KAYE V KOHLER, D'AMATO, ET AL DISMISSED

Ends Bizarre Chapter
Plaintiff to Pay

Special to the Readers of Milwaukeeworld.com

By Michael Horne

And the Milwaukee World Hound Dog Team

The Federal RICO lawsuit against former Ald. Michael D'Amato, developers Julilly Kohler and Lincoln Fowler was dismissed on its merits yesterday, Thursday, December 18th, 2008 by U.S. District Judge J D Stadtmueller [Marquette '67].
Attorney Joseph A. Kaye, who filed the suit amid much fanfare in September, 2005, was ordered to pay the costs of the lengthy proceeding, which went all the way to appeals court and back again.
According to the judge's order, Kaye failed to prove a conspiracy existed between the parties to swap city-owned real estate and otherwise manipulate the development and political processes.
The judge had so ruled earlier in the case, but failed to make his order final and calculate the sanctions to be levied against Kaye for bringing the frivolous suit, an appeals court ruled.
In February, Kaye was permitted to refile his case, relying upon a coherent document prepared for him by court-appointed attorneys in the appeal case. [Milwaukeeworld coverage here.]
Stadtmueller noted that although federal judges are told to treat pro se cases, as Kaye's was, with special deference, the rule does not apply when the pro se litigant is himself an attorney, as Kaye [Ohio State '94] is.
He then picked apart the case, in one instance citing a 2005 article in The Daily Reporter by Sean Ryan, quoting then-Redevelopment Authority Commissioner Joel Brennan explaining that Kohler's development plan for one of the properties in question would yield about $4 million more in value than Kaye's proposal.
Whether Kaye offered $500 more for the property (as he did) or $5,000 more is insignificant, the judge said.
The riverfront property, in the 1100 block of E. Kane Place, now is nearly complete, and will be marketed as Kane Commons, a premier Green project, [photos] boasting a number of active and passive energy saving features including geothermal heating and cooling, green roofs and other amenities. It occupies the former city-owned lot and the adjacent Kohler-owned property where I lived when the events allegedly transpired. I knew them at the time to have no connection to reality.
The other property mentioned in the suit also has been developed as a well-regarded Green facility. It is now the award-winning Alterra Coffee at 2999 N. Humboldt Blvd.
There is no indication that Kaye has built, or plans to build, anything.
[Links to all Milwaukeeworld coverage.]