LeVan Lawsuit Settled out of Court

Mason-Dixon lawsuit settled out of court

Suit pitted former would-be casino partners against each other.

By AMY STANSBURY The Evening Sun  eveningsun.com  09/24/2012

The case between Mason-Dixon Resorts and Gettysburg businessman David LeVan, as well as several other locals, has been settled out of court.

The suit was first filed by LeVan in 2011 when he sued in Adams County to be released from the Mason-Dixon Resorts partnership, which had proposed a Gettysburg-area casino at the Eisenhower Inn & Conference Center.

LeVan sued to be released from the partnership after Mason-Dixon Resorts failed to get a state gaming license and appealed its case to the state Supreme Court. LeVan claimed the appeal had little chance of success and his involvement with the partnership could harm his standing in the community, according to court documents.

On Thursday, Judge Michael George announced that the case had been settled out of court, one day before the scheduled non-jury trial. No details of the settlement were released. Attorneys from both sides could not be reached for comment.

Mason-Dixon Resorts was denied a state gaming license in 2011, when the state Gaming Control Board instead granted the license to its rival applicant, Nemacolin Woodlands Resort, located just south of Pittsburgh. In August, Mason-Dixon Resorts lost its appeal to the state Supreme Court, as the decision by the Gaming Control Board was upheld.

But that was not before former state Rep. Joseph Lashinger Jr., another partner in Mason-Dixon Resorts, counter-sued LeVan, claiming that LeVan's lawsuit had compromised the licensing appeal.

That lawsuit, which still stands, was filed in Philadelphia. The suit requests more than $50,000 in damages and claims LeVan interfered with efforts by Mason-Dixon to extend purchase agreements for the casino grounds and water supply, as well as compromised the then-pending appeal to the state Supreme Court.

The lawsuit filed in Philadelphia, which was kept separate from the one just settled in Adams County, also contends that LeVan leaked confidential information by filing sensitive documents in the courts. That process made documents available to the public and news media. 

astansbury@eveningsun.com;  717-637-3736 , ext. 163.

note: there is also a lawsuit by Eisenhower Resort against Mason-Dixon because Mason-Dison did not pay their final bill.