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post #31 of 46
3/31/12 at 1:12am
Quote:
Originally Posted by SportyandMisty View Post

I heard a radio interview with a Canyons exec; he claimed they found out they were being sued from the media, not from PCMR.  He says he was shocked & thought negotiations were progressing.

 

Separately, I think I read the long term lease PCMR was paying Talisker was something like $40K/year -- a pittance. 

 

I also read the land owned by Talisker underneath PCMR does not have separate access (it is land locked).  Not all of PCMR land is owned by Talisker; my impression from the article is that much less than half is owned by Talisker, but that is just an impression.

 

I ski Canyons, Deer Valley & PCMR quite a bit.  Canyons is a ton better than just a few years ago, putting a ton of emphasis on employee service & friendliness, and doing the right thing for custoemrs.  PCMR seems to have more employee turnover; friends who work there are not particularly happy. Deer Valley seems to have a larger percentage of learning skiiers on runs that I wish they would not be on, and it is home to over-groomed hardpack blue runs (kinda like concrete with a dusting of snow on top).

 

I'd rather ski both Canyons and Deer Valley; I ski PCMR every now and then for variety.  

 

 



The lease is around $155,000 per year per the media articles.  The best article I can find by a neutral third party is found here: http://skiingbusiness.com/12513/newswire/attorney-sheds-light-on-pcmr-talisker-lawsuit/  .  There is no question about how Canyons has changed for the better and there is no question that PCMR is a major employer with a lot of loyal employees who are nervously wondering what the heck is going on...but the issue here is about the lease (or lack thereof) and the reason why PCMR is asking for a declaratory judgement. 

 

Park City has three world-class ski resorts who want to link up with the four Cottonwood resorts to form an "Interconnect."  The resorts certainly aren't going to help their cause through a very public fight with each other.  The complaint does mention that PCMR and Canyons were previously in discussion over joint trails, interconnecting chairlifts, joint lift ticket revenue sharing, etc.  

 

 

BTW, PCMR posted a copy of the complaint (so you don't have to pay up for a legal site):  http://www.supportpcmr.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Complaint_PCMR-vs.-UPCMC-Talisker_030920121.pdf  .  It will be interesting to see how the complaint is answered and how quickly the court rules on a declaratory judgement.  Regardless, I still find it incredulous that PCMR didn't send the letter on time (Why else would they ask for a declaratory judgement affirming the leases and subleases did not expire?).

 

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post #32 of 46
4/19/12 at 6:04am

Updated article from SAM (Ski Area Management) Magazine:  http://www.saminfo.com/news/article.php?tid=5727

 

Talisker responded to the PCMR suit with a Motion to Dismiss, yet the negotiations are continuing again despite the court filings.

 

From the SAM website:

 

PARK CITY, TALISKER STILL NEGOTIATING NEW LEASE

 

April 16, 2012

 

button_article_comment.gif
 

SAM Magazine—Park City, Utah, April 16, 2012—Continuing a three-year wrangle, Park City Mountain Resort and its landlord, Talisker, remain in negotiations regarding PCMR’s lease of much of its ski terrain, despite a series of legal moves in the courts.

Last week, Talisker responded to a lawsuit filed by PCMR in early March, in which PCMR claimed Talisker was trying to force PCMR out of business, PCMR asked the court to compel an extension of the lease through 2051. Talisker claimed that it was not trying to put PCMR out of business, but argued that PCMR allowed the lease to expire in 2011 and failed to provide written notice that it wished to extend the lease. Talisker asked the court to dismiss PCMR’s lawsuit.

PCMR responded in turn to Talisker’s motion for dismissal. “Our legal team has reviewed the motion and believes it lacks merit,” PCMR communications director Krista Parry told SAM. “We will ask the court to deny the motion so that we can proceed with litigation and resolve this case based on the merits.”

