The local group pursuing redevelopment of the Laura Street Trio and Barnett Bank building might lose its legal representation in a foreclosure lawsuit.
Rogers Towers has defended Steve Atkins’ Barnett Tower entity since Stache Investments — a group led by Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan — filed suit last year claiming it’s owed almost $4 million for loans made to assist the Downtown project.
On Thursday, Rogers Towers filed a motion to withdraw as counsel for Barnett Tower.
The motion said Barnett Tower has “failed to substantially fulfill an obligation to the undersigned counsel” and has been given reasonable warning on the matter.
A hearing has been scheduled for 10 a.m. Feb. 29 on the issue.
Atkins, principal of the SouthEast Group, would only say Friday that Rogers Towers was still representing him.
“We’re working on resolving everything,” he said, adding it would be in a “positive” way.
He declined further comment.
Calls to Rogers Towers shareholder Fred Franklin went unreturned.
It’s not the only movement on the case since the start of the month.
Stache Investments, represented by Gunster, filed a notice Feb. 4 seeking to depose Rogers Towers employees for information. The motion did not say what type of information Gunster was seeking.
A motion seeking a protective order filed the next day by Rogers Towers sought to quash Gunster’s motion, citing the information being sought was about internal confidential procedures relating to document retention, preservation and deletion policies of the firm.
Rogers Towers went on to say it wasn’t a party to the foreclosure case and that the two sides were engaged in discussions and a dispute about the timing for producing documents.
The motion said Gunster’s request was “wholly improper” as a way to compel discovery.
A non-jury trial for the issue is set for April 26-27.
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