Judge tosses lawsuit on firefighters' resort use
Published Monday, April 28, 2008
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Stumble It!A federal judge has dismissed a $1 million lawsuit filed against the federal government by a resort owner who said firefighters trashed his property in 2004.
The man, Fairbanks resident Robert Miller, owns the Arctic Circle Hot Springs Resort near Central, where hundreds of firefighters stayed for weeks while battling the huge Central Complex Fire four years ago.
Miller’s attorney had argued the crews left the resort “in shambles and various stages of disrepair” while the government signed rental contracts with a caretaker who received more than $100,000, none of which Miller saw.
District Judge John Sedwick dismissed the case in Fairbanks Federal Court last week. Federal attorneys had argued Miller’s lawsuit was filed too late under statutes of limitations and that he should have filed it in Federal Claims Court, not District Court.
Miller’s Washington state-based attorney, Galen Cook, said he is considering re-filing the case in claims court.
“My client can’t sell that property right now because the value has been substantially diminished by the government’s use,” Cook said Thursday. “That is a travesty of justice in my opinion.”
The resort is about 125 miles northeast of Fairbanks, near the Steese Highway.
Cook wrote in court papers that Miller also has other investments and had hired caretakers to manage the resort, where business had slowed considerably, in recent years.
Cook said Miller was unaware of the extent to which the federal Bureau of Land Management and caretaker Larry Rogers had agreed to let the resort become a headquarters for up to 600 firefighters in the summer of 2004.
Checks from the government to Rogers, who has since left Alaska, were mailed to Rogers’ home and not the resort, Cook added.
Cook said the occupancy damaged the resort’s plumbing, pool, buildings and bathrooms. He said the $1 million claim was an estimate of the damage, not a figure from a professional appraiser.
Contact staff writer Christopher Eshleman at 459-7582.
Community Discussion
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it was such a cool place in the 70's. too bad its not up and running today. well worth the trip back then.
Good call Judge Sedwick!!
He says that he can't sell the property due to the damage, but it has been FOUR years. Perhaps the property is devalued because people don't want to drive 125 miles from Fairbanks to go to a hotsprings. Gas prices and the economy are different now and I am sure $1 million "estimated" damages would help any of us in this economy.
I am sure if it were his property that had been in danger by that fire he would be singing a different tune.
I guess that particular federal teat done dried up, huh? Nice try...
Boy, talk about hypocrisy. I'll bet all of you against the landowner would be crying a different tune if it was your property that was trashed by firefighters or anyone else.
The caretaker was the one he hired and the one he should be after.
The fire fighters were federal employees, so the federal government is responsible for its employees actions.
Sounds like Mr. Miller should be suing his caretaker...
The court system should have assigned some responsibility to the federal gov’t; it was after all their employees that trashed the place, and a caretaker in which the gov't also signed contracts with that were the cause of the mess in the first place.
If I were in Mr. Miller's shoes today, that is the owner of a large facility capable of housing many individuals for the purpose of protecting the communities threatened by the fires, I may be a bit more reluctant to offer any assistance if this is how I'd be repaid.
My only question is, why four years later? Was Mr. Miller dragging his feet, or based on my own experiences, were the court systems giving the typical run-around?
I'm thinking that exhausted and stressed firefighters' primary responsibility was fighting fires. Anyone remember that summer from hell?
The owner's role was to hire an effective caretaker and reach an agreement with the firefighters about the conditions of the premises before allowing them access to the property.
The caretaker's role was to address any concerns about the condition of the building through appropriate channels at the time.
The plaintiff's attorney's responsibility was to file a timely action.
Sounds to me like the judge made the right call.
This place has been in disrepair for years and years, way before the firefighters supposedly trashed it. It's been closed for a long time. I'd imagine what hasn't already fallen apart would easily do so with hundreds of users. I would think the caretaker's responsibility would be to oversee the use by anyone, and he simply didn't do what he was hired to do.
I remember over-nighting the last day Circle HS was open, don't recall the year. The owner at the time said she was closing for the winter because she couldn't afford to keep it open over the winter, and those of us who enjoyed the trip out a few times per year were hoping to see it open again for summer traffic, it never happened.
This article leaves a lot open to speculation, and as noted by other commentors, the resort was most likely already in disrepair, I suppose the use by the firefighters could have been the 'straw that broke this camel's back'.
I'm a little curious as to what sort of disciplinary action the owner took upon the caretaker, also why it took so long to file suit. Most business owners are aware of the two year statute, and don't wait until four years after the fact.
-RK
Wasnt part of the reason that it closed down because the state quit maintaining the section of road that lead into the hotsprings?
I concur. If the caretaker defruaded the business, he needs to go after the caretaker
Yeah, but the caretaker aint as rich as the gov, gotta go for the deep pockets!
Deep pockets or not, why didnt the owner realize that none of the checks came to him? How come did he let his caretaker leave with his funds? If the caretaker left with his funds the owner should be filing felony theft charges (and possibly turning the loss into his insurance). And of course, there is the statute of limitations thing, maybe the attorney that he hired from Washington didnt understand the Alaskan statute on limitations, hard to believe but it is possible, I guess. Should have hired a local attorney, we dont have any shortage of those.
I honestly feel bad for someone who's property gets damaged in that manor, but that does not excuse the facts. He couldn't sell the thing before they got there, he didn't file in the right court, he didn't file in the right time frame, and didn't get any kind of appraisal for an accurate damage report.
The BLM may have hosed him but not near as bad as he hosed himself. (firefighter pun intended).
it sad that mr miller cannot tell the turth so the plubic would know the facts.belive me the judge got it right. and next time he have attorney from guess where maybe new york.p.i.det.spud
spud, you are absolutely right. The judge did get it right, and for the record, BLM, State Forestry, or any fire team did NOT trash Circle Hot Springs during the 2004 fire season!!
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