In an ironic twist, the lawsuit blamed for killing the West End Wal-Mart project was dismissed Friday — the same day the big-box retailer announced it had decided not to build in the retail-starved area.The two-page ruling from the Kentucky Court of Appeals said the plaintiffs who objected to the store’s design had failed to meet a filing deadline. It said Wal-Mart and the city had “strongly object(ed)” to an extension, and that the case was dismissed due to the plaintiffs’ failure to comply with civil procedure.

Appellate Judge Glenn E. Acree signed the order Friday, the same day Wal-Mart announced it would no longer pursue the $30 million project, which promised to bring about 300 jobs and retail options to the area.

Josh Abner, a spokesman for the Jefferson County Attorney’s Office, which represented the city in the suit, said his office only learned of the decision on Monday.

The appeals court does not notify litigants of its decisions through email or phone calls. The appeals court mailed its decision to the parties on Friday, according to its clerk’s office.

Teresa Bridgewaters, a partner in the development company that owns the old Philip Morris site at 18th Street and Broadway where the store would have been built, said Monday she plans to ask Wal-Mart to renew talks. “We won’t give up,” she said. “We will keep pushing forward. This is not about us. It is about the community.”

Wal-Mart spokeswoman Anne Hatfield said Monday that the company does not intend to pursue the project – in spite of the court ruling.

Chris Poynter, a spokesman for Mayor Greg Fischer, said Monday that the city asked Wal-Mart to reconsider but company leaders said the decision had already been made.

Litigation against the Wal-Mart was brought by OPEN Louisville Inc., Neighborhood Planning & Preservation, the Concerned Association of Russell Residents, West Louisville Talks and Women in Transition, along with several individuals. The group objected because the store, as designed, would not have been built to the Broadway curb, as the local development codes require.

Teresa Bridgewaters, who own the 15.5-acre site with her husband, Frank Bridgewaters, had said the store and its 621-space parking lot had to be set back a significant distance to fit Wal-Mart’s suburban style.

But residents Cassia Herron and Haven Harrington, two of the plaintiffs in the case, said in an editorial to the CJ that a compromise had been reached over the summer.

“We entertained a compromise presented to us that could have ended the lawsuit months ago; but, as powerful as the mayor portrays us to be, neither the county attorney nor Wal-Mart’s legal team kept us informed about whether there was any will to follow through to resolve the lawsuit,” they said.

Steve Porter, the attorney for the plaintiffs who sued over the Wal-Mart store’s design, said Monday that he had not seen the appellate court decision.

This story will be updated.

Reporter Sheldon S. Shafer contributed to this story.