Settlement sought in Tuscany dispute

Jeffrey Libby

Monday, June 24, 2002 | 9:45 a.m.

A Carson City developer sued in the alleged diversion of millions of dollars from a Henderson redevelopment project has asked that the dispute be settled out of court.

In documents filed last week in District Court in Clark County, developer Rolland Weddell, a former manager of Commerce Associates, said the court should dismiss his dispute with business partner Tom Gonzales and allow it to be arbitrated according to the company's operating agreement.

Gonzales in May alleged that Weddell funneled more than $10 million from funds intended for the development of the 525-acre Tuscany redevelopment project in Henderson. Weddell used "Commerce's bank accounts as his own personal multimillion-dollar slush fund," Gonzales said.

Gonzales, a California software developer, said he has invested $74 million in the Tuscany project. Though Weddell still owns an interest in Commerce, the company is now managed by Las Vegas Strip developers Barry Fieldman and Bob Unger.

In court papers Weddell asks to move the lawsuit to District Court in Carson City if the court declines to dismiss the case for arbitration.

By shifting the venue to Carson City, Weddell said, the complaint could be combined with another suit filed by Gonzales against Weddell in March.

That dispute involves the use and ownership of a Carson City airplane hangar "and certain aircraft Gonzales gave to Weddell as part of their relationship and business dealings with Commerce," Weddell said.

Gonzales argued in the lawsuit, however, that his $1 million investment in the hangar was made with the understanding that Weddell owned the hangar and that the two businessmen would form a partnership based on Gonzales' investment. The title to the hangar is still under Weddell's name only, Gonzales said.

Weddell and Gonzales formed Commerce Associates as equal partners in December 1999. Weddell lives in Carson City and Gonzales owns a residence in Incline Village.