The conflict that began in 2001 between Mary Jane and Charles Pillsbury, owners of Community Mini Storage in Wareham, Mass., and STF Enterprises Inc. continues. The trial, however, scheduled for late July, was postponed due to a lack of air conditioning in the Plymouth Superior Court.
Mary Jane, a Wareham selectman, is president of her storage company, and Charles is treasurer. STF is suing them for $1 million for allegedly blocking its proposed storage facility in the same market.
The local Zoning Board of Appeals gave STF a variance and special permit to build a 68,000-square-foot storage facility along the same highway as Community Mini Storage. A group of neighbors appealed the board's decision in superior court, and STF claims the Pillsburys offered to pay the abutters' attorney fees for the prosecution.
The couple denies paying any fees, but believes the action would be legal in any case. STF feels such an act improperly interferes with its right to develop the land, and claims it is an abuse of Mary Jane's position as a public figure. The Pillsburys refute that they harmed STF's business or violated state law.