Town sponsor Derek Anderson responded to the 3rd District Court lawsuit from 10 Kamas Valley landowners July 11.
He denies any wrongdoing during the process to form a new town between Kamas and Hideout over the past two years. Voters living within the 3,600-acre proposed boundaries of West Hills will choose whether to incorporate this November.
Anderson, a real estate attorney, further claims his actions were consistent with the rules set out in Utah’s incorporation law.
It’s the same argument made by attorneys for Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson, the other defendant named in the lawsuit because her office placed incorporation on the ballot.
Now the stage is set for Judge Matthew Bates to decide whether to strike down parts of that law, which the landowners opposed to West Hills claim is unconstitutional. They also want Bates to stop the incorporation election.
The 10 plaintiffs say some of them weren’t notified when they were included in town boundaries, some never got a chance to be excluded and others who are adjacent to the incorporation can’t vote on it — only the 47 voters within the final boundaries can.
In June, they asked for a summary judgement, which is an early ruling that could resolve the case before the November election.
A hearing on the request has yet to be scheduled.
Within his 17-page response, Anderson also restated his belief that Kamas City and Summit County officials have broken Utah law by speaking out about West Hills and says they should remain neutral in the run-up to November.
His attorneys sent cease-and-desist letters to the city and county threatening lawsuits over the neutrality issue earlier this year. County court records indicate they have yet to sue.
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