It appears that a bitter legal battle over the 2003 sale of Warm Springs Ranch could go to trial next month.
In a hearing this week in 5th District Court, Judge Robert Elgee ruled that he would not postpone a Jan. 31, 2005 trial date to resolve the case. However, Elgee said he would consider postponing the trial if attorneys for one of the litigants, George W. Tischer, can prove that a health ailment Tischer is suffering warrants a delay.
"This case has gone on long enough," Elgee said in his ruling on Monday, Nov. 29.
At issue is a longstanding dispute between Tischer and the members of the Sun Valley Ventures development group, based in Ketchum and California.
In 2002, a limited liability company formed by Tischer held a contract to purchase the 77-acre Warm Springs Ranch property, north of downtown Ketchum.
In early 2003, Sun Valley Ventures purchased the property, prompting allegations from Tischer that his contract was violated. Meanwhile, Sun Valley Ventures claimed that Tischer had violated his own contract and could not assert any ownership interests.
In November 2003, Tischer's onetime business partner, Steve Roth, signed a court-approved settlement agreement that acknowledged Sun Valley Ventures is the owner of the property.
In addition, the agreement made Roth a partner of the Sun Valley Ventures ownership group. Tischer was excluded from having ownership in Warm Springs Ranch.
Sun Valley Ventures later offered Tischer approximately $140,000 to close all disputes over any monetary interests Tischer might hold in the property. Tischer declined the offer and has alleged that the agreement Roth made with Sun Valley Ventures is not valid.
The court set a Jan. 31, 2005 trial date to resolve the dispute over whether Tischer should be awarded monetary damages or any interest in the property.
On Monday, Tischer attorney Bruce Jones argued that the trial should be postponed until June because Tischer is recovering from emergency brain surgery performed last month. He said Tischer's speech and his thought process are "impaired."
Elgee declined the request but said he would review the matter during a hearing on Dec. 16, when Sun Valley Ventures will ask for a "summary judgment" that would limit the scope of the trial.
"We're asking the court to determine, as matter of law, that Tischer has no interest in the real estate," said Henry Dean, project director for Sun Valley Ventures. "It would limit the issue to monetary damages."
In asking for the summary judgment, Sun Valley Ventures attorney Keith Roark argued that the November 2003 settlement agreement that declared Sun Valley Ventures as the rightful owner of the Warm Springs property is "valid and binding" and cannot legally be disputed by Tischer.
Elgee is expected to make a final determination about the summary judgment and the trial date at the Dec. 16 hearing.
