A Boston financier may sue the town and developer Cabot, Cabot & Forbes over a $2.5 million telecommunications infrastructure project at the office park off University Avenue, now the site of the $1.5 billion Westwood Station development.
Boston Financial Corp. President Frank A. Coviello has been in discussions with lawyers at the Boston law firm Deutsch Williams about two lawsuits, which he expects will be filed in the near future, he said yesterday.
The lawsuit against the town stems from an agreement that the telecommunications company LMAC, which Coviello financed, and the town of Westwood reached for the installation of a high-speed Internet, cable and phone infrastructure.
Coviello claims that the town misrepresented itself by entering into a July 16, 2001, memorandum with LMAC that would allow the company to lease, rent or mortgage the fiber-optic cable network and derive revenue from the investment.
LMAC installed the cable with the expectation that it would sell or lease the capacity to companies like Comcast, RCN and AT&T, said Coviello.
But by 2005, CC&F had begun purchasing land at the industrial park and proposed a giant mixed-use housing, hotel, office and shopping complex there.
"We relied on their representations and as a result invested $2.5 million into this infrastructure. It turned out their representations were erroneous. All the while they were working on this project with CC&F, they never revealed to us that this project (Westwood Station) was being considered," said Coviello.
In 2002, when LMAC was unable to sell more than one of the 16 conduits it had installed, the company went under. Coviello, under the name University Telecommunications, took ownership of the work LMAC had installed.
CC&F has examined the infrastructure LMAC installed and decided it wants to install its own, said Town Administrator Michael Jaillet.
"I believe that the town has acted responsibly in addressing the legitimate concerns that have been presented to us," said Jaillet, who said the Board of Selectmen had received a letter from Coviello within the past few months. He refused to provide details about the letter but said it outlined a "request" of the town.
Bill Reny, CC&F director of design and construction, says the developer can't use LMAC's system, which runs the length of University Avenue from Canton Street to Blue Hill Drive because it is in the wrong place.
"It is inconsistent with our master plan design. We are building a whole new set of roadway systems. The only thing that stays is the stretch of University Avenue from Canton Street to Rosemont Road," he said. "The only portion that has relevance could have been this section on University Avenue."
But even if the system had been in the right place, it wouldn't have been adequate for CC&F's needs, said Reny. "We are concerned about the reliability of it, based on how it was installed," he said.
Coviello believes CC&F interfered with his business relationship with the town.
"We believe we have a legitimate claim against them for interference with an advantageous relationship. We had a commitment with the town and this project interfered with the relationship," said Coviello. "They were absolutely 100 percent aware of the relationship with the town."
Daily News staff writer Anna Kivlan can be reached at 781-433-8336 or at akivlan@cnc.com.
