County seeks reimbursement for LNG dispute
The Daily Astorian | Posted: Tuesday, June 21, 2011 11:16 am
Clatsop County filed a motion in Circuit Court Monday seeking reimbursement for more than $60,000 in attorney fees incurred in the legal dispute over the county’s jurisdiction of the Oregon Pipeline LLC land-use application.
The motion claims the county should not be liable for the fees, which total $61,758, because of several legal maneuvers by Oregon Pipeline that resulted in unnecessary delays in the proceedings.
The county and Oregon Pipeline recently went to court on a “writ of mandamus” motion by the company. The motion claimed the county had exceeded the legal deadline for issuing a final decision on the company’s consolidated land-use application for construction of 41 miles of natural gas pipeline through Clatsop County.
Following a hearing in Clatsop County Circuit Court last month, Judge Phil Nelson denied Oregon Pipeline’s mandamus motion. The company has appealed that ruling to the Oregon Court of Appeals.
The Clatsop County Board of Commissioners originally approved the Oregon Pipeline application in November 2010. That ruling was appealed by project opponents, and in January the board, with three new members, voted to withdraw the November decision, and in March gave preliminary approval to findings denying the application.
The county’s motion seeks the reimbursement under state law allowing a judge to award legal fees to the prevailing party in a mandamus action.
In a letter in support of the county’s motion, attorney Harlan Jones of Jordan Ramis PC of Portland, Clatsop County’s legal counsel for the Oregon Pipeline application, argues that the company’s own actions are the cause of the county’s high legal bills for the mandamus proceedings. The company, Harlan states, waited almost two months to file the mandamus petition, opposed an expedited hearing on its request, and sought a change of venue, among other actions.
“Oregon Pipeline has for quite some time itself been the main cause of unnecessary delay and complexity in this case,” his letter states.
The board of commissioners was scheduled to finalize its denial of the company’s application on March 30, but was blocked by a temporary stay issued by the Oregon Supreme Court on a motion from Oregon Pipeline. The board is awaiting the outcome of the mandamus issue, including the appeal to the Court of Appeals, before taking further action on the application.
County Manager Duane Cole said the company still owes the county for costs incurred during the initial November decision and the company doesn’t seem to be debating these. However, costs related to the more recent reconsideration hearing are “subject to discussion.”
Oregon Pipeline has maintained in the past that it shouldn’t have to pay those costs since, according to argument presented by the company’s attorney Mike Connors, the reconsideration hearing was not a valid hearing. As of this morning, the court has not received a response from the company to the recent county motion.
Cole said he expects the company to respond once their legal counsel has had a chance to fully review the motion.
It's no surprise that OLNG doesn't want to pay its bills, both current and past due from November. Bad behavior from OLNG is now the norm. Perhaps bad behavior is a qualification for being a fossil fuel speculator . . . .
Cheryl & Laurie
June 21, 2011 | Permalink
