Thursday, Jan. 13, 2000 | 11:10 a.m.
A battle in District Court could determine ownership of the Rhodes Ranch master-planned community in southwest Las Vegas.
Rhodes Ranch developer James Rhodes initially filed suit late last year against Asset Management Services and its owner Wes Adams. The suit alleges that Adams and his company "breached an option agreement and failed to convey house lots" to Rhodes' company.
Adams filed a counter suit, alleging that Rhodes is violating an agreement made in the spring of 1999 for Adams to purchase the Rhodes Ranch development for $135 million in cash and the assumption of debt.
The Rhodes Ranch master-planned community is a 1,400-acre parcel of land located near Warm Springs Road and Durango Drive.
The parties differ sharply as to the validity -- and details -- of the agreement last spring.
Both Rhodes' attorney Nicholas Santoro, as well as Adams' lawyer John Netzorg, declined to comment on the case.
In an affadavit filed in district court, Adams alleges that Rhodes "pursued a course of conduct of misrepresentation ... which prohibits any equitable relief as it is (Rhodes) who has been and remains in default under every agreement by and between the parties since the project initiation."
Meanwhile, despite the legal wrangling, new home construction continues at Rhodes Ranch.
Company officials say market demand remains strong for homes already built at the master-planned community.
The company reports 144 new homes were sold last year at Rhodes Ranch.
To date, Rhodes has closed escrow on 269 of the total 362 homes sold at the project.
Although final ownership of the property remains in question, industry experts say there's no doubt as to the quality of the Rhodes Ranch development.
"It's a fabulous location with a lot of amenities," said Scott Gragson, a real estate broker at Colliers International. "There's a golf course, great landscaping, and of course it's close to the Beltway."
Gragson said demand for new homes in the area is likely to grow given the projected regional growth over the next several years.
"The whole southwest corridor is very popular right now," he said. "This project has great potential, but to take full advantage of that potential they really need to resolve this (legal) issue quickly."
In a separate suit involving Rhodes Ranch, Las Vegas-based Image Environmental Group alleges Rhodes Ranch Limited Partnership owes the company $203,631 for landscaping and irrigation work on the development.
In documents filed in district court, attorney Richard Peel representing the plaintiff asks "the property (streetscapes for the Rhodes Ranch common area loop) be sold and the proceeds be applied to the payment of sums due Image."
Rhodes officials could not be reached for comment on the Image suit.
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