Several RPS legal issues still unresolved

The approval of a settlement in the federal River Park Square lawsuit clears up most, but not all, of the litigation over the downtown mall and its garage.

Here’s what is left:

“ The city has appealed one pre-trial ruling by U.S. District Judge Edward Shea that dismissed Prudential Securities Inc., the underwriter of the garage bonds, from the fraud case. That appeal has yet to be heard by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The City Council will be asked at a later date whether the city should continue that case.

“ Former City Councilman Steve Eugster has filed a lawsuit in Spokane County Superior Court challenging the settlement between the city and Cowles Publishing Co., which owns the companies that own and operate the garage. The city has argued the case should be dismissed, and a ruling is pending.

“ The city is challenging Spokane County’s ruling that the garage must pay property taxes. The case has been assigned to a Lincoln County Superior Court judge.

“ Previous lawsuits filed in Spokane County Superior Court were combined into a single case, and most of the legal disputes were dismissed or withdrawn as part of settlements in the federal case. Among those lawsuits was a claim filed by the mall developer against some elected city officials. Although it eventually was dropped, there is still some dispute over the amount of attorney’s fees owed to Eugster.

“ The mall’s former manager, RWR Management, won a $6 million jury verdict against the mall development companies last summer. The developer has appealed that case in the state Court of Appeals.