Not A Leg To Stand On
I just finished reading the findings of U.S. Magistrate Judge John Jelderks in the matter regarding Oregon LNG and the Port Of Astoria and individual commissioners.
Oregon LNG asked for a summary judgement on just one of five claims regarding the Port's failure to extend the state lease to 30 years with DSL to match the lease Oregon LNG holds with the Port on the lands on the Skippanon. That claim is very basic: Oregon LNG has renewed it's sublease for the land with the Port and that the Port is in breach of it's sublease obligation to extent the master lease with DSL for 30 years.
Judge Jelderks agrees with the claim saying, in part, that the Port's arguments for not entering the 30 year extension with the state are not supported by fact. He states that the claim should be granted Oregon LNG.
The Port had argued that Oregon LNG "could be" in material breach of the sublease because they did not submit a final master plan that included an 18 hole golf course on the property. The judge found that the sublease required Oregon LNG and the Port to submit that plan. When final version of the plan was submitted he says the Port did not object to the lack of a golf course.
Further he says when the zoning was changed on the land to a use that would be incompatible with a golf course the Port did not object. Judge Jelderks says there is no evidence to suggest that Oregon LNG was in material breach in any way.
The Port had argued that it would be irresponsible to enter into a 30 year lease extension when the Department of Justice was investigating former Port Director Peter Gearin over the flap about making a sweetheart deal with the energy company in order to get his girlfriend, now wife, a job with the company.
The Judge writes: "This conclusion does not support defendants' contention that it is not obligated to extend the Master Lease at this time. There is no evidence that impropriety on the part of the former Port Executive Director in any way affected the Port's negotiation of the leases in question, that the Port Commissioners who unanimously voted to approve the leases were misinformed or mislead as to the material terms of the leases, or that execution of the leases was in any manner affected by deceit or fraud on the part of Gearin or anyone else. In the
absence of such evidence, the DOJ's investigation provides no basis for the Port to avoid its
clear contractual obligations."
I could go on and on with this but basically it boils down to exactly what I said when all this came up in the first place.
The Port is risking a multi-million dollar judgement that will cost taxpayers dearly for no good reason. This summary judgement will be passed on to a District Judge. It lays the groundwork
for one of two things. The Port Commissioners get the point and vote to extend the state lease with DSL or, Oregon LNG recovers all it's costs to date.
What was the point again? Oh yes. The Port argued that they are concerned that Oregon LNG will fold and leave them holding the bag for a 30 year lease with the state. The Judge said that's shear speculation not supported by fact as Oregon LNG has been making lease payments for five years and the Port happily cashes those checks without a word.