BUENA VISTA, Va. – A lawsuit against the city of Buena Vista regarding the Vista Links golf course remains dismissed.
On Thursday, the U.S. District Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit upheld a previous ruling that dismissed the lawsuit.
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The ruling by a three-judge panel in Richmond affirms the February 2018 ruling by Senior U.S. District Judge Norman K. Moon, of the Western District of Virginia in Lynchburg.
Moon ruled that the suit brought by ACA Financial Guaranty Corp. and UMB Bank, National Association Bank against the city had no merit and was dismissed with prejudice.
ACA is the insurance company that guaranteed the loan Buena Vista used to build a troubled golf course.
The city borrowed $9 million to build the course in 2005 but later defaulted on the loan.
"Today's ruling by the higher court affirms the city's position all along - that this suit was baseless and meritless," said Brian Kearney, Buena Vista's city attorney.
On Dec. 8, 2014, the Buena Vista City Council approved a resolution to seek a negotiated settlement with ACA to end more than a decade of fiscal challenges over the municipal golf course that is far less valuable than originally projected.
The City Council, through the Public Recreational Facilities Authority, has been attempting since then to negotiate a settlement with ACA, the bond insurer. ACA has refused to negotiate and instead filed the suit that has now been dismissed on the appellate level.