The situation is complicated by the fact that Talisker also owns Canyons Resort, PCMR's neighbor and competitor. Canyons’ managing director, Mike Goar, told The Associated Press that lease negotiations are continuing. "We’re back at the table, talking about a solution. I’m optimistic we’re going to work through it," Goar said.

Talisker, a real estate developer with a long history in the Park City area, acquired the PCMR lease when it became majority owner of United Park City Mines, which holds the lease to much of PCMR’s 3,000+ acres of ski terrain, in 2003. Talisker bought Canyons in 2008. Local businesses have reportedly urged the two resorts to resolve the issue for the sake of the local economy.

“Our desire has always been to quickly and fairly resolve this dispute for the benefit of our team members and our community, who truly bear the brunt of uncertainty,” Parry told SAM. “We will continue our discussions with Talisker and look forward to working with them on a reasonable solution.”

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post #33 of 46
4/19/12 at 6:14am

 

Article about the offering of "new leases" from the April 14, 2012 Deseret News:

 

 

PARK CITY — A Park City ski area said Friday it was willing to offer new leases for much of the land where a neighboring rival operates and settle a lawsuit that had merchants and town officials begging both sides for a settlement.  Park City Mountain Resort filed the lawsuit last month accusing the Canyons resort of trying to drive it out of business by refusing to extend the leases for years longer.

 

The Canyons' Toronto-based resort operator, Talisker Corp., filed court papers Thursday saying Park City Mountain Resort let the leases expire and failed to submit written notice it wanted them extended. Talisker asked a state judge in Summit County to dismiss the lawsuit.

 

However, the Canyons' managing director, Mike Goar, told the Associated Press that negotiations are ongoing on a new set of leases.

"We're back at the table, talking about a solution. I'm optimistic we're going to work through it," Goar said Friday.

 

Talisker, a longtime real-estate operator around Park City, owns much of the ski terrain at Park City Mountain Resort, which leases 3,700 acres of upper-mountain land for ski lifts, lodges and slopes.

 

It isn't clear how or why Park City Mountain Resort let Talisker snatch up its prime ski terrain. Park City had leased the ski lands from United Park City Mines since the 1960s, but Talisker bought the mining company in 2003 and became a landlord. Then, in 2009, Talisker bought the Canyons resort from American Skiing Co. Talisker outbid Colorado's Vail Inc. for what is now Utah's largest ski area.

 

"Our desire has always been to quickly and fairly resolve this dispute for the benefit of our employees and our community, who bear the brunt of uncertainty," Jenni Smith, president and general manager of Park City Mountain Resort, said in a statement released Friday to the AP.

She added, "We will continue our discussions with Talisker and look forward to working with them on a reasonable solution."

 

Neither side is revealing terms of the negotiations, but Park City Mountain Resort had been paying just $155,000 a year in rent for the Talisker-owned land, according to its lawsuit.

 

Canyons officials say they pay $3 million a year to lease much of their ski resort from independent landowners.

 

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post #34 of 46
4/19/12 at 3:36pm

Sorry about all the posts on this, but people are reading them (I look at the views) and it seems something new comes from each media article.  Below is the new Park City Record article dated April 17th.  It discusses a part of the motion to dismiss that pertains to the notification for extending the lease.  It seems the envelope containing the lease renewal was mailed after the lease expired:

 

The resort "attempted to revive the expired leases" by sending a confirmation that they had been extended, the document says, "even though no written notice had previously been provided."

The document also disputes PCMR's timeline, claiming that the confirmation letter, dated April 30, was not sent prior to May 2 since $5.59 in postage was not affixed until the later date.

"Thus, the Leases expired by their own terms without renewal on April 30, 2011. They have not been and cannot be revived," the document says.

