Sommer complies with LUBA order to pay CJ attorney fees
From our weekly issue dated March 04, 2009
A land-use activist has paid his debt for legal fees incurred by the city of Cave Junction because of his appeals to the state Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA).
Holger Sommer, a Merlin resident, had been ordered by LUBA on Dec. 10, 2008 to pay more than $7,000 in attorney fees to the city. That ruling stemmed from Sommer’s appeal of a zone change and annexation approved by the city council in May 2007.
LUBA later determined that Sommer’s appeal was frivolous.
A request by Sommer to waive the fees was denied by the council during its Jan. 12 meeting. City Attorney Patrick Kelly filed a copy of the LUBA order with the Josephine County Circuit Court on Feb. 2 in order to obtain payment of the debt.
In a Feb. 9 e-mail to the city, Sommer requested that he be given until April 15 to pay the sum, stating that a divorce made him “constrained in my financial freedom.” That evening, the council refused to stop the collections process.
On Friday, Feb. 27, Sommer made good on the LUBA order. In a Feb. 27-dated letter to the city, Sommer documented delivering a cashier’s check for $5,392.79 to Kelly’s office in Grants Pass that day.
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According to the letter, Kelly already had garnished $2,200.03 from Sommer’s checking accounts at Home Valley Bank.
Kelly previously had filed a Motion for Examination of Judgment Debtor with the court. That would have forced Sommer to answer questions under oath about his assets, debts and overall ability to pay the legal fees.
The check was made out to the city of Cave Junction. City Recorder Jim Polk said that it will be deposited into the city account, at which point Kelly will be reimbursed officially.
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