Allegheny County Controller Dan Onorato said Wednesday he is withdrawing a lawsuit seeking Sabre Systems & Service Inc. to repay the county up to $15 million for alleged flaws in the 2001 countywide property reassessment.
However, there's a chance the lawsuit will be revived later if Onorato can prove in another case that he was right to hold back more than $1 million in final payments to Sabre.
Onorato was compelled to withdraw because of a ruling last month by Common Pleas Judge R. Stanton Wettick Jr., who said Onorato's case could move forward only if County Executive Jim Roddey joined it. Roddey refused Tuesday, saying Onorato should first prove the earlier case since it also asserts Ohio-based Sabre failed to comply with its $24 million county contract.
If Onorato can, Roddey said he will take the lead in suing Sabre for repayment. "I challenge him to sustain those claims," Roddey said in a prepared statement.
The controller, who filed the repayment lawsuit in October, said he expects to win the lawsuit filed against him by Sabre, which wants the final $1 million it claims it is due under the county contract.
Onorato said, "If at the end of the day, Jim Roddey is standing there with the (repayment) check from Sabre, I will be the first one to applaud."
