Developer Sues Rosemeier, Poorman

City CVS Project on Hold

LOCK HAVEN – J.C. Bar Development of Camp Hill has gone into Clinton County Court, claiming a Lock Haven man and his consultant have failed to abide by a signed sales agreement for a Bellefonte Avenue property.

The civil action was filed Monday against property owner Robert J. Rosemeier and consultant Stephen Poorman.

The two are charged with breach of contract; additionally Poorman is charged with “intentional interference with contract.”

Court documents filed by site developer Bar’s Harrisburg law firm claim the developer had a signed agreement dated November of 2013 for the sale of the old Drive Plus property at Bellefonte Avenue and Commerce Street, the sale price $900,000.

The suit says Poorman recently raised the sale price to $1.1 million and after Bar rejected the new figure, a “for sale” sign with Poorman’s phone number was posted at the site.

Suit allegations against Poorman say the local musician/entrepreneur encouraged Rosemeier to “repudiate” the contract with Bar.

The filing from the Harrisburg firm of McNees, Wallace and Nurick seeks a civil trial and asks the court to award damages “expected to exceed $50,000.”

The court documents also said Poorman, by letter dated Dec. 19, said he would purchase the property from Rosemeier.

These developments follow word at last week’s Clinton County Commissioners’ meeting that a closing on the sale of the Rosemeier holdings and the adjacent Jason Roberts property was to be held last week.

The Bar firm has been pursuing development of the site for better than two years, a CVS drugstore planned for there. Two years ago almost to the day City Council had discussed eminent domain as the sale of the property had not been consummated at that time.

Mayor Rick Vilello had said at the time the old Drive Plus site had sat vacant for too long.

At that December 2012 meeting, Vilello said the Drive Plus plot with its ramshackle buildings was assessed at $600,000 and there were “offers on the table” for significantly more.

Poorman, contacted Tuesday, said he would defend himself in court, stating he was a paid advisor to Rosemeier and “my advice was ‘this is a bad deal.’”

He also said he had been involved in behind-the-scenes talks with CVS relative to Department of Environmental Protection clean-up costs associated with the site and said that allocation of those costs had been a factor that “changed the deal.”

Poorman also said Rosemeier had not been aware of the terms of the sale, that the “drop-dead” closing date for the sale has not arrived, that the defendants have not seen sale closing documents (a point which he called “outrageous”) and that the developer has not met its requirements with DEP.

He said there would be no closing until “they produce everything they’re required to do.”