The Summit County Council agreed last week to a settlement with the Utah Local Governments Trust for about $1.6 million. That money is expected to fund the County Council through the remainder of its lawsuit with Summit Water Distribution Company.
One decade ago, Summit Water sued the Summit County Commission alleging the county was requiring developers to use the county-controlled Mountain Regional Water company instead of Summit Water as a condition for approval.
One year ago, the county’s insurer, Utah Local Governments Trust, sued Summit County alleging the nature of the case did not qualify for coverage.
Summit County has used the trust to pay its legal fees since the case began, but last year the trust argued that the allegations were different from what was originally agreed upon.
David Thomas, an attorney for the county, said Monday that the disagreement was over a technicality.
The trust wanted to base its decision for coverage on the allegations of the plaintiff instead of the position of the defendant, he said.
“Certainly the trust is an insurance carrier, and at times acts like an insurance carrier, and they don’t like to cover things if they don’t think they have to,” he said.
Essentially the lawsuit with Summit Water is an antitrust case, he explained.
“What they’re looking at is setting a precedent for other insurers in the trust. It’s a matter of precedent for them to defend an antitrust case, or not,” Thomas added.
The county was confident in its position but agreed to settle to avoid the cost of litigation with the trust at the same time as the legal case with Summit Water.
The $1.6 million is the estimated cost of continuing the litigation to completion, Thomas said. That time frame is estimated at between 18 and 24 months.
One reason the suit has taken so long is scheduling with the court, he said. The case is expected to be ready for trial soon, but the 3rd District Court schedules cases months in advance.
The county has entertained offers to settle in the past, but is confident of winning in a trial.
According to previous coverage in The Park Record, Summit Water alleges an individual was forced to sign with Mountain Regional Water to gain approval for a development. Thomas said that individual has disputed the claim. The county’s position is that no antitrust activity took place.
The Utah Local Governments Trust and Summit Water were contacted for comment, but no one was available.
Summit Water and Mountain Regional Water are companies that deliver water to businesses and residents. The county created Mountain Regional Water. Summit Water claims to have lower prices and superior service.