The city of Henderson, Nev., southeast of Las Vegas, claims it got duped into a sweetheart public land deal by Austin, Texas-based developer Christopher F. Milam, who proposed building a multi-arena sports complex, according to a Jan. 28 lawsuit filed in Clark County District Court. The city contends that Milam "conspired" to falsely buy 485 acres of federal land southeast of Interstate 15 and St. Rose Parkway "below what a true competitive bidding process would yield" and "sell it piecemeal to residential and commercial developers at a substantial profit," court papers say.
But Milam says in a 124-page rebuttal filed on Feb. 5 in Clark County District Court the city's claims are "without any basis" and "constitute irreparable harm."