When Ernest and Marilyn Liggett described the possibility of an American Indian casino for the barren streets of Brownsville, Kermith R. Sonnier Sr. thought of the growth that gaming spurred in Kinder, La.
Believing a casino could revitalize the Fayette County borough that had become his adopted hometown, Sonnier invested more than $325,000 with the Liggetts in 2003 and 2004 and expected a 2.25 percent share in the project.
But by December 2005, Sonnier had returned to his home state of Louisiana and claimed in a federal lawsuit that the Liggetts breached their contract.
"I honestly thought if they would have gotten that casino, it would have been very good, not only for Brownsville, but all of Fayette County," the 58-year-old Sonnier said Wednesday.
While Brownsville is no closer to getting a casino, Sonnier is closer to getting his money back.
U.S. District Judge Joy Flowers Conti issued a $358,450 judgment on Monday in favor of Sonnier. She also ordered that Sonnier is entitled to post-judgment interest of 4.76 percent, amounting to $46.75 per day.
The judgment follows the apparent failure of the Monroeville couple to have an attorney defend them in the case, according to court records.
A Pittsburgh lawyer entered an appearance for the Liggetts' inactive Murrysville business, Platinum Settlement Services, which also was named as a defendant. However, Stephen L. Barsotti said yesterday he was not representing the Liggetts as private individuals.
The Liggetts could not be reached for comment yesterday.
The judgment is the latest in a series of bizarre circumstances that have followed the Liggetts since the early 1990s, when they began buying parcels in Brownsville.
In 1994, the Liggetts announced a controversial plan to develop a strip mall around the borough's downtown business district, a theme restaurant, a marina and a floating walkway.
They now own more than 100 borough properties, but many have been cited for ordinance violations as the properties have fallen into disrepair.
For years, many of Brownsville's residents were "mesmerized" by the Liggetts, said Josephine Hess. She and her husband, Bob, have been longtime skeptics of the Liggetts' plans.
"It's amazing how anybody could believe it," Hess said of the Liggetts' proposals. "In fact, how could anyone make it up?"
Sonnier believed at the time, but now he said he thinks the Liggetts were telling different stories to try to get money.
"If we don't get the money, we'll get the property," Sonnier, of Lake Charles, La., said of Conti's judgment. "It won't make me any different. And if I get the property, I'll just sell it or donate it to charity."
The judgment this week isn't the first time a court has ruled for him in a financial dispute. Sonnier said he received a $10.5 million wrongful-termination award after he sued a California company that fired him from his post as an insurance adjuster.
Sonnier, who moved to Brownsville in the late 1980s, envisioned the proposed casino would have the same effect on Fayette County as the Coushatta Casino Resort has had on Kinder, La., in the past decade.
The casino, which is within a 15-minute drive of Oberlin, La., where Sonnier was born, has drawn housing developers to the region, infused money into the local economy and created about 200 jobs, Sonnier said.
"The big thing is, people come there from Texas on the weekend," Sonnier said. "They have big stars like George Jones and Reba McEntire come in. They have rodeos. It's just a very attractive place."
After Ernest Liggett claimed that an American Indian tribe wanted to establish a reservation and casino in the borough, Sonnier agreed to invest $325,000 in July 2003.
Only two years earlier, taxes on many of the Liggetts' downtown properties were deemed delinquent, and the couple talked of selling to a private investor. That's when Ernest Liggett claimed that an American Indian tribe wanted to establish a reservation and casino in the borough.
According to the deal, the Liggetts were to transfer downtown properties to a third party, known as Ohwista Ko:Wah Holdings, according to the lawsuit.
By September 2004, the Liggetts and Sonnier had come to another agreement to create a charitable entity, The Sonnier Foundation, in remembrance of Sonnier's son. Sonnier said he paid another $10,000 to the Liggetts.
Kermith R. Sonnier Jr., 37, was killed by police gunfire in May 2004 during a chase through Brownsville borough and township. He was living in Washington County at the time of his death.
A Fayette County coroner's jury did not recommend that the officers be charged with a crime, but the father filed a federal lawsuit asking for more than $100 million in damages. The lawsuit, filed by high-profile civil rights lawyer Geoffrey Fieger, is pending.
For the past year, Sonnier has paid for two billboards in the Brownsville area that feature his son's picture and the quote, "I hope you don't end up like I did."
While the judgment against the Liggetts is satisfying, Sonnier said he is concentrating his time on attending depositions and being involved in his son's case.
"I'm going to keep (the signs) going till this trial is over with," Sonnier said. "It ain't going to be over till the fat lady sings, and she's going to sing. She's going to sing a loud tune."
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