Barring future appeals, the lawsuit between Tooele City and the Aposhian Sod Farm reached final judgment in 3rd District Court on Friday.
In the ruling from Judge Matthew Bates, the total market value of the sod crop at the farm was determined to be $1.51 million. The city was also awarded $385,600.80 for attorney fees, breach of contract damages, waste damages, and holdover damages.
The net obligation for Tooele City is $1.13 million, which will be paid out in 10 equal annual installments under the Utah Governmental Immunity Act and the lease agreement, according to a Tooele City press release Tuesday afternoon.
“This dispute may not be over, as appeals may be taken by either party, but Tooele City is and always has been committed to honoring the commitments it made in the lease as they are finally determined by the Courts,” the release said. “The City believes that it will be able to make those annual payments without having to increase taxes or reduce the level of services it provides for its citizens.”
The lawsuit was originally tried before a jury in December 2016. The jury determined Tooele City proved Aposhian committed waste on the property of $137,000 and the market value of the sod crop was $2.77 million.
In December 2017, the court granted Tooele City’s motion for a new trial in regard to the sod crop value and determined the city suffered holdover damage and Aposhian had revenues totaling $942,719.45 in 2013, which offset the value of the sod crop at the end of the contract.
Then in May 2018, the court reversed its prior decision that Tooele City was entitled to offset the value of the sod crop with Aposhian’s total farming revenues in 2013.
A new trial on the sod crop issues occurred last December, with the court ruling the value of Aposhian’s sod crop was $1.51 million. In subsequent post-trial memoranda on Feb. 11 and Feb. 15, the court declined to reconsider or denied all requests to adjust the damage or attorney fee amounts.
The Tooele City Council approved the sale of the 1,784-acre sod farm, located near Vernon, for $1.3 million to Six Mile Ranch, Inc., of Grantsville, at its Dec. 5 meeting. The City will retain the farm’s certificated water right of 4,181 acre-feet (1.36 billion gallons) per year.
The City bought the farm for $810,000 in 1990 for future water development, according to resolution 2018-67, which approved and ratified the sale to Six Mile Ranch.
The lawsuit was originally filed in 3rd District Court in May 2013 and stemmed from conflicting interpretations of a 1998 lease agreement between the city and Aposhian.
The lease spells out terms between the city and Aposhian, with the sod farm company paying $30,000 per year to use the sod farm’s acreage and wells to grow and sell commercial sod.
The disagreement centered around the lease’s term, its termination clause, and how much sod crop buy-out the city owed at the lease’s termination.
