For the week of November 19 - 24, 2003

Warm Springs Ranch case heading to trial

Competing parties agree
to protect restaurant

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By GREGORY FOLEY
Express Staff Writer

Two development groups vying for uncontested control of Warm Springs Ranch in Ketchum agreed last week to leave the property’s restaurant and golf course businesses intact until a trial determines who will be awarded ownership.

The Warm Springs Ranch Restaurant, seen here from the west bank of Warm Springs Creek, will remain operational this winter as two competing parties vie for ownership of the ranch property. Express photo by Willy Cook

Facing off in 5th District Court in Hailey on Thursday, Nov. 13, attorneys for Sun Valley Ventures and Warm Springs Ranch and Restaurant LLC agreed to a preliminary injunction that will guarantee no changes will be made to Warm Springs Ranch Restaurant "until a final judgment has been ordered in the case."

Judge Daniel B. Meehl, sitting in for Judge James May, signed the injunction before ordering that a trial for the case be commenced on Feb. 2, 2004.

 

Rivals dispute contract

At issue is the future of the approximately 76-acre Warm Springs Ranch property, located northwest of Ketchum along Warm Springs Creek.

Sun Valley Ventures, a limited liability company that in March acquired title to Warm Springs Ranch for $12 million, is competing for outright ownership of the property with Warm Springs Ranch and Restaurant, whose principals claim Sun Valley Ventures illegally interfered with their July 2002 contract to buy the site.

Sun Valley Ventures is a California-based company that is owned principally by Erwin D. Mieger and Robert Bisno. Ketchum resident Henry Dean is general counsel and project director for the company.

Warm Springs Ranch and Restaurant is an Idaho-based company that is owned principally by Ketchum residents Steve Roth and George W. Tischer.

 

Opposing lawsuits filed

The ownership debate came to a head on June 11, when Sun Valley Ventures filed a civil complaint in 5th District Court against Warm Springs Ranch and Restaurant, alleging that Tischer committed "fraud" and "materially breached" elements of his July 2002 contract to purchase the property from the owners, the Simpson Family Limited Partnership.

The July 2002 agreement to purchase the property for $12 million allowed Tischer until July 1, 2003, to close the deal. However, Mieger and Sun Valley Ventures in March negotiated to purchase the property—with any binding obligations to the July 2002 contract—for $12 million from the Simpson family.

The Sun Valley Ventures suit demands a declaration that that the contract issued to Tischer in July 2002 be declared "void," and seeks unspecified monetary damages.

 

Roth files suit

On June 12, attorneys for Warm Springs Ranch and Restaurant filed a separate civil complaint against Sun Valley Ventures alleging that the company "breached their obligation" to the same contract.

The Roth group’s suit also demanded an injunction to prevent any changes or improvements being made to the property. A temporary restraining order was issued by the court to prevent any modifications to the site until the court ruled on the proposed injunction.

The complex and somewhat–bizarre situation surrounding the ownership of the property became more complicated last Thursday, when Roth’s lawyers agreed to an injunction that technically allows Sun Valley Ventures to make changes to the property if the golf course and restaurant businesses are maintained as they currently exist.

 

Parties await trial

Dean said he is generally satisfied with the injunction agreement, noting that Sun Valley Ventures is "committed to saving" the Warm Springs Ranch Restaurant. "I’ll be sitting down with the owners and we will discuss how we want to proceed with our plans," Dean said. "Of course, we will proceed."

Steve Hardesty, attorney for Roth and Warm Springs Ranch and Restaurant, said his clients are "comfortable" that the injunction is sufficient to assure the "status quo" is maintained on the property until the case is resolved.

Hardesty alleged Thursday that Sun Valley Ventures not only "bought the property out from under Warm Springs Ranch and Restaurant," but also that the rival company violated the "first right to purchase" the property held by restaurant and golf course business owner Bob Dunn.

Dean said Friday that Dunn—who has aligned himself with the Roth group—was allowed ample opportunity to buy the property. Dean added that Sun Valley Ventures intends to allow Dunn to operate the restaurant without complications. "It’s just business as usual," he said.

 

Tischer testifies

The injunction hearing last week perhaps provided a hint at the type of testimony that could be brought forth during the February trial.

On the stand Thursday, Tischer was aggressively cross-examined by Sun Valley Ventures attorney Keith Roark. Roark repeatedly questioned Tischer about a loan agreement designed to establish Tischer and Mieger as business partners in a planned Warm Springs purchase in 2002.

In concluding the proceedings Thursday, Meehl ruled that the two opposing 5th District Court cases would be consolidated into one case in which Warm Springs Ranch and Restaurant will be the plaintiff.

Dean said a Sun Valley Ventures suit filed against Tischer and his company on April 11 in U.S. District Court in Boise remains active, with its own trial date set in 2004.

 

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