Secretive Group That Lost Legal Challenge to American Dream Financing Plan Now Drops Options for Appeal

29/09/2016 10:04

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J., Sept. 29, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- American Dream, the world-class retail, tourist and entertainment destination, will move forward with its financing plan after obtaining a unanimous ruling by New Jersey's Appellate Court that the challengers appeal was without merit and based on a misunderstanding of the financing transaction. A subsequent agreement by the challenger to forego any further appeals including an appeal to the New Jersey Supreme Court was filed late yesterday.

"Today marks the end of this litigation, as the challenger has agreed to dismiss all appeals, with prejudice," stated Angelo J. Genova of Genova Burns LLC, litigation counsel for American Dream developer Triple Five Group of Companies. He added, "This legal victory represents a final, conclusive approval of a very critical financing structure, allowing American Dream to be realized."

"This challenge is over and we can now focus all of our efforts on closing the project financing and completing the construction of this world-class retail and entertainment destination – American Dream," added Tony Armlin, Senior Vice President of Development and Construction at Triple Five.

Triple Five now will move forward with the bond pricing and sale process that will allow for the completion of construction and the opening of American Dream in mid 2018. The sale, which will be made up of PILOT/Redevelopment Area Bonds and Economic Redevelopment and Growth Grant bonds, will be issued simultaneously to the market by the Public Finance Authority of the State of Wisconsin through Goldman Sachs. Since the inception of this project, Triple Five has been working with the State of Wisconsin as a conduit issuer and believe that the WPFA provides the most efficient and cost effective means of bringing the bonds quickly to market. The bonds involved in this sale are non-recourse tax exempt conduit bonds that will pose no cost or risk to taxpayers.

Triple Five is represented in the litigation by Genova Burns LLC and in the financing transaction by McManimon, Scotland & Baumann LLC.