WIUM Local
(2007-11-14)
.Roquette says that Keokuk resident Walt Caldwell's sale of the Iowa Gateway Terminal to Southeastern Iowa Port Terminal, LLC, which is owned by Ken Hendricks of Beloit, Wisconsin, was done improperly.
Roquette filed a lawsuit, against the two organizations, that contains six counts.
They include several claims of breach of contract and interference with agreements Roquette had in place with previous owners.
The company cites a 1986 agreement that gave Roquette the right of first refusal, which is the ability to decide whether to buy a property before it is offered to others, on the property purchased by Hendricks.
Roquette is seeking compensation, the reversal of the sale, and the ability to purchase the property itself.
The date the lawsuit was filed on, October 10, was also the day that Hendricks announced his plans to build a wind-turbine-tower manufacturing plant, along Keokuk's riverfront, that could employ more than 400 people.
County Attorney Mike Short says civil lawsuits like this can take months, or even years, to work their way through the legal system. © Copyright 2012, wium
