Questions surrounding the ownership of Southgate Plaza in Lewiston appear to be nearing a resolution.

All but two of the parties involved in civil litigation surrounding the Lewiston Orchards retail complex "have been engaged in extensive settlement negotiations and have executed a settlement agreement regarding their disputes," according to court documents.

But as of Friday, nothing had been filed to formalize whatever terms had been reached. The litigation started in Lewiston's 2nd District Court, moved to federal court and was recently sent back to district court. One of those taking part in the talks is Charles A. Lamm, who became owner of Southgate Plaza in 2007. He sued to void a September trustee's sale of the property. Alexander Investors purchased Southgate for $1,040,000 in that sale, according to court documents filed by attorneys for Alexander Investors.

In addition to Alexander Investors, Lamm's civil litigation is against BankCDA, the mortgage lender, and Charles R. Dean Jr., a Coeur d'Alene attorney who handled foreclosure proceedings on the property for BankCDA. Dean and BankCDA aren't taking part in the settlement negotiations, according to court documents.

Lamm alleges in the suit that when he confirmed the trustee's sale date in June, he had only 63 days to make arrangements to sell the property at auction, not 120 days as required by Idaho Code.

BankCDA, Alexander Investors and Dean have denied the allegations in court documents. Dean provided his account of efforts to notify Lamm and others of the trustee's sale in a five-page sworn statement in the court file. In one instance, for example, "either no one was home when the mail was delivered to the Lamm residence ... or the occupants refused to answer the door," according to the sworn statement.

Additionally, Alexander Investors alleges Charles Lamm, as well as Melba Lamm, Charles Lamm's mother, owe the company in excess of $1.2 million for principal on a loan as well as interest, attorneys fees and foreclosure costs.

Melba Lamm and her husband, also named Charles Lamm, took out a loan from BankCDA in 2004. He died in 2005 and the younger Lamm became a co-borrower on the note in 2009, about two years after he became the owner of Southgate Plaza, according to court documents.

The bank sold the promissory note and assigned the bank's interest under the deed of trust to Alexander Investors before Lamm held an auction of the plaza property in late August.

The auction drew bids of $1,032,000, according to Randy Wells of Auction Services. That amount was less than what Alexander Investors alleges is owed.

Alexander Investors has been involved in the Lewiston real estate scene since 2007, when the firm acquired Towne Square Mall downtown. It has purchased other properties along Lewiston's Main Street, including 513 Main St., which has a mural on an exterior wall, and 610 Main St., which used to house Courtesy Rent-to-Own.

The parties in the litigation aren't the only ones interested in what happens at Southgate.

Regan Hansen, the owner of Gold's Gym, announced last week that his business would return to its previous home at Southgate now that his existing location in the former Lewiston Walmart building has been sold to become a North 40 Outfitters store.

Last week, Hansen said he expected the move would happen this month and that the gym would be open during the change. Contacted by text message this week, Hansen said he was unaware of the litigation and declined to comment further.

Gold's Gym hasn't started the process of applying for a building permit at Southgate Plaza, but only minimal work would be needed for the space to be ready, said John Smith, Lewiston's building official.

"Gold's Gym could have stayed in that location and not had to do anything," he said. "So moving back would be freshening up and repairing things that had fallen into disrepair."

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Williams may be contacted at ewilliam@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2261.