U.S. DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF UTAH
Cases Filed from 5/11/2005 to Wed May 25 23:12:00 MDT 2005
DATE FILED CASE TITLE DOCKET# *********************************************************
05/25/2005 Moyes et al v. Ogden City et al 1:05-cv-00071-TS
Judge: Stewart
Cause: 42:1983 Civil Rights Act
Nat Suit: Civil Rights: Other
There was talk of attorneys and hints of lawsuits in a Salt Lake Tribune article on May 17, in connection with the recently failed Anti-Recreation Center Bond petition drive :
The petition drive and a counter campaign by residents who want the center grew nasty in recent weeks, with accusations of harassment, stolen petitions, threats and a marketing blitz that included telemarketing and newspaper advertisements. It is those issues that attorneys want to explore for possible action, [Mitch] Moyes said.Could it be that Mr. Moyes and his now-bloodied group have somehow picked themselves up off the mat, and are now reeling back into the center of the ring for Round Two?
Grab your popcorn and tilt back your barca-loungers, folks. It seems there's never a dull moment in Ogden City politics.
If any of you have any specific information about this lawsuit, please feel free to chime in with your comments. I'm not going to hold my breath waiting for our local newspaper of record to fill in the blanks.
How many lawsuits are now in the works, anyway? I lose count.
05/28 Update: I got my hands on a copy of the "complaint" in the above-mentioned Moyes v. Ogden lawsuit today. To call its draftsman inept and amateuturish would be a severe insult to inept and amateurish people. This lawsuit will get blown out of court, I predict, faster than a speeding snare roll.
I'm hoping, for the sake of one of the plaintiffs, a very decent man whom I hold in high regard, that US District Court Judge Stewart isn't in a bad mood when this case winds up on his court docket for the inevitable Motion to Dismiss. Federal Judges have a tendency to become grumpy over frivolous lawsuits; and I'd hate to see any of these plaintiffs suffer heavy sanctions because of their misapplied political passion.
This lawsuit is a true-life example of why there are some jobs that require the hiring of professionals. The plaintiffs' complaint is a do-it-yourself job; and it shows.
10 comments:
I think this Moyes guy and the arrogant mayor ought to duke it out in the ring! Ten rounds - winner gets their way with the old mall block. What does Moyes want to do with that property anyway? I think they should put a bunch of honky tonks and a red light alley, maybe an opium den or two like the old twenty fitth street! Then we would really have a regional draw like the mayor wants.
It appears to me that It is not unusual for the little lord mayor and his privy council to play dirty. They seem to have a reputation for playing fast and loose with the truth and screwing over people who are in the way of their grandios schemes. There are at least two, maybe more, law suits against them. These are not actions taken by nut cases or malcontents, they are by big time companies, the US Army and upstanding citizens that are investigating or accusing the city hall gang of malfeasance. In addition there are legions of people in Ogden who feel they have been screwed one way or the other by this group. Where there is smoke, there generally is fire! I believe the common denomanator in all of this discontent with the city is the sheer arrogance displayed by the mayor and council in most all of their actions. In my opinion they have the most absolutely dismal PR skills of any political group in the country. Their mantra is "we're doing it for the good of the people" but I believe they could not care less how their actions hurt the people. They remind me of Louis XVI and his royal court with their distain for the population.
As I recall that guy on 25th that kicked the city's butt in court over the sign fiasco a year or so ago is also suing the city for many millions over some other situation. Does anyone know about this, or know him to get the story? Seems like he represented himself and took on the city and a bunch of city lawyers and won going away!
Also that fiesty woman from North Ogden may be suing the city over something? She doesn't cut them any slack!
They had driven through a driving snow storm to meet in a small, dark, back room in a Roy City bowling center. Furnished with folding chairs and a couple of picnic tables that held glasses, ice and some beverages, the room was filled with an atmosphere reminiscent of the old, unauthorized Union meetings that were forced underground near the turn of the century.
