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According to the lawsuit, Melnyk’s company was warned that if it withdrew, it would result in a “severing” — that’s the word the lawsuit quotes — of any relationship between Watson and Melnyk.

It was seen by Melnyk’s side as a “veiled threat” that Watson wouldn’t support the arena and Melnyk-related projects, the lawsuit alleges.

Livia Belcea, the mayor’s press secretary, said in an email Friday that, “as the matter is before the court, Mayor Watson is unable to comment.”

None of the allegations in Melnyk’s lawsuit has been tested in court.

(The lawsuit, too, notes that Watson allegedly “favoured” other developers twice previously. It doesn’t go into detail, but Melnyk previously failed to land a casino at the Canadian Tire Centre and watched Hard Rock win the rights to build one at the Rideau Carleton Raceway. Melnyk also pursued a professional soccer franchise and stadium, but the city backed a redevelopment of Lansdowne Park).

Melnyk also alleges unreported lobbying on 900 Albert St., the future Trinity-led 65-storey tower development near LeBreton Flats.

The lawsuit alleges consultant Graham Bird, who was involved in the RendezVous project and who’s named as a defendant in Melnyk’s claim, and adviser Brendan McGuinty helped orchestrate a “political coup” by advocating Trinity’s interests at the city and with the mayor.

In an email, McGuinty said “the claim against me is 100 per cent false.”

McGuinty is not named as a defendant in Melnyk’s suit.

Bird’s company did not respond to a request for comment.

jwilling@postmedia.com

twitter.com/JonathanWilling

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