The City of Rock Hill, S.C., has filed an adversarial lawsuit to recover $20 million plus damages from developers of the now-canceled Carolina Panthers $800-million headquarters and practice facility.

The Sept. 7filingin federal court in Delaware is part of ongoing bankruptcy proceedings for GT Real Estate Holdings, LLC, created by Panthers owner David Tepper to manage the 234-acre mixed-use project in Rock Hill.

The city, which had agreed in 2019 to issue $225 million in bonds to fund infrastructure improvements at the site, accuses GTRE of intentionally breaching its contractual obligations, claiming the company “failed to timely provide the necessary documents and information as to the development of the Project, failed to sign and deliver the documents necessary for the issuance of tax-exempt bonds and twice prevented the City from proceeding to an initial bond closing.”

在2022年1月，在玛斯卡罗建设/巴顿锦葵米拉省风险合资企业在该项目上破土动工，诉讼辩称，格特尔告诉纽约市取消债券出售，并将该项目缩放为包括只有核心五层楼，600,000平方英尺的室内练习设施。

GTREhalted constructionin March, saying at the time that “our partners have been unable to contribute the agreed-upon investment to fund the construction of the public infrastructure.”

Although Rock Hill offered to help find ways to keep the project alive, including a $135-million bond offering, the Panthers ultimately pulled the plug in mid-April. GTRE filed for bankruptcy protection less than two months later.

“GTRE’s conduct in breaching the contract is characterized by dishonesty in fact, unfair dealing, or the unlawful appropriation of the City’s property,” the filing says. “GTRE is liable to the City for breach of contract accompanied by fraud.” The filing also requests a jury trial to settle the matter.

In a separate filing to the bankruptcy court, GTRE attorneys responded that Rock Hill’s lawsuit is based on “false and incendiary claims,” and that the company had invested $240 million in the project. It was only after the city failed to meet its obligations under “unambiguous” and “good faith” agreements with GTRE, the filing claims, that the project had to be canceled.

Rock Hill的诉讼所寻求的金额类似于GTRE在8月提出的重组计划所提议的重组计划，从该物业出售的净收益获得的最低金额。该计划尚未获得法院的批准，还提供了近6100万美元，以解决Mascaro/Barton Mallow的索赔以及参与该项目的其他承包商。