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WalMart Purchase Thwarted, Family Sues City of Rezoning - And Wins

Posted by: Tim Halbur

17 March 2010 - 10:00am

WalMart made an offer to purchase a plot from a family in Frankenmuth, Michigan, but withdrew the offer when the City Council rezoned the land for a limited building size. The family sued, and a federal judge awarded them $3.6 million.

Attorneys for the Loesel family claimed that the City Council violated their 14th Amendment equal protection rights in by rezoning their land to exclude buildings over 65,000 sq. ft.

"I thought we had overwhelming evidence that the Walmart opposition was caused by local economic protectionism; that's what I argued, and that's what the evidence showed," said the Loesels' Southfield-based attorney, Andrew Kochanowski.

Full Story: Jury awards Loesel family $3.6 million from Frankenmuth over lost Walmart deal
Source: The Saginaw News, March 4, 2010
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