River Ridge Terminates Master Development Agreement with Hollenbach-Oakley, LLC

River Ridge Countersues Hollenbach-Oakley for breach of duty of good faith and fair dealing

Jeffersonville, IN (August 18, 2025) – The River Ridge Development Authority (“RRDA”) Board of Directors has countersued Hollenbach-Oakley, LLC for, among other things, breach of duty of good faith and fair dealing and breach of fiduciary owed under the Master Development Agreement (“MDA”).  In June, RRDA terminated the MDA for these same reasons.  

Hollenbach-Oakley filed a breach of contract complaint in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana on July 14, 2025, Case No. 4:25-cv-00134-TWP-KBM.  In response, RRDA filed multiple counterclaims against Hollenbach-Oakley on August 13.  The counterclaims seek monetary damages for breach of contract, the duty of good faith and fair dealing, and fiduciary duty, as well as tortious interference with a prospective advantage and declaratory relief.

The initial purpose of the MDA was to market approximately 600 acres of the River Ridge Commerce Center (“RRCC”) property as the “River Ridge Gateway Office Campus” and the “River Ridge Office Research Campus.”    Hollenbach-Oakley was financially rewarded and incentivized for serving as the master developer of the campus property, and the MDA provided them with the “exclusive right and obligation pursuant to the terms and conditions of this Agreement to manage, market, and plan the development.” 

However, the MDA dictated that Hollenbach-Oakley work in good faith and have fair dealings with the RRDA.  RRDA’s termination of and subsequent counterclaims arising therefrom result from an incident in April in which a prospect inquired with RRDA staff about locating a new business within the Gateway Office Campus.  RRDA introduced the lead to Hollenbach-Oakley in accordance with the MDA but subsequently learned that prior to fully exploring the River Ridge Gateway Office Campus, Hollenbach-Oakley representatives marketed available property in Louisville, along with two other undisclosed locations with the potential RRDA client. 

“The RRDA Board and staff have worked to build a mutually beneficial relationship with Hollenbach-Oakley over the past several years.  This breach of the agreement creates distrust with the Hollenbach-Oakley team,” stated Greg Fifer, General Counsel for River Ridge.  “We regret having to take the step to terminate, but the default created irreconcilable harm in the relationship and therefore we terminated the MDA. Hollenbach Oakley’s subsequent and ill-advised lawsuit also left us with no choice but to countersue to correct the factual record and seek to be made whole.”

About the River Ridge Development Authority

The River Ridge Development Authority (RRDA) manages the River Ridge Commerce Center, a 6,000-acre business and office park established in 1998 to replace lost economic activity from the closure of the Indiana Army Ammunition Plant.  Today, River Ridge is home to more than 80 companies such as Amazon, Meta, Canadian Solar, Collins Aerospace, Medline, and PharmaCord.  Onsite employment totaled more than 12,675 in 2024, and the Commerce Center produced a total of over $3.0 billion in economic output for the region. The investments and growth at River Ridge earned the RRDA the International Economic Development Council’s 2020 Gold Award for Real Estate Redevelopment and Reuse.

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