 

 

April 30, 2011 was a Saturday.  Just for fun I'd love to know if some clerk hit Happy Hour with the envelope in his/her car and remembered to mail it after the Post Office closed on Saturday?  Did a sophisticated attorney or lease manager just screw up?  Was the postage machine broken so a clerk just left the envelope on a desk until Monday? The legal fiasco going on in Park City has reminded me to review the details of every lease agreement I have.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Talisker labels PCMR lawsuit 'futile,' asks for case to be tossed

Landowner wants to continue talks with the resort as legal battle progresses
Posted:   04/17/2012 04:25:36 PM MDT


 

A firm under the Talisker umbrella has asked that a lawsuit filed by Park City Mountain Resort centering on the resort's two leases of Talisker-controlled land be dismissed, claiming, in a blunt statement, that the leases have expired.

In documents filed in Third District Court at Silver Summit, attorneys for Talisker Land Holdings, LLC and United Park City Mines, claim that PCMR did not submit written notice by the deadline to extend them. Talisker Land Holdings, LLC and United Park City Mines "had no duty to remind" PCMR about the deadline, the documents say.

The documents were filed a little more than a month after PCMR sued Talisker Land Holdings LLC and United Park City Mines, claiming it must stop the firms from interfering with its business or trying to shut the resort down. Resort officials have said they could not say with clarity whether PCMR would be able to open for the next ski season as a result of the dispute.

Talisker Land Holdings LLC owns the land that was once under the control of United Park City Mines. PCMR operates on some of the land.

The resort's March lawsuit claims that Talisker Land Holdings, LLC in late December told PCMR its right to use the land had expired and it must vacate or reach another deal to use the land.

Mike Goar, the managing director of Talisker-owned Canyons, said in an interview he hopes there are additional negotiations between the two sides even as the court case is continuing.

"We are asking the court to dismiss the original claim. In the other pieces, we ask, as we have been, that the parties continue to talk," Goar said.

No court dates have been scheduled.

The dispute will almost certainly be one of the most closely watched legal cases in the Park City area in years. In the little more than a month since PCMR filed the lawsuit, there have been concerns about the long-term impact on both the resort and the city's wider economy.

In a document filed in support of the request to dismiss the case, Talisker Land Holdings, LLC calls the PCMR lawsuit a "futile request" to have a court declare that the resort extended the leases. It says that the leases expired on April 30, 2011, but PCMR did not try to extend them until after the April 30 date.

The resort "attempted to revive the expired leases" by sending a confirmation that they had been extended, the document says, "even though no written notice had previously been provided."

The document also disputes PCMR's timeline, claiming that the confirmation letter, dated April 30, was not sent prior to May 2 since $5.59 in postage was not affixed until the later date.

"Thus, the Leases expired by their own terms without renewal on April 30, 2011. They have not been and cannot be revived," the document says.

The Talisker Land Holdings LLC side on Dec, 30 told PCMR that the lease expired on April 30. The firm allowed PCMR to remain on the land through the end of the 2011-2012 ski season, even though it was "under no obligation to do so," according to the document.

It says the two sides started negotiations about a new lease when PCMR filed the lawsuit and then "launched a widespread public-relations campaign."

The document outlines 18 cases as precedents in its argument. One of them, more than a decade old, involved White Pine Touring and its onetime landlord when the outdoors store was located on Heber Avenue. White Pine Touring moved out of the location as a result of the case. The lawsuit centered on a dispute about a renewal of a lease.

In a prepared statement released by PCMR, the resort's president and general manager, Jenni Smith, said the other side's move to dismiss the case "lacks merit."

"We will ask the court to deny the motion so that we can proceed with litigation and resolve this case based on the merits," Smith said in the statement, adding, "Our desire has always been to quickly and fairly resolve this dispute for the benefit of our employees and our community, who bear the brunt of uncertainty. We will continue our discussions with Talisker and look forward to working with them on a reasonable solution.


