Opinion ID: 2447676
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Franco Condemnation Case

Text: The National Capital Revitalization Corporation (NCRC), an independent instrumentality of the District of Columbia, instituted condemnation proceedings against Franco's property in the Skyland site ( District of Columbia v. 0.03 Acres of Land and Samuel N. Franco, et al., CA 05-5335). Franco raised several defenses, including that the taking was pretextual in violation of the Fifth Amendment. The trial court granted the District's motion to strike Franco's defenses and dismiss his counter claim. This court concluded that the pretext defense raised an issue requiring proof and that the defense could not be rejected on the pleadings alone. Franco v. National Capital Revitalization Corp., 930 A.2d 160, 162 (D.C.2007) ( Franco I ). Therefore, the court reversed the judgment, vacated the order granting NCRC's motion for immediate possession of Franco's property, and remanded the case to the trial court for further proceedings including discovery. 930 A.2d at 175. On remand, Franco was granted broad discovery in the condemnation case. At the close of the initial discovery period, the District moved for summary judgment as to the validity of the taking. The trial court subsequently granted a series of motions for extensions of the discovery deadlines, including an order extending discovery for the review of electronic documents entered on June 29, 2009. In the meantime, the District's motion for summary judgment remained pending in the condemnation case.