​​​​BRIGHTON, N.Y. — ​After nearly five years of legal combat, there's a light at the end of the tunnel for the Brighton Whole Foods Project.

The last of 23 lawsuits against the project developers from local community groups was denied this week. State Supreme Court Justice J. Scott Odorisi ruled the groups' claims of the project interfering with access to the Auburn Trail, a nearby stretch of public walkway, were unjustified, citing the multiple businesses that used the project's location in years past.

Even with the verdict decided, the case still has room to go into the court of appeals.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Brighton Grassroots, one of the community groups suing the developers had this to say:

"This verdict was always headed to an appeals court, regardless of who won. We now look forward to quickly moving to the next phase of this litigation, where we believe we have very strong arguments."