SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - A Utah judge is ordering an advocacy group to reimburse San Juan County for the costs of a lawsuit that accused local officials of improperly meeting with Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke before he cut the size of Bears Ears National Monument.
The Salt Lake Tribune reports that Judge Lyle Anderson ruled the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance abused the legal process and should pay legal fees in a lawsuit that Anderson dismissed in April.
The alliance is fighting the sanction. It argues the judge improperly conducted his own research and fact-gathering to reach his finding.
Anderson decided the suit was intended to pester the county with “the improper purpose of dissuading commissioners from lobbying federal officials.”
The Tribune reports that San Juan County submitted a bill for about $3,000.
___
Information from: The Salt Lake Tribune, http://www.sltrib.com
Please read our comment policy before commenting.