As Mediation Deadline Looms, PCMR Offers Payment

News Search

13 August 2014

Push to The Latest: No

SAM Magazine—Park City, Utah, Aug. 13, 2014—With an Aug. 15 mediation deadline fast approaching, and no sign of movement in negotiations, Park City Mountain Resort (PCMR) has offered to pay rent equal to “greater than fair market value” for 2011-15, in return for a ceasefire in landlord Talisker's efforts to evict PCMR until next spring. However, PCMR did not divulge what its proposed rent amount might be.

“PCMR would be willing to make an immediate payment to Talisker in an amount that, according to its independent expert, exceeds the fair rental value of the property for the four-year period from May 1, 2011 to April 30, 2015, in return for Talisker's immediate agreement to a stay of eviction through the next ski season,” wrote PCMR attorney Alan Sullivan.

“PCMR's payment would be made without prejudice to the right of either side to prove to the Court at trial that a higher or lower annual rental should apply for this period,” he added. Sullivan termed this a “sensible solution to the immediate impasse” that “would allow the litigation to proceed without holding the community hostage.”

“And it may lead to a resolution to the entire dispute,” he concluded.

The offer is aimed at allaying fears in Park City that the coming season could be lost. It was the biggest news contained in a recent flurry of letters among attorneys for PCMR, Talisker, and Park City. The letters were made public by City Hall in response to media requests under Utah's open-records laws, according to the Park Record.

The flurry began with a letter from Talisker attorney John Lund, who took exception to public comments made by Park City's mayor and city manager. Those comments suggested Talisker was “piling on” with its damage claims against PCMR, and declared that Talisker must negotiate a settlement, and not simply let the court set an amount for the bond PCMR must post to forestall eviction while PCMR appeals the District Court's eviction order.

“We very much understand and appreciate the City's concern regarding the dispute between Talisker and PCMR and the toll it is taking on the community. However, we believe all of these comments are unfounded and could be construed to be trying to influence the legal process itself," Lund wrote.

Talisker has said recently that it would not pursue eviction if PCMR were to post a bond, with the amount to be set by District Judge Ryan Harris. (In July, the judge ruled that PCMR failed to renew its lease and ordered an eviction, but stayed that order pending an appeal.) The bond amount set by the court could be several millions, if not tens of millions, higher than the amount PCMR's expert is likely to suggest: Talisker has claimed that Utah law requires the bond amount include triple damages. A hearing on the bond is set for Aug. 27 in Harris' court, and Harris has said he will set the amount shortly thereafter.

In his letter, Lund stated that PCMR brought its lease problems on itself by failing to renew its lease on time. “When Talisker realized that the lease had not been renewed, Talisker offered PCMR a lease renewal on new terms and PCRM needed only to accept that offer to avoid a splitting of the resort,” Lund continued.

In its reply, PCMR for the first time claimed that Talisker's offer, in addition to setting an “unsustainable level” of rent, “demanded that PCMR turn over ownership of PCMR's base facilities, parking lots, water rights, intellectual property, and other assets—all at no cost to Talisker,” according to attorney Alan Sullivan.

While both sides have been silent regarding the details of any negotiations between them, the focus on the amount of a bond, or of a lease payment in lieu of a bond, suggests that no meaningful progress has been made heading into Friday's mediation meeting. In addition, the contents of the letters from the attorneys show that the two sides remain far apart. Lund summarized the two positions with a single word: "different."