Company dismisses lawsuit filed against Lordstown power plant developer

Staff report

WARREN

Vienna Investments of Youngstown, the company that raised safety concerns about the proposed second power plant for the Lordstown Industrial Park, has withdrawn a lawsuit it filed against the project’s developer.

Vienna Investments filed suit against Clean Energy Future on Aug. 3 seeking damages of $6.9 million, alleging Clean Energy Future agreed to purchase land and a building in the park being used by Magna Seating and owned by Vienna Investments for $6.9 million but backed out.

Vienna Investments filed a notice of voluntary dismissal of the lawsuit Aug. 16 in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court. The notice did not give a reason for the dismissal.

A call to the attorney for Vienna Investments seeking comment was not returned.

The suit alleged that Bill Siderewicz, Clean Energy Future president, falsely indicated Clean Energy Future would buy the property after Vienna Investments agreed to modify industrial park restrictions that would have prevented Clean Energy Future from building there.

The sale was set to close Nov. 1, 2016, but it never did, the suit says. The suit said Clean Energy Future breached its contractual obligations.

Siderewicz said by telephone Wednesday that Clean Energy Future and Vienna Investments settled the matter through Clean Energy adjusting “the way we construct the [power] plant.”

He said Vienna Investments and Magna Seating needed to be sure that construction of the power plant would not stop Magna Seating, which supplies car seats to the Lordstown General Motors plant, from meeting GM’s tight delivery schedules for seats.

Siderewicz said Clean Energy Future was attempting to purchase the Magna Seating building, but it found another building at the other end of the industrial park and is using that instead.

He said Vienna Investments’ “real concern” was the power plant disturbing Magna Seating, not the sale of the building.