Contractor asks commissioners about impact of lawsuit on two Woman Lake parcels

PINE RIVER -- Remer building contractor Darrick Godfrey is learning it is difficult to find out whether a lawsuit is pending against property a person might be interested in buying or has bought and whether a suit will affect the property title.

He appeared Tuesday before the Cass County Board to try to find out how the lawsuit between Save Lantern Bay/Woman Lake Chain and Cass County might affect two lots he bought in 2004 in the Ridges of Lantern Bay plat.

Godfrey received few answers Tuesday, but was referred to the Minnesota Counties Insurance Trust attorney representing Cass County in the case, Scott Anderson, to seek answers to his questions.

The lawsuit was filed in Cass County District Court against Cass County in mid-2003, shortly after the county gave final approval for the plat. The Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled recently on an appeal from a district court decision that an environmental impact statement will be required and the plat referred back to the county planning commission after that statement is complete.

Godfrey told the board Tuesday he was unaware of the lawsuit until he read in a recent newspaper about the appeals court decision.

There is no law to require recording a lawsuit on a property title, so Godfrey's title search to update his abstract on the property before buying it gave no hint about the suit.

Had he tried to check district court records, public file searches can be conducted by court file number or by name(s) of people involved in lawsuits, but not by a property plat name or legal description. He probably would not have found the Lantern Bay lawsuit easily there either.

Godfrey asked Environmental Services Director John Sumption whether ESD had an obligation to inform him about the suit when he applied for a land use permit to build a house on one lot last year. ESD does not have any requirement to do so.

At that time, the plat had been approved. The developer, Thousand Acres Development Corp., had installed roads and a central lake access dock as required for final plat approval. Building permits could legally be issued.

This year, when Godfrey applied for a second permit to build a house on the second lot he owns, he was told he could not obtain a permit, because now the court-ordered EIS and planning commission re-review of the plat is pending.

County Attorney Earl Maus told Godfrey Tuesday conducting an EIS often is very time consuming. It could be awhile before results are known, he said. Until then, Maus said he could not predict whether or how the outcome will affect the plat.

"It puts you in a precarious position," Maus admitted to Godfrey.

County Administrator Robert Yochum said many plats end up in the court system today. He said counties have tried to encourage the Legislature to enact state laws to require recording pending lawsuits on deed titles, but have been unsuccessful because of lobbies against it.

There is no required legal mechanism today to inform Realtors, buyers or anyone else, he said.

As approved in 2003, Ridges of Lantern Bay plat included 24 numbered lots and two outlots. Six of those lots were offshore and 20 abutted the shoreline on Lantern Bay of Woman Lake. It lies between Hackensack and Longville.

The Cass County assessor's office researched its property ownership records Wednesday and found titles for five lots have transferred from Thousand Acres Development Corp. to individual owners since the plat was approved.

Cass County currently is involved in lawsuits relating to four plats. Cass is only one of 87 Minnesota counties where similar actions are taking place.