April 25, 2012 — A legal action against the City of Grayson and its City Council was filed Friday in Carter Circuit Court.
4th Leaf, LLC, filed a petition for declaration of rights and other relief as a result of the March 29 adoption of an ordinance designating Super 8 Lane as a city street.
Kentucky law states that for a street to be dedicated in this way, it must be open and unrestricted for at least five years.
At the reading of the ordinance, the city maintained that the street had never been restricted. However, 4th Leaf, LLC, maintains that the street has never been open for unrestricted use.
The first count of the complaint requests that the court declare that the city has violated KRS 82.400 which outlines the legal procedure for obtaining a public way or easement.
The complaint also alleges that because the city has not offered to compensate 4th Leaf, LLC, for the property, that the company’s constitutional rights have been violated.
The Fifth Amendment to the U. S. Constitution prohibits the taking of private property by the government for the benefit of the public without just compensation.
The complaint asks the court to declare the ordinance illegal, void, unconstitutional, and invalid. It also seeks compensation for damages sustained by the plaintiff, attorney fees and costs and other relief to which the plaintiff may appear to be entitled.
The first count requires a question of law to be decided by a judge.
The second count, inverse condemnation, requests a trial by jury because that is a question of fact as to whether the government obtained property of the private property owner without giving proper compensation.
The city says it needs the property to be an official city street so that a traffic signal can be installed at its intersection with Carol Malone Boulevard.
The light reportedly is needed to facilitate heavy truck access for the construction and operation of a Walmart Supercenter in the Horton Bottoms area.
Records in the office of the Kentucky Secretary of State identify William Ralph Woods as the manager of 4th Leaf, LLC.
The litigation was filed by Grayson attorney Jeffrey Scott.
Leeann Akers can be reached at lakers@journal-times.com or by telephone at 474-5101.
