Ravenswood Seeks To Have Jury Verdict Set Aside

NEW LONDON–Ravenswood Construction LLC has filed a motion to have a jury verdict against it in the Merritt property trial set aside, Merritt Attorney William Kroll of Noank said May 29, 2005.

Mr. Kroll said the motion contends that both the judge and jury committed errors. It claims the judge improperly allowed an objection by Mr. Kroll to questions that Ravenswood sought to ask during the trial. It also alleges that the jury failed to follow the judge’s instructions to interpret ambiguity in a document in favor of the party that supplied the document.

Mr. Kroll said Merritt will oppose the motion, which he said had little chance of success. The motion should be heard within the next several weeks, he said.

Ravenswood’s attorney, Paul Geraghty, has been quoted in the press as saying an appeal in the matter is likely. Ravenswood has 20 days after the clearing of all post-trial motions to file an appeal, which could take 18 months to adjudicate.

GOSA officials have expressed readiness for a further prolonged legal battle, if that is necessary. They also have expressed the wish that Ravenswood, a major builder that operates in many Connecticut communities, will be persuaded by a combination of legal, business and human considerations to move on, rather than to continue its battle, now more than two years old, to block sale of the land to GOSA. The leadership of the family-owned F.L. Merritt Inc. company is elderly and eager to sell. One family member, Ruth Orkney, of Groton, died May 23, 2005, at the age of 91.

Land Acquisitions | May 29, 2005