A New Jersey arbitrator ruled the Vikings' three Principal Owners -- ZYGI, MARK and LEONARD WILF -- "violated a development contract by shutting down construction of an unfinished housing project and awarded their two former business partners" $2M, according to court records cited by Brian Murphy of the ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS. Arbitrator JOHN BISSEL in August ruled that the Wilfs defaulted on an $8M joint venture with cousins RALPH and NORMAN MITSCHELES. Bissel awarded them $2M from the entity they formed with the Wilfs to refund "their initial investment and ordering the joint venture liquidated." The Wilfs "are fighting the arbitrator's decision," filing a motion Nov. 6 in Essex County Superior Court "to modify Bissel's award." It was the "second time in a year that the Wilfs were found to have mistreated their business partners." The Vikings execs are appealing a $103M civil judgment in New Jersey after a state judge ruled in August '13 that they had "defrauded former partners in a failed real-estate venture" from the '80s (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 11/14).
