An attorney says he is owed over $1.8 million by the Casey family for work on a project on Manufactures Road that never came to fruition.
The 9.1-acre property across the river from Ross's Landing Park was sold recently for $5.2 million.
Attorney James L. Henry said he has not been paid $1,864,154 despite the sale going through.
B. Allen Casey, who had planned a hotel at the site and had a barge brought in that was designed to be a floating restaurant, had to filed bankruptcy. Mr. Casey was also the developer of the Chattanooga Choo Choo at the former Terminal Station railroad complex.
The Chancery Court suit is against the Casey Family Partnership, Emmy Patten Casey and her daughters, , Lynn and Elizabeth, as well as Anerican River Development.
The suit, filed by attorney Henry, said the Casey couple began working on the project in 1991. It says Allen provided the labor, skill and experience and Emmy the cash.
It says that from $3 million to $5 million of Emmy Patten's cash went to Allen Casey or creditors he owed.
The suit says Ms. Casey paid the $115,000 charge from a tugboat company that moved the barge from Cincinnati to Chattanooga. It says the company would not release the barge from a location at Nickajack Lake until it had its money. It says Ms. Casey wired $115,000 to the tugboat company bank account from her personal bank account.
The complaint says in October of 1994 Ms. Casey guaranteed a Nations Bank loan that funded the buy out of other shareholders.
It says Ms. Casey placed her house on Lookout Mountain as collateral for a loan for the project and personally guaranteed a $1.5 million loan in November 2007 from the Bank of Tullahoma to keep the project afloat.
Attorney Henry said he provided legal services for the Casey Family Partnership from 1991 to December 2003 with small payments until December 2003 when he was paid $471,000 in past due legal fees.
He said he continued to provide legal services until February 2014 when his bill had reached $1,232,403.
He said he was told that his legal fees would be paid when the property was sold.