SIDNEY'S TAKES APPEAL TO 4TH CIRCUIT

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, April 6, 1993                   TAG: 9304060100
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: GEORGE KEGLEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short
SIDNEY'S TAKES APPEAL TO 4TH CIRCUIT
Sidney's, a Roanoke-based women's clothing chain, has appealed to the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals a ruling that would prohibit it from developing a parcel of residential property.
U.S. District Court Judge Samuel Wilson ruled last month that an old covenant prohibits construction of a public-access road into a 50-acre tract Sidney's wants to develop as part of its bankruptcy reorganization plan.
Wilson's ruling was "definitely a setback for creditors" of Sidney's, said Andy Goldstein, a lawyer for the creditors' committee.
If an access road is not allowed from Peakwood Drive in South Roanoke, the property will have "a much smaller return," Goldstein said. The undeveloped land also has access from U.S. 220, but that approach has less value to any proposed development as a neighborhood, lawyers said.
Goldstein said Monday the committee had urged Sidney's to appeal.
Richard and Rachael McGimsey, who live near the lot, have opposed Sidney's plan in both bankruptcy and federal courts. Their lawyer, William J. Creech, said he expects the Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold Wilson's decision.
Bankruptcy Judge Ross Krumm had ruled in favor of Sidney's, saying the old covenant contained ambiguous language in a restriction against construction of an apartment house on the lot.
In the appeal from bankruptcy court, Wilson overturned Krumm's ruling, saying the covenant limits improvements on the lot to construction of a single-family house. Creech said the case probably will not be heard for three or four months.

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB