But MSU Trustee Joel Ferguson, who is working with Ohio-based property developer Franklin Kass to buy the Red Cedar Golf Course from the city and transform it into a mixed-use development, said the lawsuit has no grounds.

“People can write and accuse people of anything,” Ferguson said. “They ain’t got shit."

According to a January 2013 email circulated among the city’s select developers and used as court evidence, the drain project is one “that would potentially save millions in construction costs relating to the expense of constructing building foundations within the flood plain.

"A percentage of the savings would then be paid back to the city by the development,” the email said.

The project centers around fixing the Montgomery Drain which currently washes storm water pollutants from the Frandor Mall and surrounding areas into the Red Cedar River.

The drain runs under portions of the Frandor Shopping Center, Michigan Avenue and the city-owned, disused Red Cedar Golf Course, before finally draining into the Red Cedar River.

Because the fix would be costly, the city is petitioning for a special drainage assessment, which would allow them to levy taxes on those in the surrounding area, with a greater portion to whomever they believe benefits more.

Ferguson said the email was taken out of context in the lawsuit and “intentionally done to mislead.”

"When Pat Lindemann is moving the dirt and putting the foundation in, it saves us money," he said. "He's got to move the dirt anyway."

T.J. Bucholz, the spokesperson for Lansing Retail Center LLC, said the owners of the Frandor Shopping Center are willing to discuss potential fixes to upgrade the Montgomery Drain, but they are not willing to “pay for the transformation of a flood plain into developable land.”

“Not only does the city have a special interest, they intend to roll the cost of development to make a flood plain a buildable property and have the surrounding people (pay for it),” Bucholz said.

In a statement, Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero declined to comment on specific allegations in the lawsuit, but claimed it "significantly misrepresents the facts and makes erroneous claims and assumptions about the city's intentions with regard to the redevelopment project."

A public hearing on the special drainage assessment proposal will be held on Monday despite the pending lawsuit on the topic.

Members of the Lansing City Council agreed to delay a vote on the matter until after a court hearing on Thursday that would determine whether the city should delay further action.