Edited by quant2325 - 5/22/12 at 8:06am
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post #35 of 46
5/22/12 at 8:00am

There is no agreement to date, even though both side claim to be hopeful. Regardless, the issues in front of the court remain (no ruling yet on the request for a declaratory judgment). Here is a monthly update on this ongoing saga followed closely by most people living in Park City:

 

From the Standard-Examiner

2 Park City ski areas still fighting lease dispute

http://www.standard.net/stories/2012/05/22/2-park-city-ski-areas-still-fighting-lease-dispute

May 22, 2012
 

PARK CITY -- Park City Mountain Resort says it's still hoping to resolve a lease dispute that threatens to shut down the ski area even as it amends a lawsuit against a cross-town rival.

Park City Mountain Resort has added antitrust claims to its March lawsuit against the parent company of the Canyons Resort, claiming its landlord is trying to ruin a competitor.

The Canyons' Toronto-based resort operator, Talisker Corp., owns much of the land where Park City Mountain Resort operates. It's offering the nearby ski area a new lease, but argues terms of a previous lease expired.

Park City Mountain Resort insists it has an option to extend the lease for years longer and that Talisker is trying to dramatically increase its cost of business.

Both sides say they hope to resolve the dispute with negotiations.

 

From the "Support PCMR" website:

 

http://www.supportpcmr.com/

(May 21, 2012) – Today the owner of Park City Mountain Resort (PCMR) asked the Court for permission to amend the complaint to assert two new claims for Talisker’s violation of the Utah Antitrust Act. In the proposed amended complaint, PCMR alleges that Talisker, which owns Canyons Resort, and its affiliate United Park City Mines Company have unlawfully attempted to shut down Park City Mountain resort or to increase dramatically the Resort’s cost of operations, thereby disabling it as a competitor. PCMR alleges that Talisker objective has been to obtain ownership and control of Park City Mountain Resort, thereby monopolizing or attempting to monopolize the relevant markets for skiing and snowboarding. PCMR contends that Talisker’s conduct was not justified by any legitimate economic reason and involved its intentional nondisclosure of material facts and its breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing in the parties’ leases.

—————————————————————————————————————–

(May 15, 2012) – Today the owner of Park City Mountain Resort (PCMR) filed papers opposing the motion to dismiss previously filed by United Park City Mines Company and Talisker Land Holdings and supporting PCMR’s right to relief. PCMR’s papers argue that it would be premature for the Court to dismiss PCMR’s complaint and that United Park and Talisker should be prevented from contending that critical leases expire before the year 2051. We argue that, according to records of the Utah State Tax Commission from the early 2000’s, United Park obtained a significant reduction of its property taxes based on representations that PCMR’s leases would not expire until 2051 and that PCMR would have the right to use the land until then. PCMR has always desired a fair and prompt resolution to this dispute and we are confident in our case moving forward.

 

From the Ski, Esq. blog:

 

(May 25, 2912) http://www.skiesq.com/2012/05/update-park-citytalisker-lawsuit.html

 

 

Note: I'll add another update in a month if this dispute is still not settled.

 


Edited by quant2325 - 5/26/12 at 10:35am
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post #36 of 46
5/27/12 at 11:12am

Just as with the NBA Walkout/Lockout and prior individual athlete contracts, there is just too much money at stake for PCMR & Talisker not to come to a deal -- probably about November 15th

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post #37 of 46
6/11/12 at 7:39am

I'll list all the June updates on this post and just "Edit" if anything of substance comes along.  So far, only an article that states Orrin Hatch decided to act as a "facilitator" getting the two sides in the dispute to the table.  Of course, as the article points out, he is also running for a 7th term.   http://www.parkrecord.com/ci_20815729/pcmr-talisker-lawsuit-orrin-hatch-rescue  .  In other words, nothing new in terms of the negotiations or civil suits.

