On August 11 the Court entered an order setting the future of the case. The content of the order and the schedule were agreed to in a motion filed by Cardel.
You will recall that
- Green Mountain won the case on a summary judgment motion
- The Court of Appeals sent the case back because they needed more facts to support the decision
- There were plenty of facts to provide in support of the motion that were either missed by the Court or not provided by counsel
- Green Mountain has a new board that has not clearly asserted its position on extraterritorial service
- The question for Green Mountain was do we refile the summary judgment motion with the facts that will respond to the Court of Appeals’ concerns
- Or do we settle and provide service outside the district for Big Sky and Cardel
What the attorneys agreed to, and what the Judge signed as an order provide some insight into how Green Mountain’s new board is answering that question:
Here is the text of the Order referring to the plan for the case:
“The following deadlines apply in this case:
a. Discovery Cutoff: i. September 29, 2023.
b. Deadline for All Parties to Complete Mediation:
i. December 1, 2023.
c. Deadline to file summary judgment:
i. November 17, 2023.
d. Deadline to file motions challenging admissibility of expert testimony pursuant to CRE 702
i. 70 days before trial date.
e. Deadline to exchange draft of witness lists and exhibits lists, and copies of exhibits:
i. 35 days before trial date.
f. Last day to file pretrial motions, including motions in limine:
i. 35 days before trial date.
i. Last day for proponent to provide designation of preserved witness
testimony to other parties:
i. 28 days before trial date.
g. Last day for responsible party to file proposed trial management order:
i. 28 days before trial date.
h. Last day for responsible party to file trial briefs:
i. 14 days before trial date.
Further, the Court consolidates the three cases into one for a five-day bench trial to be set [April 8 – 12, 2024]”
And when the court says “bench trial” he means that there will be no jury.
And that is because Green Mountain decided to withdraw its jury demand as to cases where it was filed and withdraw its motion to have a jury trial as to the Big Sky case.
That was a very significant concession – the last thing Big Sky wanted was to try this case to a jury of residents. They strongly opposed Green Mountain’s right to a jury trial and Green Mountain has now given it up without a fight.
Unclear why.
Green Mountain had a right to a jury trial and on August 11, it gave up that right. Unclear what it got in exchange. Now the judge, not a jury of residents, will make the final decision if the case is not dismissed again or settled.
Here is what Green Mountain said, speaking through the motion filed by Cardel’s attorney:
“IV. GREEN MOUNTAIN’S WITHDRAWAL OF JURY TRIAL DEMANDS AND JOINT REQUEST TO CONSODLIATE TRIALS AND SET BENCH TRIAL SPRING 2024
Green Mountain withdraws its opposition to Big Sky’s Motion to Strike Jury Demand and
has withdrawn its jury trial demand.
Therefore, the parties respectfully jointly request this Court consolidate the three cases into one for trial and that this Court set a bench trial in the late spring of 2024, the Court’s calendar permitting.
The Parties believe the bench trial can be completed in five days. The request to consolidate these trials is made in the interest of judicial economy. Having one trial will maximize the efficient resolution of this dispute and bring this matter to a uniform and expedient conclusion.”
The other significant concession was the tight discovery deadline. September 29
Green Mountain had several depositions to take before it was ready for trial and none are scheduled, at least according to the file. Interrogatories have been filed (the content is not public). Perhaps they are planning to schedule depositions before the end of the month.
Mediation – another settlement attempt – which is what Cardel and Big Sky really want.
Mediation is set to be completed by December 1, 2023. It will be interesting to see whether or not the new board considers settling with a new IGA and extra territorial service without a public hearing and input from the residents.
Finally, there is an opportunity to file a renewed motion for summary judgment by November 17, 2023.
This is the track Green Mountain was on with its win and then the Court of Appeals sending the case back for more facts. There are plenty of facts to respond to the Court of Appeals’ concerns and seal the win.
It will be interesting to see how the new Green Mountain board handles this opportunity.
Here are the recent documents:
2023-08-04 13-59-27 Joint Motion to Reset Case Deadlines
John Henderson