SMVC tries to turn up the heat on timing of $50 million judgment

By Douglas McDaniel

Not resting on its $50 million jury award in Delta County, the San Miguel Valley Corporation is putting pressure on the Town to pickup the speed at which it makes payment to the court.
According to a brief filed by the SMVC’s Denver-based legal team on Tuesday, Feb. 20, in San Miguel County District Court, the Town should pay up in 44 days.
The brief states Town Attorney Kevin Geiger, at an instruction conference on Feb. 13, told the court the Town didn’t have the funds to pay the judgment. The document states the town’s request for 45 to 90 days to raise the funds is “excessive.”
In filing the brief, the SMVC attempted to cast doubt on the Town’s ability to raise the funds.
“Yet even now, after all these years, the Town still doesn’t have the money to pay for this condemnation,” states the brief filed by Patricia Campbell, an attorney for Otten, Johnson, Robinson, Neff & Ragonetti. “According to Mr. Geiger, the Town still needs approximately 45-90 days to raise the money, and even then it is not certain whether they will be able to raise enough money to pay the judgment. Indeed, reports after the trial indicate that the Town is still at least $16.5 million short.
“While the Town is legally entitled to a reasonable amount of time in which to deposit funds, 90 days is excessive. It is absolutely unprecedented for a condemning authority to pursue the acquisition of private property for seven years without ever having the money to pay for it.”
While Geiger refused to comment on any new developments Wednesday, during a Town Council meeting on Tuesday he said it would take 45 to 60 days for the public funding component.
However, the SMVC legal representation has asked for “a reasonable time limit of at most 44 days.”
The time limit is consistent with state requirements for condemnation cases, the SMVC argues.
“Forty-five days will allow the Town time to raise additional funds based on Mr. Geiger’s estimate, but will also allow the Respondents to make a reasoned decision about whether an appeal is necessary before the deadline to file a notice of appeal,” the brief states. “If the Town cannot deposit the funds by that time, this proceeding should be declared abandoned.”
The document concludes with one last stinging barb.“The jury’s verdict should be given its full effect. Respondents should not be penalized by the Town’s lack of planning and failure to act in good faith. The Town should therefore be required to either pay the full award or cease its years-long assault on this property.”