Saugus landfill lawsuit settled

SAUGUS – A lawsuit that has been dogging the town since the start of the Main Street landfill closure was settled Wednesday in the town’s favor.Gator Development started out with a 14-count lawsuit that it filed in February 2004. By December, the suit, which named the town, then-Director of Operations Kevin Nigro, former Town Manager Steven Angelo and the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, had been whittled down to three counts.Town Manager Andrew Bisignani said the entire suit was dismissed in a summary judgment Wednesday.”It was a baseless claim,” he said. “We spent some money on it but at least we don’t have to pay out a judgment.”Without going into detail, Bisignani said Gator officials were looking for a settlement that included a payout for each ton of fill they would have delivered to the town, had the town not allegedly reneged on its verbal agreement.Bisignani would only say the amount worked out to several hundred thousand dollars.The lawsuit stemmed from allegations by Gator that it brokered a deal with the MTA for the closure of the landfill.According to court papers, Gator alleged its president Charles Madden Jr. contacted Angelo about having the town use Big Dig fill to cap its landfill. After allegedly being encouraged by Angelo, Madden pursued a plan that included negotiating with the Department of Environmental Protection and the MTA to cap the landfill.Madden said he worked throughout June and July of 2001 and eventually stopped working on other projects to devote his time solely to the landfill all on Angelo’s promise that he would be paid for his services and receive tipping fees on the landfill fill.Madden even produced a letter from Angelo that claimed he was anxious to make Gator Development the exclusive agent but, by October, Madden said neither Angelo nor Nigro were returning his calls.Gator said by September, Angelo and Nigro had begun negotiating with the MTA directly and both sides determined they could do a better job by eliminating Gator from the transaction.The charges that stuck included Gator’s allegation that Angelo and Nigro committed fraud and deceit and conspired to deceive. Also included in the charges was Gator’s request that the court establish a new precedent that would hold a municipality and it’s employees liable for unfair and deceptive trade practices.Bisignani said there was no record that Angelo promised Gator anything and he is glad the suit is behind them.Gator, however, can appeal the judgment.