AMHERST — Amherst Media is suing its neighbor because, it says, his actions have devalued two parcels it owns on Main Street, possibly making them unsuitable for construction of a new headquarters.
The nonprofit public access TV station is suing Gerald G. “Jerry” Guidera Jr., who formerly lived at the adjacent Henry Hills House at 38 Gray St., for $50,000. Amherst Media claims that the two lots, which it purchased for $340,000 in December 2013, are no longer worth as much due to fraud allegedly perpetrated by Guidera under the state’s consumer protection act, including convincing Amherst Media’s representatives to not have a survey done on the parcels.
“As a result of defendant Jerry’s misrepresentations and half-truths as alleged in this complaint, the value of the lots purchased by Amherst Media after the undisclosed taking is approximately $50,000 less than the $340,000 that Amherst Media paid for the lots,” the complaint, filed in Hampshire Superior Court, states.
But Guidera, reached by phone Tuesday, said he sees nothing legitimate in the lawsuit. He said it’s a tactic to get money from him as Amherst Media continues a capital campaign it launched late last year.
“It’s a shame Amherst Media is using taxpayer money to finance this shakedown,” Guidera said.
Amherst attorney Peter Vickery, who is representing Guidera, said he has filed a response to have the lawsuit dismissed because it has no merit. Vickery said Amherst Media may need to seek a variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals for any project on the site, but that need for a variance was not caused by any actions of his client.
“You can’t just sue people because you want to sue people,” Vickery said.
James Lescault, executive director of Amherst Media, said in an email that he and the board have been told to refer all questions to the media company’s lawyer, Michael Pill of Green, Miles, Lipton LLP of Northampton. But Lescault said Pill may not be available until June 18.
A voicemail and email left for Pill were not immediately returned Tuesday.
Amherst Media’s two parcels, totaling 0.56 acre, across from Elements Hot Tub and Bruno’s Pizza, were bought from Guidera’s mother, Barbara, who is a trustee for the Barbara L. Guidera Revocable Trust. The acquisition came more than three years after Amherst Media was notified by Eversource that it would be losing the 246 College St. location it has used since 1991.
Last year, Amherst Media announced that Great Country Timber Frames of Ellington, Connecticut, has developed the plans for its new headquarters, both the conception of the exterior and how the interior space would be laid out.
The lawsuit began life earlier this year in Land Court against Guidera and business partner Frederick R. Wilson, but was then transferred to Superior Court, where it has been amended and refined.
The latest version, filed Tuesday, centers on Guidera telling Amherst Media not to have a survey done when it bought the lots. Since then, the size of the lots has shrunk, based on a survey done last November by Holmberg & Howe Land Surveyors & Civil Engineers of Easthampton.
The lawsuit contends that Guidera had been trespassing on Amherst Media’s property through a “retaining wall, pavement, shed, and plantings” on the 38 Gray St. property and an “apparent trench drain” that deposits water onto Amherst Media’s parcels.
Vickery said none of these allegations should have prompted a lawsuit and Guidera has been willing to act in good faith to correct these issues. “That’s all easily remediable,” Vickery said.
More problematic for Amherst Media, a new sidewalk and bus shelter that was installed as part of reconstruction of that section of Main Street has encroached onto the property.
The lawsuit claims that this easement was not recorded with the Hampshire Registry of Deeds because of Guidera’s interference, but Vickery said it was not recorded due to an oversight. That was corrected by Town Meeting action this spring, which accepted the easement.
Guidera said what he sees in the lawsuit, besides the effort to get money from him, is an acknowledgment that the planned building may never secure the needed funding through a capital campaign.
“It’s a tacit admission that plans for Main Street lots are not what the community wants,” Guidera said.
