San Juan County Superior Court Judge Kathryn Loring ruled in favor of the Eastsound Water Users Association after hearing arguments on July 3 in a lawsuit brought by Mike Parnell under Farm to Market LLC.
The lawsuit alleged that the director’s election last fall was unsanctioned and, therefore, all seats should be vacated and the election held again. It also called for all decisions made from the election date of Nov. 15, 2023, to be disregarded.
After hearing from the plaintiff’s attorney, Carla Higginson, and the defendant’s attorney, Rochelle Doyea of Cairncross and Hempelmann, for close to two hours, Loring said she would exercise her right to a “closer look” at the documentation and offer a written decision at a later date.
Loring issued her written ruling on Aug. 21. She granted defendant EWUA’s motion for summary judgment and denied plaintiff Farm to Market’s motion for summary judgment. The plaintiff’s motion to compel answers to interrogatories was denied as “moot.” A summary judgment is a pretrial motion that allows a court to issue a judgment for one party against the other without a full trial. Loring’s judgment was ruled with prejudice, which means that while it can be appealed, additional lawsuits on the same topic cannot be brought to the court.
The lawsuit stems from an issue in the fall of 2023 when two candidates were on the EWUA ballot instead of three. The error occurred because Clyde Duke returned to the board via an appointment once his elected term had expired, so he should have been up for re-election. The board made public notice of the mistake. Farm to Market filed a lawsuit against EWUA to stop the election on Nov. 8, 2023 and Judge Loring denied the motion the following day.
“The board later determined that the most appropriate remedy for the situation would be to appoint the third-place candidate to the vacated seat,” said EWUA board chair Teri Nigretto. “All parties seemingly agreed with that outcome, and we did not hear any dissent on the topic until months later on March 18, 2024 (when the current lawsuit was filed).”
After the July 3 hearing and while Loring deliberated on her ruling, Farm to Market took EWUA to court again on July 30 to require the association to provide additional confidential customer information, including voting history, as part of a discovery motion related to the lawsuit. Judge Loring denied the motion.
On July 28, Smith announced he had initiated a recall process for four of the seven EWUA directors. According to the bylaws, when this happens, EWUA must hold a special meeting for its members to vote. It will be on Sept. 28 from 5-7 p.m. at Orcas Center.
According to Smith’s statement, “The purpose of the member meeting will be for the members to determine if Jim Nelson, Teri Nigretto, Mike Cleveland and Leith Templin should be retained or recalled as Directors of EWUA.”
On Aug. 9, Parnell, current EWUA board members Carol Anderson, Jim Cook and Ron Claus and former board members Tenar Hall and Steve Smith filed another lawsuit to set requirements for how EWUA prepares for next month’s recall process. Judge Loring denied an initial restraining order filed in conjunction with that suit. A hearing date has not yet been set for the lawsuit.
The cost to EWUA for legal proceedings from November 2023 to Aug. 2024 has totaled more than $100,000, including lawyers’ fees and staff time.
“This has been very stressful on our amazing staff most of all, so we are glad that at least this one lawsuit is resolved once and for all,” said EWUA General Manager Dan Burke.
