A new lawsuit has been filed against the Summit Water Company. The plaintiff, the MacMillian Marital Trust, is alleging that the water company is trying to block them from voting, though they hold Class A shares in the company.
The new lawsuit in Third District Court has some similarities to the legal fight between the water company and the Saunders Trust, where the family members of company founder Hy Saunders say they are being prevented from voting their shares.
The MacMillian trust says it owns over 225 “A” shares, originally issued to John MacMillian, a prominent landowner in the Basin who is now deceased. The Trust says it has voted those shares for over a decade.
The lawsuit says that, from 2016 to this year, Summit Water scheduled at least three shareholder meetings and did not send notices to the MacMillian Trust, as they had done before for many years. They also didn’t give any notice that the Trust’s voting rights were to be changed.
Now, says the suit, the MacMillian A shares are classified as “Purportedly Restricted” The suit alleges it is either unclear the company understands those shares have voting rights, or Summit Water is trying to invalidate those rights.
The suit is asking the court to void the restrictions set by the water company, and also requesting an injunction, since Summit Water’s board supposedly has indicated it will hold a shareholders meeting in the next few weeks.
Contacted by KPCW, Summit Water President Andy Garland said in an e-mail they will take the appropriate action to defend against the suit.
