Law Suits
Several lawsuits are draining the Town's legal fund and adversely affecting Halifax residents. Below you will find relevant case dockets and documents regarding current cases that drain the resources of our citizens.
PENDING CASES - ANDREWS vs. Town Of HALIFAX, COURT CASES:
Gordon C. Andrews v. Town of Halifax, et al– appeal of ZBA decisions on Petitions 868 & 869 Docket No. 17MIS 000507
Gordon C. Andrews v. Town of Halifax, et al– appeal of ZBA decision on Petition 915-20 83 Docket No. CV000256
Gordon C. Andrews v. Town of Halifax, et al– appeal of ZBA decisions on Petitions 922 & 924 20 Docket No. MISC000372
Gordon C. Andrews v. Town of Halifax, et al- Civil Damages - Civil Action No.: 1:20-cv-11659​
Brief Summary
Court Case One: Andrews appeals special permit issued by the ZBA based on the plan approved by the Planning Board that had dotted lines. The judge (Judge Vray) ruled that the applicant, Amanda Estates, must fulfill certain requirements and awarded Andrews several hundred dollars in court costs not the many, many thousands of dollars he asked for.
Andrews appeals the decision by the judge on the ZBA appeal wanting more conditions and awarding of more Court costs (more money). This is now sitting with the Appeals Court.
Case One is now on hold while Case Two proceeds as Case Two may resolve whether Case One remains relevant.
Case Two: Andrews appeals ZBA special permit based on a new approved plan. This is now before Land Court.
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Cases Three and Four: Andrews directly appeals to the ZBA the decision by the Building Inspector to issue building permits based on the ZBA approval of the Special Permit (Case Two). Andrews also requests the Building Inspector to reverse his decision to issue building permits. The Building Inspector declines to do so. Andrews appeals the decisions. The two cases may have been joined to Case Two as the Court records appear to mention simultaneous actions occurring relating to Cases Two, Three and Four. So, these cases may be in the same discovery stage as Case Two.
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Civil Damages Case: Andrews files suit against The Planning Board, Zoning Board of Appeals, Board of Selectmen, Millias, Piccirilli, Nessralla and Seelig for damages. This basically consists of accusations of parties as listed conspiring to deny his civil rights relating to the cases listed above. This case is now pending in Federal Court.
So We Ask
Why is it important for the Town to defend itself?
Despite Mr. Andrew's disingenuous statements suggesting the Developer should only defend the case, the Developer does not have any obligation to protect the Town.
Upon receiving a Special Permit from the Zoning Board of Appeals, the Developer proceeded in good faith. The Developer is not defending the demands and actions of Mr. Andrews against the Town. In his attempt to defund the Town Law Account at Town Meetings, Mr. Andrews never explained this, exposing the Town to his lawsuits.
Additionally, the Developer has spent a million dollars or more, acting in what must be considered good faith, and would, of course, seek damages from the Town.
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This entire series of events is noteworthy due to the timeline in which Mr. Andrew's actions occurred. The actions were taken after the Developer had installed the infrastructure, including the roads.
You can draw your own conclusions about the motives. At the time of the initial approvals, Mr. Andrews' father served as Chairman of The Planning Board. Once again, you can draw your own conclusions.
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Furthermore, many people who support Selectman Andrews are now on town boards, which might give the impression that they are influential in supporting his agenda.
