Michigan's Rodriguez argues condo lawsuit should be tossed
COLUMBIA, S.C. -- The federal lawsuit filed against
Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez in South Carolina over a defunct real estate deal should be tossed out and refiled elsewhere, the coach argued in federal court documents filed Monday.
The multimillion-dollar lawsuit should be argued in federal court in Virginia, where the property in question is located, an attorney for Rodriguez said in a motion requesting that the South Carolina case be dismissed.
In September 2007, when Rodriguez was still coaching at West Virginia, a Spartanburg, S.C. based bank loaned the coach and his partner more than $26 million to build condominiums overlooking Virginia Tech's Lane Stadium. But as the 80-unit project struggled amid the economic downturn, that amount was later amended to about $3.63 million, the cost of only the land itself.
Earlier this year, an Alabama bank with an interest in the loan sued Rodriguez in South Carolina, saying the coach owes $3.9 million -- the land coast, plus interest and fees -- for defaulting on the loan.
Rodriguez's attorney contends the case should be moved from South Carolina because the state has no real connection to the loan as it stands now: Rodriguez lives in Michigan; Nexity Bank, which currently holds the loan, is in Alabama; and the property in question is in Virginia. Banc Capital, the bank that loaned Rodriguez the money, is not part of the lawsuit.
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