Amazon data center located in Northern Virginia's Loudoun County. (Google Street View)
A embattled developer in Denver has received a payout as part of a settlement over Amazon's data center deal in Virginia.
Northstar Commercial Partners owner and CEO Brian Watson received “hundreds of thousands of dollars” from affiliates of Chicago-based IPI Partners as part of the settlement, according to court documents. It is said that he received it.
The settlement resolves one of several lawsuits filed by Mr. Watson in Delaware Chancery Court. These lawsuits are similar to one brought against Watson by Seattle-based Amazon in 2020.
brian watson
Both cases center around data center buildings developed by Watson's Northstar in Northern Virginia for Amazon Web Services.
Amazon alleges in the federal lawsuit that Watson paid kickbacks to two Amazon employees who have since been fired to secure development contracts. Mr. Watson and his former employees deny any wrongdoing. The case was originally scheduled to be heard this year, but has now gone to the Court of Appeals after a judge's decision. rejected most of Amazon's claims in spring. Two allegations against Watson remain.
Meanwhile, Watson filed his first lawsuit in Delaware. in December 2020. Defendant IPI essentially provided most of the funding needed to build the data center after Northstar won the Amazon contract. IPI is partnered with Iconiq Capital, an investment firm for Silicon Valley's elite.
IPI ended Northstar's role in the joint venture in April 2020, the same day the FBI executed a search warrant on Watson's Cherry Hills Village home.Amazon has filed a federal lawsuit. a few weeks later. Mr. Watson and his former employees have not been criminally charged.Former Northstar executive and friend of Watson pled guilty to wire fraud The criminal aspects of the case came to light earlier this year. Since then, it has become even more unclear..
In the first Delaware lawsuit, Mr. Watson accused IPI of breach of contract and said IPI had no right to terminate Northstar's role in the joint venture. Northstar claimed that IPI had the right to evict Northstar only if Northstar or one of its officers were convicted of a crime, but that has not happened. .
The case remains unsolved. It has been suspended since 2022, according to court records.
The recent settlement resolves a second, more detailed lawsuit filed by Watson affiliates against IPI in 2021.
In that case — Sterling NCP FF LLC v. NSIPI Data Center Venture LLC et al. — Watson challenged the valuation given to IPI upon exiting its joint venture with Sterling LLC. The agreement between the two companies called for IPI to pay “fair market value” for the ownership interest. IPI initially settled for a valuation of $3.64 million, less than half of the $7.43 million the Sterling entities invested in the joint venture, according to the complaint.
Sterling's lawsuit against IPI was dismissed with prejudice in August. Delaware court documents do not mention the settlement, which is not unusual in civil cases.
However, the existence of the settlement was revealed in filings in a federal lawsuit filed by Amazon. The trustee overseeing Northstar and Watson's finances wrote in a Nov. 1 report that Watson paid “several hundred thousand dollars” in settlements in the third quarter of this year. The check was then signed by the payee.
The amount paid by IPI to settle the case is likely to exceed hundreds of thousands of dollars. The recipient's language suggests that this amount is only Watson's personal share of the settlement. Sterling's lawsuit states that the group had 39 other members in addition to Watson.
IPI declined to comment. Watson's attorney did not respond to a request for comment.
