New details have emerged and another defendant has been added in a lawsuit initiated by Brunswick County residents against the town of Leland and a property owner behind a new development.
The legal battle involving the Seaward Pointe project
took a turn after parties agreed to submit disputes over access rights and roadway improvements to private discussions, putting major portions of the lawsuit against the town on hold.Separating U.S. 74/76 and the Compass Pointe community is roughly 150 acres owned by Dominion Land Group Owner Nathan Sanders, under two companies, "WGTRACT6 LLC" and "WGTRACT10B LLC." Defendants listed in the initial lawsuit include the town of Leland, Leland Town Council, and WGTRACT6, LLC and WGTRACT10B, LLC, abbreviated
as "WG parties."
The town of Leland earlier this year annexed and zoned the property, and approved a 25-year development agreement between the town and Seaward Development Company, LLC, to make way for the multi-family and shopping center project named "Seaward Pointe." Prior to the agreement, Compass Pointe community members requested the agreement be postponed until the developer demonstrates legal authority to construct all required roadway and infrastructure improvements.
In June 2026, the Compass Pointe Masters Association filed a lawsuit to Brunswick County Superior Court stemming from a private easement dispute. The suit claims the town unlawfully and unfairly approved the rezoning and development agreement.
According to the filed complaint, Compass Pointe property owners legally possess property rights, including easement rights, and "appurtenant rights" benefiting the property. The complaint states the residents will be negatively impacted by the rezoning and project - putting properties, property interests, roadway access and traffic conditions at risk. In addition, the complaint notes the "intense development" allowed by the rezoning fails to address the environmental impacts to existing wildlife, consider areas prone to flooding and more.
A central issue throughout the litigation has been whether developers possess sufficient rights under a longstanding easement agreement to use, widen, improve and modify Compass Pointe East Wynd, the roadway serving as an access point to the area.
The association requested the court determine that the property owners possess vested easement and property rights for Compass Pointe East Wynd and that the rezoning and development approvals be invalidated. They argued the applicants lack "sufficient legal rights" to modify the easement without their consent.
The WG parties filed a third-party complaint and motion in July asking the court to force arbitration between themselves and CP Brunswick, LLC, as the owner of Compass Pointe East Wynd who signed an easement agreement in 2009.
The agreement included a mandatory arbitration clause.
Though CP Brunswick signed the agreement, they allegedly transferred ownership of Compass Pointe East Wynd from U.S. 74/76 to the community gate to the association and filed a motion to dismiss their involvement, claiming Compass Pointe as the successor under the easement agreement.
On Aug. 25, Compass Point followed the motions with an amended complaint. The amended complaint still places the access road at the center of the dispute, claiming Seaward Pointe cannot lawfully be built as approved because required transportation improvements exceed rights granted under the easement agreement.
After parties agreed, a consent order was signed on Sept. 11 requiring Compass Pointe Master Association and the WG parties submit disputes under the easement agreement to binding arbitration in Wilmington. However, the order pauses the claims against Leland and motions filed by CP Brunswick, further action pending resolution of arbitration.
The order requires the parties participate in mediation within 30 days before arbitration. Arbitration must conclude within 60 days unless the parties agree otherwise, according to the order.
Arbitration could decide whether Seaward Pointe can use Compass Pointe East Wynd the way developers planned, as discussions are to include: interpretation and scope of easement rights, rights involving Compass Pointe East Wynd, whether roadway widening and improvements are permitted, and whether the developers' proposed infrastructure is allowed under the easement agreement.
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Savanna Tenenoff covers Brunswick County for the StarNews. Reach her at stenenoff@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: New details emerge in Compass Pointe lawsuit in Leland | Exclusive