 

6/14/2012 Update:  Park Record article about PCMR selling season passes with a major disclaimer:  http://www.parkrecord.com/ci_20841680/pcmr-talisker-case-resort-selling-season-passes-major

 

6/14/2012 Update: David Cronheim's SKI ESQ blog contained his legal concerns about the season passes being sold with a "disclaimer", which he believes is a" guarantee".  Cronheim contends that  "the language in PCMR's guarantee conflicts with the language of the resort's season pass waiver, which in two separate places indicates a no-refund policy."  See: http://www.skiesq.com/2012/06/legal-issues-surrounding-2012-2013-park.html


Edited by quant2325 - 6/14/12 at 11:00pm
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post #38 of 46
7/9/12 at 10:58am

Park City Mountain Resort is virtually guaranteed to open according to a release published by Talisker and reported in several media articles. The dispute over the lease continues.  Apparantly, much of the earlier information assuming PCMR may close was wrong.  PCMR was given written assurance this past April for a rent that would virtually guarantee a profit, as reported by the Salt Lake Tribune, the Park Record, and other media sources:

 

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/54437185-78/pcmr-park-ski-talisker.html.csp

 

http://m.sltrib.com/sltrib/mobile2/54437185-218/pcmr-park-talisker-ski.html.csp

 

"Talisker confirmed today that it has provided Park City Mountain Resort with a written commitment not to close PCMR during the upcoming 2012-13 ski season," it said. "That binding commitment, at a rent that essentially assures PCMR a profit over this period, was delivered to PCMR in April, weeks prior to PCMR’s suggestion to the marketplace that it might not be open for the upcoming ski season."  The statement went on to say Talisker "is disappointed that PCMR continues to circulate incorrect and inflammatory information to the public."

 

 

http://www.parkrecord.com/ci_21000652/talisker-pledge-we-wont-force-pcmr-shutdown-next

 

"Talisker Mountain Inc. said in a prepared statement Tuesday it has given Park City Mountain Resort a written assurance that it will not force the closure of the resort for the upcoming ski season, a commitment that seems to remove uncertainty about whether PCMR will be open for the 2012-2013 season.  According to the statement, Talisker Mountain Inc. agreed to rent "that essentially assures PCMR a profit" during the ski season. Talisker Mountain Inc. said the commitment was provided to the resort in April."

 

 

http://www.firsttracksonline.com/2012/07/06/park-city-mountain-canyons-talisker-dispute-land-lease-lawsuit/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+firsttracksonline%2FpDno+%28First+Tracks!!+Online+Ski+Magazine%29

 

"In a statement released this week, Talisker indicates that in April it provided PCMR with a binding commitment that will allow PCMR’s 2012-13 ski and snowboard season to proceed as planned.

“That commitment was provided to minimize distractions to the Park City community while the contractual disagreement between PCMR and Talisker works its way to resolution,” Talisker’s statement read."

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post #39 of 46
10/29/12 at 9:19pm

A new The Salt Lake Tribune article was published today about the parties finally going to court tomorrow.  Both sides agree what issues they want the court to decide.  Jack Bistricer has stated that he does not want to take over PCMR (you can forget about that silly rumor).  I guess we will see what, if anything, the mailing of the lease renewal letter a few days late will cost PCRM.   If the lease renewal was mailed in a few days earlier there would be no doubt about PCMR's right to an amazingly cheap lease deal. The letter was postmarked after the lease renewal date making this a huge landlord-tenant lease dispute.   See: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/55149742-78/pcmr-park-ski-resort.html.csp

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post #40 of 46
10/30/12 at 5:26am
Thread Starter 

I'm assuming that both resorts have been conducting business as usual while getting ready for ski season? 

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post #41 of 46
10/30/12 at 9:25am
Quote:
Originally Posted by quant2325 View Post

A new The Salt Lake Tribune article was published today about the parties finally going to court tomorrow.  Both sides agree what issues they want the court to decide.  Jack Bistricer has stated that he does not want to take over PCMR (you can forget about that silly rumor).  I guess we will see what, if anything, the mailing of the lease renewal letter a few days late will cost PCRM.   If the lease renewal was mailed in a few days earlier there would be no doubt about PCMR's right to an amazingly cheap lease deal. The letter was postmarked after the lease renewal date making this a huge landlord-tenant lease dispute.   See: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/55149742-78/pcmr-park-ski-resort.html.csp

Sounds like they are minimizing the points of conflict.  Frenemies can still work together to make the interconnect a reality, so I'm glad to see tangible developments that show that PCMR may make a bit LESS profit, but otherwise life goes on.

