News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Two homeowners in Eagle Air Estates have lost all claims they made against the developer of the subdivision and the homeowners association.
Plaintiffs Michael and Janet Morgan and Cydnie Harp went to court against Vernon and Sandra Goodsell and Eagle Air Estates Homeowners Association in April. They claimed they could lose access to the Sisters Airport runway if the Clemens family stops operating the runway.
Cliff Clemens, 97, owns the airport. If Clemens or subsequent owners decide to close the airport, portions of the land "revert" to previous owners of the land (or others to whom the original owners sold their "reversionary interest").
Eagle Air Estates developer Goodsell, who works on airplanes in his shop, has for years had a "reversionary interest" that would return ownership of one-third of the airport runway to him if the airport was no longer in operation.
Morgan and Harp argued in court that Goodsell would benefit from the airport closing.
"This speculation is erroneous for a number of reasons," Judge Alta Brady wrote in an opinion issued Thursday, July 31. "First, defendants Goodsell have a personal interest in the continued existence of the Sisters Airport.
"Secondly, absolutely nothing has happened to change the use of the land as an airport. No homeowner has been denied access to the airport," Judge Brady wrote.
Brady denied all of the plaintiffs' associated claims for relief in the lawsuit, including arguments that Goodsell, as the subdivision developer, should have disclosed his reversionary interest and turned over his reversionary interest to the homeowners association.
Brady further rejected claims that the homeowners association had conducted "illegal" board meetings.
Vern Goodsell said that he and other homeowners he has spoken with "are greatly relieved that the court system has ruled in our favor."
He said, "We hope that the court's findings will put a stop to this nonsense, the frivolous lawsuits."
Mike and Jan Morgan indicated that the plaintiffs plan to appeal.
"We bought our property in Eagle Air Estates because it was a residential airpark and that was our lifestyle choice for retirement. We filed this lawsuit to protect that lifestyle choice, our property values and our rights as members of our homeowners association," he said in a statement to The Nugget.
"We have reviewed the ruling and believe the Court has erred in applying Oregon Law and has misinterpreted the facts established at trial. We are prepared to move forward and will appeal this ruling to the appellate court," Morgan wrote.
Goodsell said he was not surprised that the lingering dispute appears to poised to continue.
"It's his will to inflict as much pain as he can on us in here and that's exactly what he's doing," Goodsell said.
Goodsell acknowledged that he and his wife have put their Eagle Air Estates home on the market. He said the decision to sell was "not totally because of this (dispute)" but he did not wish to elaborate.
He said he and his wife plan to stay in the area and he plans to continue working on airplanes.
The Sisters Airport remains in operation. Goodsell said he has nothing to do with the airport's future.
"I have no control over the airport at this point," he said. "I hope it continues forever."
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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