The president of Ann Arbor-based Thomas More Law Center will speak at an event Aug. 8 billed as a "Community Legal Briefing" on the controversial sale of Farmington Public Schools' Eagle Elementary School building to the Islamic Cultural Center (ICA) of Franklin.

According to a flyer for the event, speakers will include Mt. Clemens attorney Robert Davis, who represents plaintiffs in a civil suit over the sale, and Richard Thompson, president and chief counsel for Thomas More Law Center, which has asked Attorney General Bill Schuette to investigate the transaction. The Center's trial counsel Erin Mersino will also attend. 

Plans for the "Muslim Cultural Center of West Bloomfield", including a mosque and social/banquet center, go before the West Bloomfield Township planning commission on Aug. 14. The property is located in the northwest corner of 14 Mile and Middlebelt Roads. 

Farmington school officials approved the building sale last June, following a contentious board meeting that brought out both opponents and proponents of the sale. Officials have repeatedly affirmed that they acted in accordance with the district's policies in accepting the ICA's $1.1 million offer. 

Plaintiffs in the lawsuit charge that the district approved the sale without an "open and public" process or appraisal, and without obtaining competitive bids or evaluating the impact on surrounding neighborhoods.

In requesting the attorney general investigation, the Thomas More Law Center alleges corruption and bribery in connection with the sale, charges vehemently denied by trustees Howard Wallach and Karen Bolsen at a recent Farmington school board meeting. 

To reserve a seat at the Aug. 8 meeting, RSVP to care4eagle@gmail.com. The Aug. 14 planning commission meeting, held at West Bloomfield Town Hall, 4550 Walnut Lake Rd., starts at 7:30 p.m. and is open to the public.