Talons Owner Sued Over Real Estate Deal
SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio Talons owner and real estate investor A. David Lynd is facing civil fraud allegations over a deal involving a commercial property near the South Texas Medical Center.
In a lawsuit filed Tuesday, the owners of the land and building at 8531 Fairhaven St. allege the Lynd Co. agreed to buy the property for $1.7 million but never intended to close.
The suit seeks at least $2 million in damages and $4.75 million in punitive damages from Lynd and his real estate investment and management company.
Lynd, 39, president and CEO of the Lynd Co., didn’t respond to requests for comment.
The lawsuit was filed in Bexar County District Court by Studio Center Properties J.V. and its partners – Michael Bowie, Kenneth Ashe and Don White.
The suit further alleges Lynd used the property to produce a reality television series on the Talons titled “Guts & Glory.” The Talons play in the Arena Football League.
Lynd hired the former employees of a small production company owned by the property’s partners to shoot, produce and edit the series. But the workers never were paid, the suit claims.
Lynd wanted the benefits of the property’s production facility without having to pay for it, claimed San Antonio attorney Marynell Maloney, who represents the group suing Lynd.
“We are alleging it was a significant scam,” Maloney said. “This is a situation where somebody with a great deal of money very consciously goes in and exploits people for months.”
While this was going on, the suit adds, Lynd was taking delivery of a 2013 Bentley Mulsanne and “jetsetting and playing in lavish lifestyle” with Suzanne Stokes, Playboy Playmate for February 2000. She also is credited as a creative consulting producer on “Guts & Glory.”
Lynd blamed the delays on closing on the Fairhaven property to “funding issues and his divorce,” the suit states.
Lynd filed for divorce from his wife, Angela, in April after more than 13 years of marriage. The case was filed using the couple’s initials rather than names.
In the suit filed Tuesday, Lynd also is alleged to have failed to pay Michele Krier for public relations and project support services.
The property owned by Studio Center includes about an acre of land and a building estimated to be about 8,000 square feet, Maloney said.
In June, the Lynd Co. was part of a partnership that bought floors 13 through 41 of the 100-story John Hancock Center in Chicago.
It has a portfolio of 34,000 apartment units and 10 million square feet of commercial space, according to a Lynd company website.
BC Lynd, the Lynd Co.’s hospitality arm, owns the historic St. Anthony Hotel at 300 E. Travis St. in San Antonio.
Express-News archives contributed to this report.