Seven lawsuits apparently were two too many.

Douglas County Judge Mike Malone on Thursday dismissed two lawsuits filed against City Hall over its refusal to allow a Wal-Mart at Sixth Street and Wakarusa Drive.

Malone’s ruling didn’t suggest the city was justified in its refusal; instead, he said, duplicate lawsuits are allowed by law only in special circumstances. And five other cases are pending in the matter.

“I do not find this is an exceptional or unique circumstance,” Malone said Thursday afternoon in his ruling from the bench, “especially when there are the same or common issues with the other cases.”

Wal-Mart and 6Wak Land Investments LLC, a partnership of Lawrence developers Bill Newsome and former City Commissioner Doug Compton, are suing the city for its refusal to allow the proposed 132,000-square-foot store — and an unidentified restaurant — at Sixth and Wakarusa.

The city argues that Wal-Mart is a department store prohibited by the site’s zoning. Wal-Mart and 6Wak say it is an allowable variety store.

The two suits dismissed Thursday challenged the city’s plan to charge 6Wak nearly $1 million in special assessments for the construction of Congressional and Overland drives, two new streets that run adjacent to the site. 6Wak attorneys said they shouldn’t have to pay because City Hall didn’t allow construction.

Scott Beeler, the Overland Park attorney representing City Hall, told Malone the two cases contained no issues that wouldn’t be resolved in the remaining five lawsuits.

“I think we all agree that it’s the same piece of property, on the same corner,” Beeler said.

And he said that 6Wak’s land still benefited from the street construction. The landowners, he said, are free to develop in another manner appropriate to the zoning.

6News video: Court dismisses two Wal-Mart lawsuits City to pay Wal-Mart legal fees (8-19-04) Hearings set in Wal-Mart lawsuits (6-24-04) Seventh lawsuit filed over Wal-Mart dispute (4-24-04) Rezoning rolls back size limits for sites at Sixth and Wakarusa (3-17-04) More stories about Wal-Mart

“They want to take their ball and go home because they aren’t being allowed to build what they want,” he said.

6Wak attorney Mary Jo Shaney, of Kansas City, Mo., said the special assessment lawsuits were filed after four of the other cases had been filed. The plaintiffs were trying to preserve their right to challenge all the city’s actions, she said.

“6Wak isn’t sitting out there … saying, ‘Gee, I wish I had some more lawsuits to file,'” Shaney said.

She added that, without permission to build, 6Wak gets no benefit from the new streets.

“As you can see, your honor, these are pretty roads to nowhere,” Shaney said.

Both sides have pleaded poverty. City officials have said the city was paying $45,000 a year for interest payments out of taxpayer wallets until the special assessments were resolved. Shaney countered Thursday that 6Wak is paying $30,000 a month in interest on debt for the west Lawrence land, with no way to produce income.

Malone, however, sided with City Hall this round.

“The fundamental issues of the case remain,” Newsome said afterward.

Hearings in the cases resume next week. Malone will listen to arguments on how much of 6Wak’s legal fees City Hall should pay from an early round in the legal battle. That hearing will be 9 a.m. Sept. 3.