The D.C. Council is no longer trying to intervene in a lawsuit between the District and Banneker Ventures, citing a revised settlement agreement that preserves the city’s ability to pursue other claims against Banneker.
The District agreed to pay Banneker $550,000 in that settlement that was reached in July and prevented the D.C. from reclaiming millions of dollars in payments and from suing the company for fraud. The settlement put an end to Banneker’s claim that the city owed it $2.3 million for a parks and recreation contract.
The Council contended that it was circumvented in the settlement, and filed a motion to intervene in the case last November.
A revised settlement was filed earlier this month, explicitly acknowledging that the District could file claims against Banneker, a company with ties to two fraternity brothers of former Mayor Adrian Fenty. The council voted Tuesday to withdraw its motion to intervene.
The settlement “does not extinguish or release the parties from the District of Columbia’s right to bring a false claims action or claim of civil fraud within applicable limitations periods should the District determine that there is evidence sufficient to support the filing of either claim,” the modified settlement says.
In 2009, the council canceled the Banneker contract after it determined Fenty’s administration had circumvented a law requiring the council to vote on contracts exceeding $1 million.
