Canadian Residents Sue Ambassador Bridge Co. for $10 Million

Tom Warne Report, 27 August 2013

Land Line Magazine – August 21, 2013

A group of landowners on the Canadian banks of the Ambassador Bridge have filed a $10 million lawsuit against the bridge company for boarding up and neglecting properties it owns in their neighborhood. Company owner, billionaire Matty Moroun, responded that the city of Windsor is to blame, for stalling his plans to expand his bridge properties.

Ambassador Bridge Co. had purchased 112 properties over the past decade in the Windsor area called Olde Sandwich Towne, according to details of the lawsuit. The company had intended to demolish the properties in the Ambassador Bridge expansion project to build a twin span to the existing structure that has been in place since 1929.

After extensive negotiations with governments on both sides of the U.S.-Canadian border that connect the spans, the $230 million “Gateway” project was taken away from Moroun and awarded to the Michigan Department of Transportation by a court ruling. Meanwhile, residents in Olde Sandwich Towne say the overgrown and vacant properties that Moroun owns have caused their property values to plummet.

“The city government, specifically Mayor Eddie Francis, has tried very hard to stop any improvements near the Ambassador Bridge,” said Ambassador Bridge Co. President Dan Stamper. “Hypocritically, the city government has continued to demolish structures and close roads to improve the city-owned (Detroit-Windsor Tunnel) at taxpayer expense. We say this is unfair treatment.”

Moroun made his billion-dollar fortune by owning the busiest border bridge in North America, as well as having ownership in numerous trucking and logistics companies.

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