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post #42 of 46
10/30/12 at 10:03am
Quote:
Originally Posted by quant2325 View Post

Jack Bistricer has stated that he does not want to take over PCMR (you can forget about that silly rumor).

 

What did you think he's say,  " I'm going to drive those SOB's out of business and pick up their assets for pennies on the dollar"?

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post #43 of 46
10/30/12 at 10:28am

I'm wondering what PCMR locals think of Powdr Corp. Being from Canada I'd never heard of Powdr Corp until I skied a couple part days at Mt. Bachelor on the way to last year's Tahoe Gathering. I've never seen such a universally hated ski area ownership (well not quite as hated as the Scurfield family ownership of Banff's Sunshine Village) as Powdr's ownership of Mt. Bachelor.

Randomly met people on chairlifts were trashing Powdr without me even bringing up the subject, it was actually kinda spooky that there was such a hate going on for the ski resort owners. It was like the locals were getting torches, tar and feathers ready!

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post #44 of 46
10/30/12 at 11:19am
Quote:
Originally Posted by SHREDHEAD View Post

 

What did you think he's say,  " I'm going to drive those SOB's out of business and pick up their assets for pennies on the dollar"?

My guess is PCMR doesn't fit into Talisker's buiness model.  It does fit into Cumming's PWDR Corp. business model!  At questions is a $155,000 per year lease payment (that may or may not be extended for another 40 years since the lease renewal letter was mailed late) vs. market rent (e.g., Canyons pays $3mm per year). 

 

Quote:
Originally Posted by DanoT View Post

I'm wondering what PCMR locals think of Powdr Corp. Being from Canada I'd never heard of Powdr Corp until I skied a couple part days at Mt. Bachelor on the way to last year's Tahoe Gathering. I've never seen such a universally hated ski area ownership (well not quite as hated as the Scurfield family ownership of Banff's Sunshine Village) as Powdr's ownership of Mt. Bachelor.

Randomly met people on chairlifts were trashing Powdr without me even bringing up the subject, it was actually kinda spooky that there was such a hate going on for the ski resort owners. It was like the locals were getting torches, tar and feathers ready!

 

I think most employees of all three PC resorts are happy.  Most locals like a local employer (PWDR is local but Ian Cumming's lives elsewhere).  There are rumors on the chat lines that PCMR wants employees to vote a particular way, but you can read this crap yourself and determine if it is bogus or not.  Talisker is running Canyons similar to the way Deer Valley is run in terms of service.  Many employees were kept after Talisker took over, but some were let go after the purchase a few years ago and were bitter.  I seriously doubt you will ever hear a Canyons or Deer Valley employee complain in front of a customer because of the way they are trained.  All three resorts seem like "good" employers. 

 

If you read the comments online elsewhere, the local perception has changed or been modified since this issue first came to public knowledge.  Talisker does not want PCMR out of business and PCMR is not in danger of closing (that is the spin PCMR originally put on all this).  Canyons also became a Top Ten SKI MAGAZINE resort and employs a few thousand people, which locals realize. Canyons also offers year round employment and is a center for many summer events (more to come when the golf course is completed).   In other words, people are realizing that there is no big, bad gorillia here and that this is simply a business (landlord-tenant lease) dispute.  Regardless of the outcome, all three PC resorts want to be part of the Interconnect.  It is much more important from a jobs, revenue and tax perspective to compete on a friendly basis.  After all, there could someday be a PCMR/Canyons connecting lift and revenue sharing.  I still believe all 7 resorts think the real competition is Colorado and not each other.

