A local real estate company is suing a former development partner for $3.5 million, alleging he breached a non-compete agreement.
WRK LLC, owned by brothers Robert and Will Scott, alleged in a lawsuit filed last week in Lancaster County District Court that former partner Zach Wiegert violated a non-compete agreement that prohibited him from working on development in the West Haymarket area.
The agreement stems from a breakup of WRK and Utah-based Woodbury Corp., for whom Wiegert worked, in 2011.
The companies had a falling out over control and funding for development projects in the West Haymarket area, and as a result, they came to an agreement in which WRK would continue to work on projects in the area and Woodbury would not compete against it. They also worked out a settlement and terminated other joint development projects they were working on.
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According to the lawsuit, the parties in 2012 agreed to modify their agreement to allow Woodbury and Wiegert to be involved with developing the Olsson headquarters building at 601 P St.
However, the lawsuit says Wiegert, a former football player at Nebraska and in the NFL, then worked on the development of a second building owned by Olsson, currently under construction next door to the first one, permission for which was not included in the modification agreement.
WRK says in the suit that it notified Wiegert last fall that he was in default of the non-compete agreement, and he failed to correct the default.
Because of that, the lawsuit says, WRK has incurred damages of $3.5 million.
Will Scott of WRK declined to comment on the lawsuit.
Wiegert, in an emailed statement, called the lawsuit "unfounded and baseless."
"I cannot comment in detail on the allegations in the lawsuit because of the pending legal proceeding. However, I can state that I believe the purpose of the lawsuit is to cast me in a false light, which will be addressed in my response to the lawsuit."