> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.richmonder.org/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # In joint statement, Squirrels owner and Thalhimer developer say they ‘regret’ incident at CarMax Park - URL: https://www.richmonder.org/in-joint-statement-squirrels-owner-and-thalhimer-developer-say-they-regret-incident-at-carmax-park/ - Published: 2026-11-09T21:21:30.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-09T21:21:30.000Z - Description: “Mr. DiBella and Mr. Guillot regret the opening night incident and the dispute that followed.” - Author: Graham Moomaw - Tags: Local News, #lead With a defamation lawsuit settled out of court, Richmond Flying Squirrels owner Lou DiBella and local developer Jason Guillot have released a joint statement saying they both regret a verbal fight they had on opening night at CarMax Park. That dispute went public when DiBella sued Guillot and his company, Thalhimer Realty Partners, in May. The lawsuit alleged the encounter had fueled the false and defamatory notion that DiBella threatened physical violence against Guillot and his family. The joint statement the two men released doesn’t include any direct apologies and makes no mention of money changing hands as part of the settlement, It does, however, say DiBella made no physical threats. “Mr. DiBella and Mr. Guillot regret the opening night incident and the dispute that followed,” the statement reads. “The parties want to take this opportunity to clarify that Mr. DiBella did not physically threaten Mr. Guillot or his family. To the extent Mr. Guillot perceived any threat, it was a threat of litigation.” With the lawsuit resolved, the statement indicates the two sides will have nothing more to say on the matter. “The parties have agreed to amicably resolve the pending litigation in federal court so that everyone can focus on their respective businesses,” the statement says. DiBella’s defamation suit was one of the first signs of the tension and hostility that has loomed over Richmond’s construction of a new minor-league baseball stadium as part of the larger Diamond District development project. Before the first game was played, DiBella and Thalhimer had been feuding over a small parcel of land near the ballpark. DiBella had been trying to [buy the parcel](https://richmondbizsense.com/2026/06/18/emails-squirrels-owners-offered-1-75m-for-disputed-parcel-beside-carmax-park-thalhimer-wanted-3m/) and add it to the stadium footprint, but the suit alleged Thalhimer was planning to build a sports bar there that could compete with the stadium’s concession stands. That was the context for the confrontation that occurred at the ballpark on April 7. When DiBella and Guillot saw each other in the hallway, an argument began over the disputed parcel. At one point, the lawsuit claimed, Guillot asked if DiBella was going to hit him. According to DiBella’s filing, the Squirrels owner replied with an “approximate quote” from the 1982 film “Diner,” saying he’d never hit Guillot “but if I did hit you, I’d hit you so hard, I’d hurt your whole family.” Guillot and other Thalhimer personnel wrote up their own memo on what happened. The memo said DiBella threatened to “bitch slap” Guillot. Despite those alleged comments, the statement resolving the suit says Guillot didn’t interpret them as literal threats of violence. The memo also says DiBella’s small dog was running at large in the ballpark and bit Maritza Pechin, Thalhimer’s director of development, on the hand. [Lou DiBella’s dog bit Diamond District developer on Flying Squirrels opening night, according to account from Thalhimer execsTwo of the top leaders behind Richmond’s Diamond District project gave their account of a confrontation with Richmond Flying Squirrels owner Lou DiBella, portraying the baseball team’s owner as “out of line” as he threatened to put the developers “out of business.”![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/99/06/99067822-fdfd-42b1-ab19-555c33eefb89/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-1-817f117a-9812-43df-b676-e71c530a924e.png)The RichmonderMichael Phillips![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/99/06/99067822-fdfd-42b1-ab19-555c33eefb89/content/images/thumbnail/040726_CarMaxPark_OpeningDay27-1-b5751bd2-4878-45c1-a8e9-c53f575dbbe5.jpg)](https://www.richmonder.org/lou-dibellas-dog-bit-diamond-district-developer-on-flying-squirrels-opening-night-according-to-account-from-thalhimer-execs-2/) Thalhimer filed that memo with the city, and DiBella received a call from Richmond economic development director Angie Rodgers about the incident at the ballpark. Guillot and Thalhimer disputed the claim DiBella had been defamed, arguing his own account of the evening shows he acted in a threatening manner. In an initial order last month, a federal judge allowed DiBella’s lawsuit to proceed, while expressing clear displeasure with it. U.S. District Judge David Novak called DiBella’s conduct “boorish.” “All parties here would be better served by resolving their disputes at the bargaining table rather than dragging the Court into their sophomoric soap opera,” Novak wrote in an order ruling DiBella had cleared initial legal hurdles that are designed to be deferential to the party bringing the suit. Though the defamation case appears to be over, Navigators Baseball, the parent company of the Flying Squirrels, has a second lawsuit pending against city officials in Richmond Circuit Court. That suit alleges the Diamond District project has shifted so much the city has essentially failed to deliver on its promises and has hurt the team’s ability to do business. The city has denied that claim. *Contact Reporter Graham Moomaw at* [*gmoomaw@richmonder.org*](mailto:gmoomaw@richmonder.org)