 

My take is that the local vibes were at first anti-Talisker and are now neutral with the facts now being out in the open.   Most locals probably agree with the PC mayor and simply want the dispute to go away.  After all, how many mayors can boast three "Top Ten" resorts when talking up tourism?  Park City runs on tourism.  I suspect that employees at all three PC resorts are mostly happy, glad to be employed, and are looking forward to making some money this season.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Trekchick View Post

I'm assuming that both resorts have been conducting business as usual while getting ready for ski season? 

Yes (see my mid-July posts).  But it should be noted that this whole dispute could have been avoided if the lease renewal letter was postdated with a $5.59 stamp on April 30, 2011 and not on May 2, 2011.  Regardless of the outcome, someone should be fired--if they haven't been already sacked--for sending the lease renewal letter late (it doesn't matter if the wrong postage was attached since it arrived late) possibly deeming a very generous lease to be "expired."   Note to self:  Self, don't make leasehold improvements if you aren't sure you have another ____ years left in a lease.


Edited by quant2325 - 10/30/12 at 11:39am
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post #45 of 46
10/30/12 at 9:26pm

Now we all wait a couple of months for the judge to rule.  Here is the Trib article (more detailed than the article from The Park Record)  http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/55177605-78/park-pcmr-talisker-resort.html.csp

 

From The Park Record dot com (easier of the two to cut and paste):

 

PCMR and Talisker hit courtroom

Resort warns of catastrophe if it loses case while Talisker says skiing would continue

Posted: 10/30/2012 05:18:00 PM MDT

 

An attorney for a firm under the Talisker umbrella Tuesday morning accused Park City Mountain Resort of using "scare tactics and spin" in a legal case centering on leases that could ultimately decide the fate of the resort.

Daniel Bella, one of the attorneys representing Talisker Land Holdings, LLC and United Park City Mines, told a judge the case would not result in a loss of jobs at PCMR if the Talisker Land Holdings side prevails in the PCMR-filed lawsuit. He said skiing would continue at the resort and there will not be cows grazing the land.

Bella, speaking to Judge Ryan Harris in Third District Court at Silver Summit, said the court system is not intended to "bail out a party" that did not protect its own interests. He said the PCMR side did not adhere to the terms of the option attached to the lease agreement allowing the resort to operate on the Talisker Land Holdings acreage.

PCMR since it filed the lawsuit last spring has mounted a public-relations campaign in an effort to influence Parkites and other fans of the resort. PCMR has argued upward of 1,200 jobs are at stake in the case.

Bella, though, steered his comments to case itself, saying that the community will not be hurt as PCMR claims it will. Bella appeared the more aggressive of the attorneys who represented the two sides on Tuesday.

The lawsuit, which was filed in March, centers on two leases held by PCMR to operate the resort on ground under the control of the Tailsker firm. PCMR's side contends the leases were properly extended until 2051. Talisker, though, claims PCMR did not comply with the terms of the option to extend the leases.

Talisker Land Holdings wants the case dismissed. PCMR, in its bid to continue the lawsuit, argues United Park City Mines, now part of the Talisker corporate family, in 2003 represented to state tax officials the expiration of the leases would not be until 2051. In doing so, PCMR says, there was a reduction in property taxes. Talisker should not be able to claim the leases have expired, PCMR says.

But Talisker Land Holdings argues the leases expired on April 30, 2011 after PCMR did not provide written notice it wanted to extend the leases. A letter of confirmation about the lease extensions from PCMR's side was not mailed until after the deadline, Talisker Land Holdings has said.

In his arguments to the judge, PCMR's lead attorney, Alan Sullivan, said the resort verbally communicated its interest in extending the lease over the years and would have provided the written notice by the deadline. He acknowledged the confirmation letter was not sent until after the deadline, though.

