George Clarifies Suit Points
by February 22, 2010 12:00 am 69 views
We recently told you about a little multi-million dollar row between Metropolitan National Bank of Little Rock and J.B. Hunt LLC (essentially Johnelle Hunt and family) and Timothy and Beverly Graham, partners in The Pinnacle Group of Rogers.
The bank filed suits against Hunt and the Grahams in late January related to a $41 million loan agreement with Pinnacle Point Properties LLC for the development of more than 269,000 SF of office and retail space in Rogers. According to the suit, the space consists of 11 buildings located on 22 acres.
What we failed to point out was that both the Hunt family and the Grahams are not partners nor are they owners in the disputed property or Pinnacle Point Properties LLC. True, both families helped develop the properties early on, but when The Pinnacle Group split in 2007, these particular 11 buildings and the land became property of the Bill Schwyhart/Robert Thornton partnership that culminated with the creation of the Pinnacle Point Properties entity.
The sticking point, and the reason the Hunts and the Grahams are being sued by the bank, is that both families are listed as guarantors on the property. The Schwyhart/Thornton partnership was contractually obligated to remove Hunt and Graham within 90 days of the partnership split (which would’ve been about March 2008) but, “this contractual obligation has not been met,” said John George, a spokesman for the Hunt and Graham partnership.
Of course, the bank had already filed suit against Schwyhart and Thornton, and Schwyhart and Thornton fired back with a suit against the bank in December.
Hunt and Graham maintain the legal battle between the bank and the Schwyhart/Thornton partnership should be settled before their names are pulled into the legal fray.
“Hunt and Graham believe it should first be determined if a default has occurred before the claims under any guaranty can be addressed,” George wrote in an e-mailed statement.
“For many years Hunt/Graham have had a good relationship with Metropolitan Bank and they are hopeful that they can continue to work together towards reaching an amicable resolution.”