The first of five cases pending in the dispute to build a SuperWalmart and Sam’s Club on Rothrock Road in Copley Township will go to court Wednesday.Fairlawn, which stands to lose both businesses, has taken steps to make the developers’ plans more difficult by planning to build a gate system on the other end of the street. The system would limit access to the southern portion of the road just west of Sawgrass Drive.A hearing for a preliminary injunction will be heard at 1 p.m. Wednesday by Summit County Common Pleas Judge Allison McCarty.Copley Township filed for the injunction to stop Fairlawn from installing the gate system, saying it would limit access through the gate to a small number of people and would affect traffic in several adjoining neighborhoods.There are four cases in Summit County Common Pleas Court and one in the Ninth District Court of Appeals.The case being heard Wednesday also involves a counterclaim by LRC Development Co. against plaintiffs West Market Plaza Limited Partnership and the Summit County engineer challenging the validity and enforceability of a settlement agreement. The developer alleges that the settlement agreement imposes restrictions on traffic that would make development impossible.The other cases:• Fairway Park Properties is suing the developers for injunctive relief and challenges whether the proposed development fits the zoning requirement for that particular commercial district.• The West Market Plaza wants the Summit County Engineer and Planning Commission to evaluate the proposed development as a major subdivision and prevent Copley from issuing a zoning certificate challenging its zoning laws.• Copley Township is suing the city of Fairlawn for its plan to install a gate across Rothrock Road that would limit access through the gate to only a limited number of people.• Kevin Woodman, a Fairlawn resident, is suing the city of Fairlawn challenging the installation of the proposed Rothrock Road gate because it would limit access to residents.Several motions have been filed in response to the various suits.Fairlawn filed motions to dismiss both the Copley and Woodman suits for lack of standing and failure to state a claim.Fairlawn says the portion of Rothrock Road to be closed is entirely within the boundaries of the city and is a legislative act to further a valid public purpose.In the Woodman case, Fairlawn filed a motion to dismiss the suit, stating that Woodman is not acting in the public interest, but to advance his own private interest. Woodman is the vice president of development for Levey & Co., which is the company overseeing the Walmart project.The cases have been assigned to different judges. Copley has filed a motion to consolidate all the cases in Common Pleas Court and have them reassigned to one judge. It also wants the cases to be ruled on in a specific order.Fairlawn agrees the two road closing cases should be heard by the same judge for consistency but the cases should not be consolidated because they involve separate legal issues. The city also opposes the suggested order of cases to be heard, saying the city is not named in two of the cases.Fairlawn accuses Copley of trying to use a litigation tactic to delay a ruling in the road closing cases because the road improvement plans call for swift movement. Fairlawn wants to begin work this week so the project can be completed by November before the closing of the asphalt plants, which would drive up costs of the road project.Marilyn Miller can be reached at 330-996-3098 or mmiller@thebeaconjournal.com.