[September 08, 2010] City Council approves McDonald's payout Tweet Sep 08, 2010 (The Wisconsin State Journal - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- The city of Madison will pay McDonald's $312,000 to settle a 2008 lawsuit, the City Council decided Tuesday, in order to avoid a potential payment of hundreds of thousands of dollars more at a jury trial later this month. Some aldermen expressed frustration about the city paying the corporation, which alleged a pedestrian footbridge that opened in 2008 has been detrimental to business at the franchise at 3051 E. Washington Ave. McDonald's took a gamble by locating on a major state highway often subject to changes, said Ald. Judy Compton, 16th District. "We're having to pay for that bad decision, which makes me very, very angry," Compton said. She and four others voted against the settlement, while 14 others -- some begrudgingly -- supported it. If the case proceeded to a jury trial set to begin Sept. 20, assistant city attorney Doran Viste said, $400,000 was a likely estimate for the city to pay, and that could've gone up to $575,000 in a worst-case scenario. The sole issue at trial would've been the value of the property before and after the bridge was built, Viste said. City estimates show it was worth $1.4 million before and $1,053,000 after. The city used eminent domain to build the bridge, which provides a crossing over East Washington Avenue for the Starkweather Creek bike path. It was part of the $752 million upgrade of the street but encroached on the restaurant's property and disturbed traffic patterns in addition to limiting visibility of its Golden Arches sign, the suit alleged. McDonald's is now proposing to move the branch three blocks west to the Madison East Shopping Center. Ald. Larry Palm, who represents the district, said McDonald's has a legal right to ask for money from the city, and urged his fellow council members to support it in order to move on. Still, other alders disagreed. I don't think they deserve it," said Ald. Shiva Bidar-Sielaff, 5th District. "I was willing to take the gamble." To see more of The Wisconsin State Journal, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.wisconsinstatejournal.com. Copyright (c) 2010, The Wisconsin State Journal Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com, e-mail [email protected], or call 866-280-5210 (outside the United States, call +1 312-222-4544). [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]