to his properties, it having been conveyed by Juneau Avenue Partners recently.

PARTNERS: OUR ASSESSMENT IS TOO HIGH!
Sometime after their purchase of the land and its sale to Zilber, the folks at Juneau Avenue Partners received a tax bill for the giant parcel, and challenged their assessment at the Board of Review for the city. Their hearing was postponed, and the city issued a subpoena for more information from the then-owners, including specific financial information. The partners are scheduled to reappear before the board at 10 a.m. on January 30th, 2006, according to Board of Review staff, who added "But we wonder, with the sale, whether this objection will just go away."

Below is the link to the Supreme Court decision. I am having some linkage problems right now, so you'll have to do this manually.
--Michael Horne
[http://www.wicourts.gov/sc/opinion/DisplayDocument.pdf?content=pdf&seqNo=27427]