Another lawsuit filed against James Batmasian

James Batmasian
James Batmasian

Palm Beach County commercial real estate owner James Batmasian was hit with another lawsuit, this time from a condo association that claims he improperly received free parking spaces from the City of Boca Raton.

The Palmetto Place at Mizner Park association filed the Palm Beach Circuit Court complaint against Batmasian earlier this week. It accuses Boca Raton of altering its development rules so Batmasian would get 100 free spaces in the 10-story Palmetto Place building to accommodate customers of his ground-floor commercial condos. The association wants Batmasian to pay for the parking spaces.

Palmetto Place also submitted e-mails from city staffers, who warned they did not want to come off as Batmasian’s “bitch” or his “wassertrager,” a German term that translates to water carrier, according to the Palm Beach Post. The attorney who represented Batmasian in the parking garage dispute claimed the association was illegally denying his client use of the spaces.

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The city eventually sent the association violation notices over the parking space issue.

Batmasian is also dealing with pending lawsuits involving an employee and two independent contractors. The suits involve allegations of discrimination, fraud and harassment. [Palm Beach Post]Eric Kalis