Riverhead Town is preparing to mount its defense to the lawsuit filed by Calverton Aviation & Technology in State Supreme Court last month.
Supervisor Tim Hubbard called a special Town Board work session behind closed doors Monday morning to interview outside law firms for the job of representing the town in what may be the most consequential litigation it has ever faced.
Calverton Aviation & Technology, part of the Triple Five Group, filed suit last month against the town and the Riverhead Industrial Development Agency.
CAT seeks a judgment against the town declaring null and void the March 2022 agreement between the Riverhead Town and CAT, which modified the $40 million contract of sale between the parties signed in November 2018. It also seeks a judgment declaring the town in breach of that contract and requiring the town to perform its obligations spelled out in the contract — or pay damages to CAT as a result of the town’s alleged breach.
CAT is also asking the court to set aside resolutions adopted by the Town Board in October declaring the contract with CAT null and void, as well as the Riverhead Industrial Development Agency’s resolution in October denying CAT’s application for financial assistance.
Hubbard convened the special work session at 10:45 a.m. and the board immediately voted to enter into executive session, a meeting that is not open to the public, to discuss the lawsuit.
The board spent the rest of the day interviewing representatives of law firms presented to them by the town attorney’s office.
“We had four really good choices,” Hubbard said in an interview after the special meeting. “So now we’re mulling it over and trying to decide which one we want to go with.”
Hubbard said the law firms interviewed will submit proposals to the town regarding fee structures and proposed terms of employment. He declined to identify the firms that were interviewed.
“We’ll know something soon, because we want to move on this quick. Time is of the essence,” Hubbard said.
The summons and complaint have been served on the defendants as of Jan. 19, CAT attorney Marc Kasowitz said in a letter of the same date filed with the court.
Kasowitz in that letter was asking the court to transfer the case to the court’s commercial division, an assignment previously rejected by a commercial division attorney referee. On Jan. 26, the district administrative judge rejected Kasowitz’s request to change the assignment and said the case would remain where it is. The matter has been assigned to Justice David Reilly.
Editor’s note: This article has been amended to correct the spelling of Marc Kasowitz’s given name.
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