Tri Vo faces lawsuit for $8.9 million

A former business partner has sued prominent South Sound developer Tri Vo for $8.97 million for allegedly breaching a contract, according to court documents filed in Thurston County Superior Court this week.

J. Scott Griffin Jr. and his company, Freestone Inc. of Fife, seek the unpaid balance on a business agreement that Griffin and Vo struck in December 2007, according to the lawsuit.

Griffin and Vo were business partners in joint real estate developments from 2004 through 2007, when Vo asked Griffin about selling his stake in their projects. The lawsuit doesn't specify their joint projects.

After Griffin decided to sell his stake in their projects to Vo, they agreed to a $10.97 million sale price with $1 million payments due in February and June 2008, followed by a $2 million payment in December 2008, according to the lawsuit.

During this period, though, Griffin alleges Vo "had been secretly negotiating the sale of one of their joint projects" before they reached their sale agreement, in December, and "that he (Vo) had intentionally withheld this information" from him.

They tried to settle their dispute in arbitration but were unable to reach an agreement, according to the lawsuit. Griffin sued when Vo did not make the scheduled $2 million payment in December, according to the lawsuit.

Griffin declined to comment Wednesday. His Seattle-based attorney, Arnold Willig, said Griffin has been a real-estate developer for 25 to 30 years and had done some property development in Lacey, although Willig couldn't recall project names.

Vo could not be reached Wednesday. His assistant, Tori Cookson, said Vo would not return to work until Monday. Triway colleague Jeanette Hawkins and Vo's attorney also couldn't be reached.

Vo, the owner of Triway Enterprises, is known for developing the residential project Horizon Pointe in Lacey, bringing the outdoors store Cabela's to Hawks Prairie, and successfully lobbying for taller buildings on the strip of land between Capitol Lake and Budd Inlet in downtown Olympia. He wants to put mixed-use condominium developments in that area, as well as near the former Olympia brewery in Tumwater.

Representatives of Boise, Idaho-based WinCo Foods also are in negotiations to buy property that Vo owns for a possible store in the 7500 block of Martin Way in Lacey's urban growth area.

Rolf Boone covers business for The Olympian. He can be reached at 360-754-5403 or rboone@theolympian.com.