Judge awards town $3,817 for IAWC sanctions

MOORESVILLE – A judge last week ordered Indiana American Water Company to pay $3,817.58 in court costs, but denied Mooresville’s request for $6 million as sanctions for allegations of prejudicing potential jurors in the Mooresville area against the town purchasing the system.

The suit said this was accomplished by company officials handing out pamphlets, using mobile signs and holding public meetings.

In his opinion, Hendricks Court Judge Jeffrey V. Boles, who was a special judge for Morgan County Superior Court I, said the town’s request was unreasonable and unsupported by any facts. The award was to pay for IAWC’s request that the case be transferred to Hendricks County to avoid pre-trial publicity.

IAWC paid the sanctions on Friday.

According to town records provided for a story in the Mooresville-Decatur Times in June, Mooresville spent about $500,000 in the lawsuit against IAWC.

At the time officials were hoping to recoup much of that money.

IAWC has owned the water system since 2000 and president Alan DeBoy, along with counsel Nicholas Kile with Barnes & Thornburg, said the company would not be willing to sell its holdings. But because of an Indiana law, IAWC had to consider when it purchased the system from another private owner that town officials reserved the right to offer a purchase price for it.

To shorten the purchase price process, which took 10 years for the city of Fort Wayne (Aqua Indiana), the state mandated that a jury trial decision on the cost would decide condemnation cases. In Mooresville’s trial, the decision was made after testimony was heard from appraisers, environmental experts, town officials and plant operators.

Town officials moved the jury trial on the water purchase from Morgan County, to be heard by Boles in Hendricks County Circuit Court. Boles heard the case in early June, and a jury of six individuals decided Mooresville would have to pay $20.3 million for the property, lines and equipment. Mooresville had offered IAWC more than $9 million.

The town has since dropped the purchase attempt.

Correction

This story was corrected to reflect that the $3,817.58 was directed to the court as reimbursement.

by Brian Culp | Reporter | Published August, 18th 2014 in The Reporter Times