Welker Lawsuit
Mount Dallas Neighbors --
We have some very good news today: The Welker lawsuit is finally over.
The Welkers appealed the original order governing management of Mount Dallas Road, entered in Superior Court on December 29, 2017. On June 30 of this year, after two-and-a-half years of additional litigation, Judge Eaton entered a restated order. The restated order was not appealed, thus terminating the lawsuit.
The only substantive difference between the original order and the restated order is that the restated order mandates “sectioned” allocation of road maintenance costs. Under sectioned allocation, maintenance costs actually incurred for each of seven defined sections of the road must be tracked and allocated only among owners who have the right to use the section to access their parcels. See Exhibit A of the restated order for details.
The actual effect of the change in the allocation method is small. Owners of the bottom 25 parcels (along Kiya Way and below it) pay essentially the same (or a little less); owners of the next 24 parcels (Twoomey through Liebman) pay a little less; and owners of the top 35 parcels (along Sunridge Lane and above it) pay a little more. For a nominal $30,000 annual assessment ($5,000 routine general maintenance + $25,000 resurfacing reserves), the change redistributes about $1,800 (6% of the total assessment) among the 84 owners.
The Association made assessments for resurfacing in 2018 and 2019 pursuant to the original order. Those assessments will be retroactively adjusted in accord with the restated order. Some owners will receive refunds; other owners will be invoiced for an additional amount. The total amount that will be redistributed among owners due to the retroactive adjustments is approximately $5,300 (a little more than 7%).
The restated order supersedes and replaces the original order. It will be recorded against all 84 parcels accessed via Mount Dallas Road.
We extend our most sincere thanks to the many owners who provided legal-defense funds, personal effort, and moral support during the five years that we fought the lawsuit. With the litigation concluded, we look forward to managing the road in peace.
Your Mount Dallas Association Board of Directors,
Bob Tauscher, President
Bill Severson, Treasurer
Flo McAlary, Secretary
​
Here are the final documents:
• "2020 Amended and Restated Final Order (MDR) with Exh A-F"
• "2020 Amended and Restated Final Order (MDR) Exh G"
​
Last Updated September 30, 2020