By JOHN GALLAGHER
Detroit Free Press Business Write


In one of metro Detroit's longest-running court cases, Ambassador Bridge owner Manuel [[Matty) Moroun has lost his bid to recover $2.8 million in legal fees stemming from a 34-year-old legal battle with the federal government.

The U.S. seized some Moroun-owned property near the bridge in 1977 for its new customs booths. After protracted litigation to determine the value of the land, Moroun tried to recover his legal fees from the government.

Comparing the litigation with the endless dispute portrayed by Charles Dickens in his novel "Bleak House," the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled Wednesday that Moroun was not entitled to the nearly $3 million in legal fees that he sought.

The case is one of many in which Moroun and his bridge are entangled. Other lawsuits filed by or against Moroun and his company involve a dispute over how Moroun built new ramps to the Ambassador Bridge, and Moroun's attempts to block construction of the proposed Detroit River International Crossing bridge that would compete with his privately owned bridge.

Moroun's Detroit International Bridge Co. had no immediate comment on the ruling.






Source: http://www.freep.com/article/2011020...s-bid-get-fees