Suit exposes Meijer settlement details [The Record-Eagle, Traverse City, Mich.]

Jun. 9--TRAVERSE CITY -- An insurance company's lawsuit against Meijer Inc. sheds new light on the Grand Rapids-based retailer's confidential, multi-million dollar lawsuit settlements with Acme Township officials.

A suit filed in 13th Circuit Court by one of Meijer's insurers indicates Meijer paid $4.2 million or more to Acme government officials and citizens affected by the company's illegal acts and lawsuits from 2005-07.

Among the revelations, based on court documents: Former Acme Treasurer Bill Boltres received up to $2 million in his 2007 settlement with Meijer, and an undisclosed township official -- likely former Acme Supervisor Bill Kurtz, according to documents -- received $700,000 in a non-public settlement.

New York-based American Home Assurance Company sued Meijer this month and contends it is not liable for a $2.2 million payout on a 2008 suit Acme Planning Commissioner Robert Carstens and four other township officials filed against Meijer.

American Home said Meijer's first insurance company, Discover-RE, is liable for $3 million in claims. But Meijer said Discover-RE's liability was capped at $2 million under its policy and that Meijer's 2007 settlement with Boltres exhausted that amount.

Specific references to Boltres' settlement figure were redacted from lawsuit documents.

'Known false information'

American Home wants 13th Circuit Court Judge Thomas Power to set aside Meijer's reimbursement request based on what its lawyers contend is Meijer's refusal to provide information and documentation about the Carstens case.

American Home also said its policy excludes coverage in the Carstens case because Meijer publicized "known false information" about Carstens and the other defendants.

Meijer did not respond to a request for comment, nor had it filed an answer to the lawsuit Tuesday.

Meijer last year acknowledged it paid $1.5 million to Carstens and four other Acme officials to settle malicious prosecution suits they filed in a back-and-forth legal battle rooted in a 2004 zoning case. But 13th Circuit Court documents show Meijer paid an additional, previously undisclosed $700,000 figure in that case, which also involved Meijer's development partner, the Village at Grand Traverse LLC, and its attorneys.

Court documents point to former Acme Supervisor Bill Kurtz as the likely recipient of the $700,000.

Kurtz declined comment, other than to say, "I've put that all behind me."

Secrets revealed

Meijer and the Village at Grand Traverse individually sued Boltres, Kurtz and six other township officials over a zoning dispute. Suits were filed in 2005 and 2006 in both state and federal courts. Meijer and the Village alleged Acme officials had a conflict of interest when they considered zoning matters because they were or had been members of Concerned Citizens of Acme Township, a group that sued to stop the Village/Meijer project in 2004.

But Boltres said he never belonged to CCAT and counter-sued Meijer in 2007 for malicious prosecution; he sued shortly after a failed recall of the township board, an effort Meijer secretly and illegally funded.

Boltres' suit uncovered Meijer's efforts to create and fund a citizens front group, as well as its attempts to illegally manipulate a 2005 township referendum and the 2007 recall. By late 2007, Meijer agreed to pay Boltres an undisclosed amount after a mediation panel recommended he be paid $3 million.

Revelations of Meijer's violations of Michigan campaign finance laws led Carstens and four others in 2008 to sue the retailer for malicious prosecution. The suit alleged Meijer's legal claims were without merit and were filed with the intent to injure, embarrass and intimidate the Acme officials.

Township Planning Commissioner Clare David and Trustees Ron Hardin, Erick Takayama and Frank Zarafonitis joined the suit and settled for a publicly disclosed $1.5 million.

Meijer and the Village said at the time they shared in the payout.

Kurtz named in settlement documents

Kurtz resigned as Acme supervisor in summer 2007, citing stress and ill health resulting from Meijer's suits against him and other township officials. He did not publicly join Carstens and the others in their 2008 lawsuit, but township officials this week said Kurtz initially was involved in their case.

"I have no knowledge of anything that involves Bill other than he was related to the lawsuits. But I don't know the particulars of what he did," Carstens said.

Carstens and Hardin said they aren't aware of any other township officials involved in the case other than Kurtz.

"Bill would be the only other one," Hardin said. "If he had something going individually, we were not made aware of that."

Court documents show American Home's parent company repeatedly asked Meijer for the names of "other township officials" who may have been considering legal action against the retailer, according to e-mail and letters included in the court file. Meijer eventually named only Kurtz as having participated in settlement discussions that led to payouts that totaled $2.2 million, including the previously undisclosed $700,000.

Meijer and the Village later agreed to pay the CCAT group $75,000 to avoid additional lawsuits. It's not clear from court documents if the $75,000 is part of the $2.2 million referenced by American Home.

American Home attorney Joseph Quandt, of Traverse City, referred all questions to Mark Herr, vice president of AIG Media Relations, American Home's parent company. Herr said court documents speak for themselves and declined additional comment.

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