Town works to settle lawsuit on proposed Calverton go-kart track
A seven-year-old federal lawsuit filed by a company seeking to build a go-kart track in Calverton may be on the verge of a settlement.
At their work session last Thursday, the Riverhead Town Board members briefly discussed a draft resolution to settle the lawsuit filed by F1 Long Island.
“They’ve agreed to dismiss the case, and we’re accepting the dismissal,” Riverhead Supervisor Sean Walter said afterward.
The draft resolution, on which a formal vote is expected during the board’s regular meeting Wednesday afternoon, states that the plaintiffs, F1, “have requested that the Town consent to signing a stipulation of discontinuation.”
F1 chief executive officer Marc Leibowitz declined to comment on the litigation Friday.
In 2005, F1 Long Island first proposed to build a series of go-kart tracks and a clubhouse on 12 acres on the east side of Edwards Avenue, just south of FedEx.
In 2009, with the proposal still in the review stages with the town, F1 filed a federal lawsuit claiming the town deliberately stalled its application and yet granted special permit approval for a then-proposed Hampton Jitney bus terminal a short distance away on Edwards Avenue — a use F1 maintains would create more noise and be more intense than its proposed tracks.
The lawsuit claims the town denied F1 “exactly what they granted to Hampton Jitney.”
In January, F1 had proposed a settlement of the lawsuit, but town officials rejected that offer, saying the application should go though the regular planning process.
F1 Long Island has recently changed its name to Moto 1 Long Island, according to its website.
Federal court records indicate that Formula One Licensing and Formula One World Championship Limited, the popular European race circuit, filed a trademark infringement lawsuit in 2014 against F1 Long Island, F1 Boston, F1 New Jersey and several other businesses that used the F1 name.
Photo: A 2008 rendering of the proposed go-kart track and clubhouse on Edwards Avenue.
