Millionaire fires back at TVA after feds sued him for trespassing

Allan Jones' boathouse is infringing on TVA's property, according to a complaint filed in federal court. The agency says that Jones has refused to remove the structures, despite being warned during construction that he was trespassing.

Allan Jones, owner of payday loan enterprise Check Into Cash, walks through the gathered crowd at the Hardwick Field maintenance hangar during an auction of the old Cleveland, Tenn., airport property. Jones bought most of the former airfield property.

TVA has sued Cleveland businessman W. Allan Jones for trespassing on its land, by building a dock, retaining wall, boat ramp and boathouse on property owned by the U.S. government, according to a complaint filed in federal court.

Jones, for his part, blamed TVA for the impasse.

"At TVA's choice, Bates Bend will now have to resolve this matter at great expense to the public and private citizens in Federal Court," he said in a statement. "Unfortunately, governmental entities operate in this fashion on occasion."

Jones' structures, built on the left descending bank of the Hiwassee River, are on property acquired by TVA in 1939, according to a copy of a deed attached to the complaint.

Jones, who is being sued along with his various corporate entities, "had no authority or permission from TVA to construct or cause the construction of the facilities," the agency said. In fact, TVA claims that it informed Jones before the facilities were complete that he was building on federal property, "yet defendants continued to construct and completed construction of the dock, retaining wall, boat ramp and boathouse," the agency wrote in the complaint. "Thus, defendants' actions in constructing the trespassing facilities were intentional and/or reckless."

TVA says that it has repeatedly asked Jones to remove the dock, but he has refused.

Jones is the founder of Cleveland, Tenn.-based Check Into Cash, and recently purchased Hardwick Clothes out of bankruptcy.

Read more in tomorrow's Times Free Press.