Lawsuits over Charlotte ballpark dropped

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CHARLOTTE, N.C., Jan. 15 (UPI) -- A man who has filed eight lawsuits trying to stop construction of a minor league baseball stadium in Charlotte, N.C., says he is dropping his court challenge.

Attorneys for Mecklenburg County, N.C., and the city of Charlotte announced Monday Jerry Reese agreed in a settlement to drop his appeals of two lawsuits and to dismiss his eighth suit, all directed at preventing the building of a stadium for minor league baseball.

"I agreed to settle the cases so that I could concentrate my efforts toward my calling and commitment to bring major league baseball to the Carolinas," Reese said in a statement.

The decision came after Superior Court Judge David Lee indicated he would impose sanctions against Reese for the constant court action targeting the project, the Charlotte, N.C., Observer reported Tuesday.

Reese filed the first two lawsuits in 2007 after the city and county agreed to build a stadium for the Charlotte Knights, an AAA minor league team. Judge dismissed those suits, as well as three subsequent suits, and the rulings were upheld on appeal, the newspaper noted.

The new stadium is scheduled to open in April 2014, Knights' Chief Operating Officer Dan Rajkowski said.