Taylor Industrial Park Lawsuit Appears to be Near a Conclusion

Taylor Council Approves Settlement Agreement Framework; Taylor to Move Forward with Land Purchase

Parcel currently owned by Jason Hatch which Taylor intends on buying

On Thursday evening, the Taylor Town Council approved a measure to enter into a settlement agreement to resolve the ongoing lawsuit regarding the purchase of land in the Taylor Industrial Park from seller Jason Hatch.  The settlement agreement will pave the way for the Town of Taylor to finalize the purchase of the land and to have the lawsuit be dismissed. When the land purchase was first approved in Taylor’s November 2018 meeting, the acquisition was for the purpose to implement economic development and facilitate a FEMA grant that Taylor previously was awarded for flooding mitigation that can happen in the area and the area downstream which is in the direction of the townsite. 

In May of last year, Richard and Alice Franco and Gary and Aaron Solomon filed a lawsuit against the Town alleging that Taylor violated the Arizona Constitution and multiple Arizona laws.  In particular, the Town was accused of violating open meeting laws, violating the ban on public gifting and conflict of interest and violating procedural steps required by law. 

The lawsuit stems from the opposition by the Francos and others that the Town should not purchase the land.  Taylor first initiated the acquisition in 2018. A portion of the 150 acres was purchased by Taylor and recorded in November 2018.  The additional portion was set to close soon thereafter.   

Before the additional tract closed, Alice Franco filed an open meeting complaint with the Arizona Attorney General. The Arizona Attorney General initiated an investigation and released a report in May 2019. The Attorney General made a preliminary assessment that the Town did indeed violate open meeting laws.  Taylor disagreed with the conclusion but rather than fight it, Taylor complied with the recommended remedy and completed an open meeting law training.

After resolving the AG complaint, the Town looked again to buy the property. From advice from Taylor’s town attorney in January 2020, Taylor implemented a 9-step plan to resolve the concerns addressed from the initial purchase agreement.  Those steps included an independent appraisal, flood mitigation efforts and benefits, verify Jason Hatch is actually the owner, and economic development opportunities with the site’s development.  

In the April 2020 meeting, the Council heard the 9-Issue report from staff and began to initiate the purchase once more. The Town was set to finalize the land procurement which prompted the lawsuit being filed in May 2020.  In addition to the lawsuit, the Francos and Solomons requested that the court temporarily restrain the Town from buying the tract of land.  A Restraining Order was put in place while the lawsuit was resolved and still is in place today.    

View from Airport Road looking east towards Industrial Park

After the lawsuit was filed, Jason Hatch, the seller of the land to Taylor, inserted himself into the lawsuit as an “intervenor”.  Several of the lawsuit allegations accuse Mr. Hatch of impropriety, including receiving illegal gifts from Taylor.  His intervening court pleadings deny those allegations.

The case was initially set for a trial in July 2020 but that trial never occurred.  Now, it appears that the parties are close to settling the lawsuit.  The end result of the settlement agreement is that Taylor can move forward with the purchase of the land and Taylor is not required to pay the Francos and Solomons any monetary damages. The agreement requires that each side pay their own attorney fees and costs. The settlement agreement also requires that Jason Hatch pay a sum of $15,000 to the Francos’ and Solomons’ law firm, Radix Law, based in Scottsdale. 

Interestingly, the proposed settlement agreement between the Town of Taylor and the Francos and Solomons will resolve, in part, a different lawsuit between Karen Godfrey and the Francos and Solomons.  That case will be resolved between Ms. Godfrey and the Francos but her lawsuit will continue against Solomon Global LLC and her siblings, William, Aaron and James Solomon.   

Although the settlement agreement is not yet signed by all of the parties, the fact that Taylor Council approved the measure indicates the proximity to the resolution of the case. The case is set for a status hearing in the coming weeks in Holbrook in the Navajo County Superior Court. There, the parties will advise the court of the status of the lawsuit.