Paragon Update

Hazle Twp. off-road park sues land owner, airport developer

BY MICHAEL R. SISAK
STAFF WRITER
msisak@citizensvoice.com

Published: Wednesday, July 2, 2008 4:16 AM EDT
The company that operated a park for off-road and all-terrain vehicles in Hazle Township — on the site of a proposed $1.6 billion cargo airport — has filed a lawsuit against the owner of the land and the developer of the airport, claiming they conspired to force the park to close.

Overland Enterprises Inc., based in Zion Grove, entered into a 25-year lease with the owner of the land, PCA Corp. of Hazleton, in February 2004 and operated the Paragon Outdoor Adventure Park there until June 2006, when the developer of the cargo airport, Gladstone Partners LLC, moved for the park’s eviction, the lawsuit said.

The eviction action was based on allegations Overland Enterprises failed to make rental payments, failed to maintain insurance required under the lease contract and failed to adequately and properly maintain the property, causing harm to the environment.

Those claims were false, and intended solely to damage the park’s reputation and its ability to conduct business, according to the lawsuit, filed last Friday in the Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas.


James R. Scallion, the attorney for Overland Enterprises, said Tuesday the lease between the company and PCA Corp. did include a condition that the park could be forced out if the property were sold.

Gladstone Partners LLC has an option to buy the land, but no sale has taken place.

Overland Enterprises claimed in the lawsuit it had never dealt with Gladstone before the eviction action and that Gladstone, “had no interest in the land in question, save an alleged assignment of rights,” from PCA Corp.

Overland Enterprises used about 2,200 acres of the 4,300-acre property in the Humboldt Industrial Park, on the Luzerne-Schuylkill county line, for marked trails and paths used by all-terrain and other recreational vehicles.

The company is demanding damages in excess of $50,000 from each of seven defendants: PCA Corp.; Gladstone Partners LLC; the estate of the company’s former chief executive officer, Philip Seltzer; A.J. Land of Hazleton; Gordon Katz, Reid Block and John MacKay Jr. of Fort Washington.

Gregory Zappala, the owner of Gladstone Partners LLC, referred questions about the lawsuit to spokeswoman Catherine Shafer, who said she had not seen the court filing, but would review it.

Representatives of PCA Corp. and the other defendants could not be reached for comment.

Overland Enterprises lost its battle to keep the park open in April 2007, when the state Superior Court threw out an injunction that had been allowing the park to continue operating.
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so does that mean thats theres no chance for the park to reopen

slim to none unless nothing ever comes from the airport and someone else leases the land.

yea i hope they do reopen that would be sweet

I dont think there is a person with a quad or a 4x4 that wouldn't love to see that happen.

I had a chat npt long ago with someone that told me, (unconfirmed) that the neiphew of the person who orcastrated the suite to get the Paragon staff out of there is letting him use and charge 25 bucks per vehicle 4 wheeler. Now that is enough grounds to justify the suit the Paragon folks have agains them. Because that is dirty business. Any pardon my expression shit head that supportss the old paragon location by visiting it to drive their 4 wheelers is equally a shit head too.

I would get up off my lazy ass do a back flip and run in circles if i read paragon was opened back up - there's no words for the excitement i would have. When i was at we rock i was thinking of how much of a hot spot PA would be for comps with rausch and paragon both in full swing.