From: chicagobreakingnews.com

A Berwyn man whose plans to open a pawnshop in downtown La Grange were derailed in the wake of public outcry has filed a lawsuit against the village, its board members and the landlord of the building he was to occupy.

In the suit, which was filed Friday, Andrew Grayson notes he was issued a business license in May and said he received other assurances from the village as he prepared to open All-Star Jewelry and Loan as the same block as the Village Hall on La Grange Road.

But following objections from residents and business leaders that the shop would ruin the character of not only downtown La Grange but the village itself, village officials refused to issue Grayson a building permit in June and amended a zoning ordinance to exclude pawnshops from La Grange’s central business district in July.

Those moves came after Grayson hired an architect to create drawings required to receive his building permit and after he “expended considerable other sums of money as well as his time and energy in an effort to open the business,” the suit said.

Grayson is seeking in excess of $50,000 plus the costs of the suit from the village.

Dan Rice, Grayson’s attorney, said an out-of-court settlement was sought, but added the lawsuit was filed because the two parties “couldn’t agree on a number.”

The village only wanted to compensate Grayson for “the money he would be out of pocket that he couldn’t take to another business,” Rice said, “but not for his time.”

Village attorney Mark Burkland declined to comment on “past settlement discussions,” but said the village “was very careful and considerate about how it undertook the process of amending its zoning code and every element of that process was proper.”

“The pawnshop owner has no legal theory that supports his claim that the issuance of a business license entitles him to open up a pawnshop” and “oral discussions (with village officials) have no weight in the law to support his theory of recovery,” Burkland said.

Grayson also is seeking the security deposit and rent totaling $15,470 from landlord, John Brannen doing business as Fifth Avenue Property Management and trustee, Oxford Bank, in addition to the costs of the lawsuit.

A condition of the lease was that Grayson be able to do business as a pawnshop at the location, which he was not able to do, the suit said. Despite this contingency and the fact Grayson made “repeated demands, the landlord has failed to return the deposit and the rent,” the suit said.

Calls to Brannen were not immediately returned Monday.

Grayson declined to comment for this story, but Rice said his client has been “very frustrated,” especially since his wife just had their first baby a few months ago.

“He wanted to be hitting the ground running with a decent income in order to take care of the baby,” Rice said. “So…this puts him back further; there’s really no income coming in.”

–Lauren R. Harrison