Lawsuit filed against developer
By DANA DUGAN
Express Staff Writer
Ron Achs, a Sun Valley resident and a principal in a
mega-hog farm proposal, has been sued for allegedly bouncing a check he
wrote to rent Hailey office space.
The suit, filed Jan. 23 in Fifth District Court in Hailey,
claims Sun Valley Agribusiness Partners LLC, of which Achs is the owner of
record, wrote a check on a closed account and defaulted on a lease
agreement with Pine Street Stations Partners of Hailey.
Achs is also the manager and a shareholder of Big Sky
Farming Group, the developer of a controversial confined animal feed
operation proposed for a site near Burley in Cassia County.
According to the lawsuit, a $50,000 check had been
provided by Achs to plaintiff Pine Street Station Partners, in whose
building Achs agreed to rent an office with an option to purchase. The
check covered a $25,000 security deposit and $25,000 for the purchase
option. Written on an account at the First Bank of Idaho, the check was
returned due to insufficient funds.
The account at First Bank of Idaho was closed, but not by
"action of Sun Valley Agribusiness," said Achs’ Chicago
attorney Anthony Nascharr.
The complaint also states that Achs failed to pay January
rent as well as other expenses, which totaled $12,500.
According to Nascharr, there is an ongoing lease dispute
between his client and Pine Street Station, based on a "failure of
conditions in the lease." Nasharr declined to divulge what that
dispute entails.
Pine Street Station Partners’ attorney is Gary Slette of
Twin Falls. He is also the attorney for the Cassia County Coalition, a
group formed to oppose the proposed Big Sky Farming Group hog farm.
Slette said, however, that he was not hired by the
plaintiffs because of his Cassia County connection, and has known Eric
Alberdi, a managing partner, with Gale Pooley, of Pine Street Station
Partners, since before the Cassia County issue evolved. He said that when
the $50,000 check allegedly bounced, Alberdi waited for some time before
contacting Slette "because he was told the check would be made
good."
Achs’ company, Sun Valley Agribusiness Partners, is one
of several shareholders in Big Sky Farming Group. Sun Valley Futures is
also one of Achs’ businesses.
Nascharr said "local counsel" will deal with the
lawsuit, but declined to reveal that attorney’s name.
One of Achs’ partners in the Big Sky Farming Group is
Clair Bosen, of Bosen Partnership, LLC, in Preston, Idaho.
"Achs is a player like everyone of us is," Bosen
said Monday in a phone interview.
He also made it clear the civil suit has nothing to do
with Achs position with Big Sky, and that it would not affect its
finances.
The Cassia County Planning and Zoning Commission held
hearings two weeks ago about the proposal, but has not yet ruled on
whether to grant Big Sky the necessary permits.
