"Obstruction of justice" is what O'Neill's attorneys called it in a motion filed earlier this month in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court.
"More bluster piled upon bluster" is what the bank's attorneys called it in a response filed Friday.
So on Wednesday, the parties will head again to the courtroom of Common Pleas Senior Judge Albert W. Sheppard Jr.
In a brief interview Friday, Sheppard said he was disappointed by that, calling the legal expenditures involved to sustain the continuing volley of charges "bad money after good."
"They have to do what they have to do," Sheppard said with a sigh.
He emphasized that though allegations of obstruction of justice were typically criminal in nature, in this instance "it's not a criminal matter."
Neither side would comment for this article.
Meanwhile, O'Neill's $700 million Uptown Worthington retail-office-residential development in Malvern remains largely unfinished - and the payroll for O'Neill Properties Group L.P. is down to 75, from 150 when the recession hit in late 2007.
His battle with Citizens is a high-profile split, ending what had been a symbiotic relationship of eight years and more than $180 million in bank financing for O'Neill projects. Then the economic crisis hit, and banks lost their lending nerve. O'Neill has alleged that Citizens, Citizens Financial Group, and their parent, Royal Bank of Scotland Group P.L.C., breached significant financial commitments to him, destroying or seriously harming some projects.
