The Lundin farm includes about 120 acres near Wasatch Mountain State Park, and open space supporters have been working for five years to place it under a conservation easement.
Utah Open Lands says progress has been slow due to interfamily lawsuits and complicated negotiations with local governments.
Now, with one lawsuit dismissed, the end of the Lundin family’s legal battles and a finalized conservation agreement could be in sight.
Robert Fuller sued the Lundin Land Company for breach of contract in July 2024, alleging the Lundin siblings didn’t honor the right of first refusal agreement they made with him and Randy Lundin.
A right of first refusal means Fuller and Randy Lundin are entitled to match whatever sale price the other siblings put on the land.
Fourth District Court Judge Jennifer Mabey dismissed the lawsuit February 3, 2025. In her ruling, she wrote that a conservation easement includes the right to use the land – it’s not land ownership. Since the Lundins aren’t selling the land, Mabey said the right of first refusal doesn’t apply.
At a Midway City Council meeting April 16, Utah Open Lands Executive Director Wendy Fisher explained the ruling.
“There are several moments where it talks about the fact that the conservation easement would not trigger the right of first refusal because the property remains in the hands of the family,” she said.
She said the context of the lawsuit being dismissed meant that Utah Open Lands would need to work with everyone involved to revise the conservation agreement, which would take longer than they thought.
And some legal issues are still pending. In a separate lawsuit, some members of the Lundin family sued their relatives because they wanted to sell the land to a developer, while others wanted to keep it as farmland.
For that lawsuit, a status hearing is scheduled for June 10, also in 4th District Court.
Fisher asked the Midway City Council to keep money set aside for the easement until the end of June. Previously, she had hoped to have the agreement finalized by April 30.
“Everybody is still in the boat, if you will, at this point,” she said. “So that is why Utah Open Lands is here on behalf of this project: to request an extension from the April deadline to the end of June, so that we can work with city staff, county staff, and hopefully bring back to the council a fully ready to go purchase and sale agreement, and we can move forward and hopefully get this deal closed.”
There was also some question about whether federal dollars for the project are in jeopardy under the Trump administration’s funding cuts across a broad range of government programs. Fisher said a few months ago, Utah Open Lands learned a lot of grant funding had been frozen. Since then, some of the money has been reapproved, although uncertainty remains.
The Midway City Council approved extending the deadline to July 1. It’s pledged $1 million for the easement.
Wasatch County also promised to support preserving the farm. It approved $2 million in open space funds back in August 2022. Nearly three years later, Fisher said those funds remain committed to the land.
