Ivanpah suit plaintiff says he’s financially ruined

Stephen Curran

Thursday, June 2, 2005 | 9:24 a.m.

A now-defunct plan to build a massive air cargo hub in the Ivanpah Valley left Clark County's former partner in the project financially and professionally ruined, the plaintiff in a high-profile suit against the county testified Wednesday.

Raymond Young, whose firm is now suing the county for allegedly stealing ideas from within a study he performed, told jurors in District Court that the project cost him his inheritance, his New York home and the respect of contacts he had made during decades in the public and private sectors.

The firm's relationship with the county fell apart after what Young, a Princeton-educated engineer and former undersecretary in the Transportation Department, claims was an abrupt interruption by county Aviation Director Randy Walker during a July 2001 meeting.

Young said Walker insisted to the surprise of Young and his would-be investors that the airport -- once touted as a public-private partnership that would turn Southern Nevada into a key international cargo hub -- would be used solely for passenger service.

"I was destroyed financially after that (July 26) meeting," Young said.

Attorneys for Young's firm, Hamilton Nevada LLC, argue that county officials are "unjustly enriching' the county by using parts of the company's $700,000 study of the location and overall feasibility of the project.

The county's lawyers have countered that Young's firm presented a flawed plan of little interest to local officials. The county in 1997 signed a memorandum of understanding with Hamilton Nevada to work together on the project. The memorandum formed an agreement for the two entities to work together but differed from a legally binding contract, county officials have said.

Young's company sued the county in June 2002 for unjust enrichment, breach of contract, intentional and negligent misrepresentation after losing the support of its sole investor, French engineering firm Dumez-GTM.

District Judge Mark Denton dismissed all but one claim -- that of unjust enrichment -- in October. Young's firm still exists, although he testified he is now pursuing a doctorate at UNLV and plans to teach.

Young on Wednesday claimed the idea to place the cargo airport in the Ivanpah Valley was a valuable commodity despite recent plans that call for the airport to be geared strictly toward passenger service.

"Having an industrial park combined with an airport near a railroad line is a very valuable concept," Young said in a slight British accent. "It can't be done anywhere else. The location is important and identifying that location is important."

Peter Bernhard, an attorney representing the county, has claimed that Young planned to launch the airport on the backs of potential investors, who would front the money for what could be a lucrative project for Young.

Bernhard has claimed that Young and others are trying to "point the finger" for a poorly financed plan that would have been inadequate for Southern Nevada's needs. He was expected to question Young this morning.

Young, when questioned by attorney J. Randall Jones, defended the plan to partner with Dumez, which had been paying Young $15,000 a month while the now-disputed feasibility study was being conducted but backed out after the meeting with Walker.

"We had the idea," he said. "They (Dumez) had the money and the engineering expertise. I thought it was a pretty good combination."

In testimony Wednesday morning, attorney and lobbyist John Laxalt said the meeting with Walker provided him, Young and Hamilton co-owner Roger Anderson the first hint the partnership was over. Laxalt, brother of former Nevada governor and U.S. senator Paul Laxalt, was brought on as a $5,000-a-month consultant for Young, who was pushing for federal legislation necessary to get any proposed project off the ground.

Walker's outburst, Laxalt said, came in front of former Aviation Director Bob Broadbent, under whom Walker worked before Broadbent retired and worked as a consultant for Hamilton.

"Mr. Walker just cut him off," during a statement from prospective construction client Kajima, Laxalt said. "He (Walker) said, 'We don't need you operationally, and we don't need your money.' He told us to get lost."