North Las Vegas backs off plan to sue Faraday Future
North Las Vegas was prepared to hire a law firm to sue the electric car company Faraday Future, but abandoned the plan at the 11th hour.
An item on the City Council agenda authorized the city to hire the Snell & Wilmer law firm to pursue a lawsuit against the car manufacturer, which in 2017 backed out of a deal to build a $1.3 billion plant in North Las Vegas.
But without explanation during the meeting, the item was pulled from the agenda.
“It’s not necessary right now to move forward with it tonight,” City Manager Ryann Juden told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “If it becomes necessary, we’ll put it on for another day.”
Juden said the item was originally on the agenda to ensure Faraday would comply with a development agreement. The city, he said, wanted to protect property owners and residents.
According to the agenda item, North Las Vegas wanted to force Faraday to complete a drainage study on its property, submit off-site improvement plans and secure bonds to complete the improvements.
The car company did not respond Wednesday to requests for comment.
Faraday’s electric car plant would have been located in Apex Industrial Park — a swath of land just outside the Las Vegas Valley that North Las Vegas officials are working to develop as an economic engine for the city. After then-Gov. Brian Sandoval held a well-attended news conference announcing the project in 2015, the Nevada Legislature held a special session in 2015 to pass a law specifically designed to aid the Faraday project.
The company backed out of its deal in July 2017 to take its operations to an existing structure in California.
North Las Vegas argues Faraday is still bound by a 2010 development agreement to make improvements to its land in Apex.
“The city has repeatedly notified Faraday of its default under the development agreement, however, Faraday has still failed to perform,” the agenda item states.
Faraday announced in March that it wanted to sell the site of its failed project. The company listed the 900-acre parcel for $40 million.
Contact Blake Apgar at bapgar@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5298. Follow @blakeapgar on Twitter.