Court: IAG case moves forward
At the Mono County Superior Courthouse in Mammoth on Thursday June 5, Judge Stan Eller moved Inland Aquaculture Group’s (IAG) case against Mono County along by ordering the independent witness, John Webb, to appear for his deposition on June 6.
IAG is asking for $1.6 million to settle the lawsuit with Mono County over the development of Conway Ranch. IAG invested money and infrastructure into the property before the County ran into grant restrictions preventing further development.
Eller opened the discussions by saying, “This case is another reminder why I practice criminal law instead of civil law.”
The lawsuit is still in the discovery phase whereby each side finds out about the other’s claims through depositions. There were depositions scheduled for June 3, 10, and 17, along with Webb’s on June 6, but they have been moved to July 29 and 30 for a variety of reasons.
Craig Englander, the attorney for IAG, updated the court on the deposition schedule before saying that he suspected a failure of appearance by Webb on June 6 “given his anxiety condition,” Englander said. “We’d like to accommodate the witness if we’re capable.” Webb was given notice of the deposition on May 31. Englander asked if they could push the deposition back to June 10.
When Eller asked Webb’s occupation, neither Englander or Mono County’s attorney T.D. Bolling could answer. At this point, Court Balliff Randy DesBaillets turned around and told the Judge that Webb owns Virginia Lakes Resort on Conway Summit.
“Well, he ought to just come on down to Mammoth tomorrow and get it over with,” Eller said.
“What I requested is that the deposition got postponed until I got my day off,” Webb said via telephone Thursday afternoon. He sent the request to postpone the deposition to both Englander and Bolling. While Englander thought it seemed reasonable, Bolling did not and came to Mono County for the deposition as planned.
Bolling, who is a partner at Bolling and Gawthorp law firm in Sacramento, agreed with Eller. “Why should we have to incur the expense for me to come back on the tenth?” he asked the courtroom. He told Eller that Englander’s plea was “a frivolous motion” and should be denied. He also asked Eller to impose sanctions on Webb if he failed to appear on June 6.
Eller “exercised discretion” and did not impose sanctions on Webb, although he did order him to appear Friday. Bolling said he expects the discovery phase to be over in mid-August so that the case can move forward.