Perhaps 20 people were in attendance that night at the Roy bowling center, all gathered to discuss the mayor's plan to build a Hi-tech Wreck Center on the old Ogden City Mall site. This night's meeting was chaired by one Mr. Mitch Moyes, a former Ogdenite who had spent the last 12 years somewhere in Texas, gaining ideas and inspiration in the rebuilding of deteriorated downtown and urban areas, and who had most recently moved back to town. From that meeting on, Moyes has stayed the course, devoting himself to working vigorously against this most recent of the mayor's efforts to re-vitalize downtown Ogden.
Moyes has never wavered from this task. Driven by an underlying passion and the need to do right by the people of Ogden, Mitch stays on course by organizing meetings and protests that seem to go hand in hand with other problems that the Rabbit Hole Gang has created. RDA abuse, the foreclosure/bankruptcy of Union Square, WalMart's attempt to wrest homes away from citizens through the City's power of Eminent Domain and a collapsing city infrastructure have lent themselves to Moye's cause, rather than detracted from it. Even the failed petition drive, that actually wound up looking almost like a victory through the way Moyes handled things during its closing moments, could not divert Moyes from his assault on the Hi-tech Wreck Center. RDA meetings, City Council meetings, organizing press conferences, recruiting support of well intentioned people who believe that the people's welfare is of prime importance, Moyes has stayed on target and on top of it.
And now, after countless appearances before the Rabbit Holers, in both public and private meetings, Moyes has come up with one more, last gasp effort to force the Rabbit Holers to take one more look at things before construction. Mitch Moyes, it seems, has filed suit with injunction, against Ogden City and the Hi-tech Wreck Center. And this right on the heels of the City's partnering up with the Boyer Company and the Larry Miller Cineplex Group. It now seems that Moyes may have "trumped" (how about that wording) the Rabbit Holers and thrown another wrench into the gearbox.
But is this latest move wise and in the best interest of the city? We will explore the ramifications in another "comments" posting by CityWatchdog in the near future. Watch for this and other stories that need serious discussion ;for serious times.
This Mitch dude ought to go back to Texas and that squirly little mayor ought to go back to his rabbit hole in Harrisville, and leave the old mall site to the real Ogden cowboys to pasture their horses in. Then we could have some genuine horse shit in town instead of the simulated stuff that these two keep putting out.
Lawsuits need specifics, not conjecture and "he said, she said" accusations. The filing of the Moyes vs. Ogden City lawsuit is, unfortunately, loaded with the latter. Federal Court Judges do not take kindly at frivolity, and if this is indeed the case, very serious ramifications can follow the party that is responsibile, the result being that other future actions will be looked on already tainted.
Professionals, in this case attorneys, should be the players if this pleading is to stand a chance. The intent of this suit may be credible in Moyes mind, but the method and crafting leaves much to question. And here again the question is posed: is this suit really in Ogden's best interest? Time will tell and the clock's ticking because, "hea come the judge."
The problem with this law suit and with Mitch Moyes is that everyone that is opposed to the Mayor and city council will get grouped in with him in the mind of the public.
Not all people in town who are worried about where this administration is taking us is part of the lunatic fringe. In fact most concerned citizens I have talked to that oppose the city administration and their actions think this Mitch fellow ought to shut up and go away. Last nights council meeting was pretty outrageous from what I hear, what with Mitch making a pretty big ass of himself.
Maybe someone he is affiliated with should take him aside and tell him to back off before he creates a wave of sympathy for the Mayor and his followers on the council.
Ozboy, I'm afraid you're right about others getting grouped in with this Moyes character. I attended a council meeting once and he was thrown out. Then he pulled the failed petition thing off, trying to justify the failure because of legal advise. Hell, the bottom line is, he failed. And it seems that he's unaware of just what it is he's trying to do-he's grasping at straws and for what reason? Time for someone with substance to take on the city council and RDA. No more amateurs!
I hope that this Mitch guy has a different attorney on his law suit than he did advising him on not submitting his petition drive.
I hope Mitch has the same attorney, because it's obvious neither of them knows what their doing and therefore it's only a matter of time before this ridiculous bunch pushes the envelope too far and everyone recognizes them for what they are: obstructionists with no alternatives!
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