Fayette wants access to Liggett properties in Brownsville

Fayette County's redevelopment authority is seeking a court order requiring Ernest and Marilyn Liggett to grant access to 22 Brownsville properties the authority has included against their wishes in a $2.2 million development plan.

If the Monroeville real estate speculators decline to make arrangements, the authority wants the court's permission to break in to the properties, the authority's solicitor Herbert Margolis said Friday.

Margolis filed paperwork in Fayette County last week seeking an opportunity to inspect the properties, which are in a section of the borough that has been deemed blighted.

Authority officials twice sent notices this year to the Liggetts that they intended to make studies, surveys and appraisals of the properties they own or control, but the Liggetts never responded, Margolis said in his complaint.

Over the Liggetts' objections in March, Fayette County commissioners gave the redevelopment authority permission to move ahead with a state-funded plan for the acquisition of 30 downtown properties.

Margolis said the other property owners have cooperated with the authority.

"They all seem to be in agreement that the blighted area of Brownsville should be cleaned up," he said.

Earlier this year, authority Executive Director Andrew French said the properties would be renovated for sale to developers, but no specific plan was in place for the parcels.

French did not immediately return a message yesterday.

The Liggetts' attorney, Lee Grimm, has said that the authority has undervalued the properties. He also did not return a message requesting comment.

The authority's action comes a month after Judge Gerald Solomon entered a $145,500 judgment against the Liggetts in a lawsuit filed by an investor in a plan for an Olympic-style bicycle arena.

Stephen J. Byers of Bethel Park sued the Liggetts last year, claiming the couple breached an almost $100,000 deal.

According to court documents, the Liggetts initially agreed to settle with Byers for $95,000, but consented to the larger amount if they were unable to pay by Aug. 7.

However, Byers is in line to collect on that judgment.

Among others awaiting payments, Kermith R. Sonnier Sr. received a 2006 federal judgment for $358,450 for an investment in an American Indian casino that never materialized.

"All I'm really interested in is recovering the money from the losses to Liggett," Byers said.