Several buyers in a $75 million Cheatham County condominium project are suing to get their earnest money returned

Nine buyers in the Braxton Condominiums at Harpeth Shoals Marina, a luxury condominium near the banks of the Cumberland River in Ashland City, have filed suit claiming the development company breached their contracts by missing a key deadline and failing to deliver a promised commercial component.Several buyers in a $75 million Cheatham County condominium project are suing to get their earnest money returned, saying the developer failed to live up to promises made about the project.The suit, which asks that plaintiffs be refunded $399,500 in deposits, is one of two that has been filed by Braxton buyers. A similar claim was made last month in Cheatham County Chancery Court.The disputes are the latest sign of litigation in connection with the recent condo boom and a later slowdown in sales. Last week, several contract holders in a Midtown condominium, the Bristol West End, were told they could face court proceedings if they don't pay for not living up to their purchase agreements.Bristol wants tens of thousands of dollars from several people who backed out of purchase contracts. The developer wants to be compensated for money the firm says it lost when it had to resell units to new buyers at lower prices.The Braxton condo suits center on the pace of construction of two 10-story residential buildings and a neighboring marina.Both suits say The Braxton LLC, a private partnership formed to build the project, failed to meet an Aug. 4, 2008, construction deadline in purchase agreements. The plaintiffs, a group of nine Middle Tennessee residents living in Davidson, Williamson and DeKalb counties, also say Braxton did not follow through on a promise to build a commercial component that was supposed to include a restaurant, retail shops and marina services."There's no apparent evidence that they're ever going to start construction," said Phillip Jones, the group's attorney. "The project on the ground is clearly different."
The latest suit comes on the heels of legal action late last month by a buyer from Ashland City seeking the return of $174,286. The money represents the buyer's deposit for a unit on the Braxton's 10th floor and fees for a slip in the marina. Benjamin Perry, the Ashland City attorney who filed that suit, could not be reached for comment.Both suits come after the project's lead developer, Nashville resident John T. Rankin, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection in November. That case centered on Rankin's personal debts from another Cheatham County development, but the proceedings nonetheless prevented the Braxton's buyers from pursuing their claims, Jones said.Since then, management of Braxton LLC has passed to Charles A. Elcan, a Nashville executive who has worked in the health-care and real estate industry, property records filed in Cheatham County show. Elcan did not return a message left at his home Monday evening.Complicating the suit were several liens filed against the Braxton property in the fall. Property records show that builder T.W. Frierson and other contractors were owed more than $3.9 million last fall for work performed on the condos. Most of those liens have been settled.Meanwhile, contracts on four units in the Braxton have closed, property records show. Two units were transferred to Community Bank & Trust, a project lender that held a $995,000 promissory note signed by Rankin and his wife.An Ashland City attorney and a real estate agent selling units in the building closed on the other two units.