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News & Comment About The Issues Facing Oriental.
Town Manager Wyatt Cutler says “it’s a shock.”
He learned this week that Superior Court Judge Ken Crow sided with Lacy Henry in Mr. Henry’s claim to 60 feet of waterfront where the town’s street, South Avenue, meets the Oriental Harbor.
(The land in question is the left side of thecgreen patch in the middle of this photo.)
The dispute between Mr. Henry and the Town has been roiling for more than a decade and on New Years Eve at the Bayboro courthouse, Judge Crow heard motions for Summary Judgment from both sides.
The ruling in favor of Mr. Henry comes as a surprise, Mr. Cutler says, because the town’s attorney, Scott Davis, has been saying that neither side would win on summary judgement and that the judge would send the case to trial before a jury.
One argument the town was expected to present to a jury was that Mr. Henry’s family had paid rent to the town for years in order to get access to the waterfront he now claims.
In the summary judgement ruling, the judge cites a claim by Mr. Henry’s attorney that Mr. Henry had paid taxes to the town for the disputed land in recent years. Some town officials say the taxes were paid for the property adjacent to the disputed property. The town’s attorney did not make that point at the December 31st hearing.
A jury trial still could happen, but to get there, the town would have to file and win an appeal.
The town has 30 days to file for an appeal if it wants to try to keep the 60 feet of valuable waterfront.
The town attorney is to explain what happened in the case at the Town Board meeting on Tuesday.
At least one commissioner, Dave Cox has said this is an important case for the town to win if it wants to maintain public access to the waters at the ends of other streets.
Developing….
Posted Thursday May 1, 2008 by Melinda Penkava
