"Nashville wants to take this small, unique, independent business to give it to private developers to put up another office building on Music Row," Scott Bullock, one of Ford's lead attorneys, said at a news conference announcing the filing. "We're here to put a stop to abuse of eminent domain."
JOY FORD Insists she doesn't want to sell
Bullock said, “Everyone knows this condemnation is not about eliminating blight. No one claims that Mrs. Ford’s small, well-kept building is blighted. The city is just using the blight designation as a cover for its real purpose, which is to transfer the property to a private developer for its own private gain and to get the tax revenue the new development supposedly will bring. Tennessee law forbids condemnation for tax revenue, and this condemnation violates Tennessee law.”
Attorneys for the Music Center East property owner facing an eminent domain claim filed in circuit court Monday an answer to the Notice of Taking issued a month ago.
In a statement released by the Institute of Justice, a national civil liberties law firm, property owner Joy Ford said she intends to fight the eminent domain claim. Ford founded the property in question, which is home to Country International Records, with her late husband in 1974. The Notice of Taking was issued by the Metro Development and Housing Agency.
“I am not interested in selling my property at any price,” Ford said in a statement released by her legal representation. “This isn’t about money for me. This is about principle. I just want to hold on to a business that has meant so much to my family and a lot of other folks in country music. I should have the right to do that in the United States of America.”
In the meantime, Metro Councilman Michael Craddock said a group of “half the Metro Council members” was ready to support a bill that could intercede on Ford’s behalf if necessary.
Craddock did not explain the details of the bill, but said a draft was completed and ready to be filed.
“It’s been prepared,” Craddock said of the bill. “I’m so concerned about what MDHA is doing that I’m looking for any alternative possible to stop them. The bill has been drawn. It has been prepared. I’m waiting for the outcome of this and whether or not MDHA will come to their senses.”
Joy Ford, owner of Country International Records, is ready to fight an eminent domain claim issued by Metro Development and Housing Agency
JOY FORD Insists she doesn't want to sell
Joy Ford, owner of Country International Records, is ready to fight an eminent domain claim issued by Metro Development and Housing Agency
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