The former owners of land sold to the city to build the gymnasium at the Bowling Green Parks and Recreation Community Center lost their suit against the city over the transfer of that land.

Bobby Joe and Dorothy Basham filed a lawsuit against the city in 2007 claiming that the city bought only two of the three plots the Bashams owned at 337 and 339 College St. in 2005 to build the facility.

The Bashams, owners of a wrecker service on the property, claimed that a lot at 339 College St., which contained a garage, was omitted from the deed transferring the property to the city and was never part of the deal, though the city built the gym on that plot.

The case went to a bench trial before Warren Circuit Judge Steve Wilson, where testimony was heard June 30 and July 17. Wilson’s ruling was filed Monday in Warren Circuit Court.

The opinion claims that while the purchase agreement and deed conveying the property to the city was ambiguous because it omitted the 75-by-150 foot lot from the sale, both the Bashams and the city went into the deal under the impression that all the land at both College Street addresses would be sold to the city.

“Neither the purchase agreement nor the deed contained any mention that the Bashams would retain any College Street property,” the ruling read in part.

According to court documents, the city appraised the land at $219,000 and paid the Bashams $260,000 for the land, which included relocation fees.

The business, Basham Wrecker Service and Repair, is now operated by the Bashams on Tobacco Road.

“The Bashams tried to say that they never intended to sell the lot where their garage was located, but after closing (the sale) they removed their property from the garage, took pictures of it and delivered the key ... and sat by while the city tore down their garage,” said attorney Greg Stivers, who represented the city in the case. “Their actions clearly demonstrated that they thought they sold the garage to the city.”

Stivers said that the omission of the lot at 339 College St. from the deed was an accidental omission discovered when the city tried to replat the lot, and the Bashams never raised any complaints about the lot during negotiations.

Dorothy Basham said she was not aware of the ruling. When informed of it, she was not surprised, and referred further questions to attorney Matt Baker, who filed the suit on behalf of the couple.

Baker said the Bashams negotiated the sale extensively with the city but were not provided a copy of the city’s appraisal of the property upon request.

“Had the appraisal been provided, there would have not been any miscommunication by or between the parties,” Baker said. “The city refused to provide the appraisal and ultimately the city drafted and delivered a written contract, which did not include one of the three parcels that it says that it intended to purchase.

“The city prepared a contract and a deed and in both those written documents, two parcels were conveyed. The Bashams still owned the third, they did not intend to sell it, and it was not contained within either the contract or the deed.”

The ruling says that the city’s standard practice is to decline requests to provide copies of appraisals.

When asked why the Bashams waited two years after signing the purchase agreement and watching the garage demolished to file suit, Baker said that a five-year statute of limitations was in effect in the case, and the Bashams were settling other issues such as business permits, so the case was filed in a timely manner under the legal definition.

Baker said he intends to appeal the ruling to the Kentucky Court of Appeals.