LPOIC lawsuit is dismissed

SANDPOINT — A lawsuit pitting a Panhandle angler against the Lake Pend Oreille Idaho Club has been resolved, according to 1st District Court records.

Calvin Nolan and LPOIC agreed last month to dismiss the case with prejudice and without costs be awarded. The nature of the dismissal prevents the litigation from resurfacing in the future.

Judge Barbara Buchanan issued an order of dismissal in the case on Feb. 26.

Nolan, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, filed suit against the club last November. The suit alleged that Nolan was kicked out of the club and disqualified from competing the club’s fishing derbies after requesting the club’s meeting minutes and financial records.

Nolan’s 2017 request coincided with LPOIC’s decision to shift its derbies to a challenge format in the adult and junior divisions of the rainbow trout competition. Under the challenge format, derby competitors were only allowed to enter one fish and it had to be at least 31 inches long.

The challenge format was meant to aid in the restoration of the lake’s trophy rainbow trout population, LPOIC officials said.

Norton said club officers released a series of statements over email which painted Nolan and others who disagreed with the derby format change as malcontents who were new to the area, inactive in club affairs and either disagreed with the club’s conservation goals or were unaware of them.

The club, in an answer to Nolan’s civil complaint, denied the allegations.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.