BLOOMINGBURG, NY — The lawsuit in which developer Shalom Lamm accused officials of the Town of Mamakating and the Village of Bloomingburg of discrimination has been settled before trial. This marks at least the third time that Lamm has initiated a lawsuit regarding his controversial Villages at Chestnut Ridge development that has been settled before Lamm or anyone else connected to the lawsuit was compelled to testify in open court.

The announcement of the settlement came on October 21, and the insurance companies for the village and the town have agreed to pay a total of $2.9 million to Lamm, but neither the town nor village admitted any wrongdoing.

Bill Herrmann, supervisor of the Town of Mamakating, said the decision to settle the lawsuit came from the insurance company and the town did not have the authority to override it. He also said that the amount paid to Lamm was a “fraction of what they paid their lawyers to bring the suit.”

He wrote in a press release, “The insurance carrier exercised their right to settle this case despite the Town’s objections. The Town vehemently denies any wrongdoing and the settlement with the plaintiff states that there was no wrongdoing by the Town. All along, the Town has only sought to insure that the laws were followed and applied equally. There was no award of damages. No taxpayer money was paid.”