Utah
Why the Utah Supreme Court interfered in a school district’s land sale
The Utah Supreme Courtroom dominated in opposition to dismissing a lawsuit claiming Washington County Faculty District ought to have provided land to a enterprise it purchased the land from earlier than promoting it to another person, in an opinion issued on Thursday.
(Kristin Murphy, Deseret Information)
Estimated learn time: 2-3 minutes
SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Supreme Courtroom has dominated in favor of a southern Utah enterprise in a authorized dispute the place the enterprise claimed the Washington County Faculty District ought to have provided to promote land to the enterprise first, for the reason that district had bought the land from it below risk of eminent area.
This determination reverses a district court docket dismissal of the lawsuit.
The excessive court docket’s opinion, which was issued on Thursday, says Cardiff Wales LLC claims it initially bought a parcel of land to the Washington County Faculty District “to keep away from an eminent area lawsuit” that the varsity district had threatened.
On the time, Cardiff Wales had been planning to develop the property — about 24 acres in Washington Metropolis — and was working with the town to acquire permits to develop the land. The opinion mentioned the varsity district despatched a letter suggesting it might use eminent area to acquire the property if a sale didn’t happen.
A couple of decade after Washington County Faculty District acquired the property, the place it had thought-about constructing two colleges, it determined to promote it to a 3rd social gathering, the submitting mentioned. Cardiff Wales didn’t study in regards to the sale till after it was finalized and argued that it ought to have had the correct of first refusal to purchase the property again.
“Utah legislation requires a authorities entity to supply property acquired by condemnation or a risk of condemnation to the unique proprietor earlier than disposing of it,” the opinion explains.
The corporate filed a lawsuit, arguing that this legislation ought to apply. However a fifth District Courtroom choose dominated that there was by no means a risk of condemnation from an official physique on this occasion and dismissed the case.
Cardiff Wales appealed the choice and the Utah Courtroom of Appeals agreed with the district court docket’s determination, saying a risk of eminent area requires a authorities entity to “particularly authorize” the taking. The appeals court docket mentioned this required a vote to approve submitting an eminent area criticism.
However the Utah Supreme Courtroom reversed that call, saying Utah legal guidelines don’t help the appeals court docket’s interpretation of what it means to be “particularly approved.”
“The Courtroom of Appeals appropriately held that property will not be bought below a ‘risk of condemnation’ except the federal government entity particularly authorizes the usage of eminent area. The court docket of appeals erred, nonetheless, when it concluded {that a} authorities entity should approve the submitting of an eminent area criticism to particularly authorize the usage of condemnation,” the opinion states.
The choice sends the case again to the fifth District Courtroom to contemplate the case once more now that the case is now not dismissed.