He said a breach on PCMR's part, if one occurred, was not significant. The loss of leases would be catastrophic, he said. Sullivan said the Talisker side had the duty to inform PCMR that its belief was the leases had expired. Instead Talisker Land Holdings continued discussions with PCMR about connecting the resort and Talisker-owned Canyons.

Meanwhile, Sullivan said the contested leases do not cover the PCMR parking lots or the lower section of the skiing terrain. He said Talisker Land Holdings does not own the water rights or snowmaking and sewer infrastructure at PCMR. He said there were a number of reasons why Talisker Land Holdings could not simply lease the land to another resort operator or open its own resort there.

The judge did not issue a ruling on Tuesday. Harris will eventually issue a written ruling, but a date for the ruling has not been set.


Edited by quant2325 - 10/30/12 at 10:07pm
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post #46 of 46
11/29/12 at 4:40pm

Now we wait a few more months, unless they can negotiate the end of this.

 

 

 
 
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Jay Hamburger THE PARK RECORD The Park Record
 
 
 

Third District Court Judge Ryan Harris, calling the lease dispute between Park City Mountain Resort and a firm under the Talisker Corporation umbrella "unfortunate," on Tuesday dismissed key parts of PCMR's lawsuit against its landlord.

 

Talisker Land Holdings, LLC and United Park City Mines won dismissals of six points of PCMR's case, including one focused on PCMR's assertion that Talisker Land Holdings, LLC had a duty to remind the resort of the requirements of a lease renewal as the expiration date approached. The 47-page ruling also dismissed PCMR's antitrust claims against Talisker Land Holdings, LLC.

 

" . . . The Park City Parties had an obligation to strictly comply with the Leases' renewal provisions, and they failed to do so," Harris wrote.

Harris, meanwhile, allowed the PCMR side to press forward with two points -- one encompassing a contention that Talisker Land Holdings, LLC waived its right to claim or is stopped from claiming the leases expired and the other for damages if it is found that Talisker Land Holdings, LLC failed to disclose early on that it saw the leases as having expired.

 

The lawsuit focuses on PCMR's two leases of Talisker Land Holdings, LLC ground, approximately 3,700 acres, to operate the resort. The Talisker Land Holdings, LLC side claims PCMR did not provide written notice of its intent to extend the leases on time and they expired in April, 2011. PCMR says it communicated an interest in extending the lease, but it has acknowledged that a confirmation letter was not sent until after the deadline.

 

The judge's ruling includes a strong statement on the point, saying that the leases are written in "plain language."

 

"The Park City Parties maintain that this language allows them to make a non-written 'election,' as long as they provide to the Talisker Parties, at some later point, written confirmation of this election. This is simply not a tenable interpretation of the plain language. Indeed, this interpretation borders on the nonsensical, and contains no conceivable logical limit," he wrote.

 

The lawsuit has been closely watched in the Park City area and its outcome could have wide-ranging impacts on the local ski industry. The PCMR side has claimed the Talisker Corporation side wants to eliminate it as a competitor to Talisker-owned Canyons.

 

"The current situation is unfortunate. The Court is aware of, and mindful of, the importance of PCMR and The Canyons to Summit County's economic, cultural, and recreational well-being," Harris wrote in his ruling. "The Court is, like many citizens of Summit County and of the State of Utah, hopeful that these parties can resolve their differences and keep both resorts operating in an economically beneficial manner . . ."

Attorneys for Talisker Land Holdings, LLC and PCMR, speaking in interviews after the ruing was released, said their sides are willing to engage in settlement negotiations. They did not provide details. If a settlement is not reached, the sides intend to enter the discovery phase of the lawsuit, when the attorneys conduct depositions and obtain documents from the other side.

 

Daniel Beller, the lead attorney for Talisker Land Holdings, LLC, said in an interview his side is confident in the facts of the case. Alan Sullivan, the attorney who represents PCMR, said if his side prevails on the remaining points Talisker Land Holdings, LLC could be prevented from claiming the leases have expired.

 
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