A lawsuit between the city of Muncie and Veriana Networks looks like it will end with Muncie owning Marion land near Interstate 69 and Ind. 18.
Officials from the Muncie Industrial Revolving Loan Fund heard Friday that the lawsuit had been settled, but as of Tuesday no filing had been made in Grant County Superior Court 2.
In 2010, Veriana received a $450,000 loan from the Muncie Industrial Revolving Loan Fund in order to relocate from Marion, and the 15 acres near the intersection was used as collateral in the deal.
Veriana had planned to locate its global headquarters in Marion and hire up to 285 high-paying technology jobs. Its plans failed to come together and it looked to relocate in Muncie, which offered it a loan.
Roger Gilcrest, Muncie Industrial Revolving Loan Fund director, said the “loan went south immediately” and the matter ended up in a contentious lawsuit.
Veriana CEO Rob Swagger could not be reached for comment. His company filed a countersuit against the initial revolving loan fund lawsuit, claiming Muncie officials forced Veriana to spend money it didn’t have with false promises.
It also accused former Muncie Industrial Revolving Loan Fund Chairman Frank Gilkison of defaming the company by describing an about $700,000 appraisal of the landlocked 15-acre “soybean field” as “laughable.”
Gilkison said Tuesday it was his understanding that the lawsuit — a “big, spurious claim” in his words — was settled. He believed Muncie took the land because Veriana had nothing else to offer.
“I think the theory behind the settlement is we’ll never live long enough to get the money to pay it back,” he said. “They spent it quickly.”
Philip Updike, who represented Muncie in the lawsuit and is a member of Gilkison’s law firm, said the lawsuit does seem to be settled, but he couldn’t comment on details until the final documents are filed in court later this week.
Gilcrest said he was happy the lawsuit seems to be over, but noted Muncie could end up paying in legal fees what it might collect on the land.
He said Muncie had “no incentive” to hold the land and was looking to contact people in Marion to work on a listing “unless someone calls and wants to negotiate with us.”
“I’m hopeful there is an interest in the land,” he said.