New lawsuit emerges in pit dispute
(Courtesy photo) This aerial image captured by a drone shows the Sagle gravel pit where an asphalt batch plant was planned.
SAGLE — A new lawsuit has surfaced in a contentious dispute over Sandpoint Sand & Gravel's gravel pit alongside U.S. Highway 95.
Counsel for Tom and Marge Murphy, whose property adjoins the gravel pit, filed suit against Sandpoint Sand & Gravel and the company's owner, Frank Linscott, in 1st District Court on Dec. 29, 2020.
A civil complaint in the case alleges Linscott has failed to adhere to statutes, regulations and industry norms while conducting excavations at the 139-acre surface mine. Exhibit A in the couple's lawsuit is excavation of material from their property.
The Murphys contend they have harbored concerns about operations at the pit since its inception in 1972 and filed a complaint in 1998 with the Bonner County Planning Department that gravel extraction was occurring within 3 feet of their property. The county notified Linscott that excavation cannot occur within 15 feet of a neighboring property line and excavation must adhere to a slope ratio requirement.
Linscott, according to court documents, responded by saying excavation next to the Murphys had ceased and that the resulting hole would be filled in order to meet the 15-foot setback requirement.
However, counsel for the Murphys maintain that the hole was never filled and that Linscott continued to conduct excavations dangerously close to and across the property line.
"Defendants' unsafe and unlawful excavation of materials from a location too close to or over the property line between the Murphy property and the gravel pit has been continuous, repeated and is occurring as of the date of the filing of this complaint," Gary Allen of Givens & Pursley said in the 11-page civil complaint.
The suit seeks money damages for negligence, conversion and unjust enrichment.
"By mining and excavating resources from the Murphy property without permission, defendants wrongfully gained dominion of those resources," Allen wrote.
The suit also seeks a preliminary and permanent injunction to halt the incursions onto the Murphys' property.
A formal response by counsel for Linscott is pending.
The suit forms a new hillside in the ongoing battle over the pit, which is tied to a proposal to relocate an asphalt batch plant from Sandpoint.
Keith Kinnaird can be reached at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com or followed on Twitter @KeithDailyBee