Courting trouble

The city’s decision to pursue an alternative relocation spot for Austin Municipal Court has resulted in a lawsuit from an Austin developer who this spring appeared to have the real estate deal in the bag. The Austin Business Journal reports that Met Center Partners-11 Ltd. – an entity controlled by Zydeco Development Corp. – filed suit against the city on Monday. Met Center Partners, the group behind the MetCenter office complex in Southeast Austin, had a tentative deal with the city for just over $31 million earlier this year. But last month City Council approved negotiations with Capital Commercial Investments Inc. to move the court to a competing development less than a mile from MetCenter for $30 million. The lawsuit names Interim Assistant City Manager Sara Hensley and real estate office staffers Alex Gale and Gloria Aguilera as defendants. A city spokesman told the ABJ that the legal department is prepared to defend the city and its officials in the case.