Silverton Mountain owners named in suit

[truth]

By The Associated Press

Saturday, December 11, 2004 -

An Aspen businessman has sued the owners of Silverton Mountain for allegedly allowing trespassers on land he owns within the southern Colorado ski area.

Jim Jackson's suit was filed Monday in state court in San Juan County. He also said a snow-safety program in which explosives are used to prevent avalanches near his property constitutes trespass.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages.

Jackson said he regrets having to sue but that the ski area flourishes at his expense and may expose him to liability if someone is injured.

Silverton founder and owner Aaron Brill had been negotiating with Jackson in hopes of reaching a compromise, but the talks stalled.

Brill, who installed ropes prohibiting skier access to Jackson's mountaintop parcel, said his guides avoid Jackson's land and called the lawsuit "economic sour grapes."

More than a decade ago, Jackson failed in a bid to create a $21 million tramway that would have ferried skiers and visitors from a five-star hotel in town to 13,351-foot Storm Peak.

In 1999, Brill moved to Silverton and began buying mining claims. He installed a secondhand ski lift on his land and opened a ski area for experts only. He secured several long- term leases with private landowners who allow Silverton Mountain skiers to traverse their land - but not Jackson.


This guy is such a prick, he owns the Strater Hotel in Durango amongst a large collection of D-town properties. I met him when I first flew into Durango back in May of 92 as he was on my flight from Denver and I was trying to gather beta on moving there. Total money grubbing douche.

[truth]

Neighbor sues Silverton ski area
By Jason Blevins
Denver Post Staff Writer

Friday, December 10, 2004 -

Silverton - Aspen businessman Jim Jackson has sued the owners of Silverton Mountain for what he says is systematic trespass on an island of land he owns within the ski area.

Jackson's suit, filed Monday in state court in San Juan County, cites several instances of possible trespass in recent years at the 4-year-old ski area. Local officials have been unable to identify any of the skiers and have declined Jackson's repeated requests to prosecute Silverton founder and owner Aaron Brill and the unnamed skiers.

Jackson also argues that Brill's snow-safety program, which involves tossing explosives on Jackson's land to limit the risk of an avalanche on ski terrain below his property, constitutes trespass.

Jackson said he regrets having to resort to legal action, but Brill's operation flourishes at his expense and possibly exposes him to liability should someone be injured.

"We just don't feel like we can sit back passively as our property rights are continually violated," said Jackson, adding that he remains interested in working out an agreement with Brill. "It's not fair that he continues to expose us to liability for injuries to users of the area, particularly in steep avalanche terrain."

Jackson's 30-page lawsuit doesn't identify the compensation he seeks.

Brill has been negotiating with Jackson for several months in hopes of reaching a compromise.

Those negotiations foundered, and Jackson sued. Brill, who installed ropes prohibiting skier access to Jackson's mountaintop parcel, says his guides have never led skiers onto Jackson's land. Before opening for guided skiing in the fall of 2000, Brill secured several long-term leases with private landowners who allow Silverton Mountain skiers to traverse their land.

But Jackson was different. Brill's operation has effectively quashed the Aspen man's dream for a major resort in the same valley as the ski area. In 1992 Jackson was unsuccessful in creating a $21 million tramway - the world's highest and longest - ferrying Silverton visitors from a five-star hotel in the town to the rocky aprons of the 13,351-foot Storm Peak. He envisioned ski lifts and trails spinning out of the tramway terminal on Storm Peak.

In 1999, seven years after Jackson initially began planning for his resort, Brill moved to Silverton with his own dream. He began buying mining claims and installed a secondhand ski lift on his land and opened a ski area for experts only.

Brill calls Jackson's suit "economic sour grapes." He also questions the accuracy of boundaries Jackson claims outline his property.

"It's a shame that Mr. Jackson puts his own personal wealth ahead of the needs of entire Silverton community," says Brill, who plans to continue operating as he has for four years, drawing skiers that have sparked a much-needed wintertime economy in the former mining town of Silverton. "We have never taken our guided skiers onto his land, and Jackson's concept of snow trespass in active avalanche paths is absurd."

Staff writer Jason Blevins can be reached at 303-820-1374 or jblevins@denverpost.com.

[ulty_guy]

[FigureEleven]

A bad bad man. The Guides are always very aggressive in keeping skiers away from the douche's property boundary. I dont really understand how avalanche control near his land equals trespassing.

[Spats]

Welcome to America, where money can buy the courts.

It's obvious what A-hole wants: he wants to run Aaron out of business, pick up Silverton's property at bankruptcy prices, and run it himself, since he couldn't get his own ski resort started.

A-hole's lawsuit may have no merit, but that doesn't stop him from suing. And it means Silverton will have to come up with tens of thousands of dollars it doesn't have in order to defend this lawsuit. And if Silverton doesn't come up with the money, it will lose, regardless of how meritless A-hole's lawsuit is, because our "justice" system has become so convoluted and insane that no normal US citizen can effectively prosecute someone else or defend himself.

Hey Euros, Kiwis, Aussies: what keeps people in your country from doing this? Can an average person actually defend themselves in court? Do judges throw out crap like this even before defense is necessary? What's up? I'd really like to know, because between injured idiots suing for medical expenses and rich a-holes suing because you're not making them richer, it's almost impossible to have any fun in the USA.

[truth]

Hey Euros, Kiwis, Aussies: what keeps people in your country from doing this? Can an average person actually defend themselves in court?

In many countries the A-hole that sues and loses picks up the legal fees of the non-A-hole that defended himself. That seems to deter frivilous letigous tomfoolery.

[Helicrackjnky]

Another Farking greedy mofo what bull shit!! Hope the arsewhole gets the karma that will come down on him for doing this x 1000000000000000000!
Hopefully it will get thrown out of court on summary judgement CO courts do not like BS suits!
Sounds like someone needs to start a spam campaign!Lifetime subscition to gay mans life would be good for starters!

[FNG]

I'm confused...how does Silverton profit at the "expense" of this guy? Doesn't seem to me like guy has anything at all to lose from this other than a few feet of snow on his proporty from the avy bombs. What a dick.

[bdog]

Ain't Amerika Grand? What a f***ing douche Bag!

[robokill1981]

I don't understand how building your house at the bottom of an avalanche chute is Silverton's problem. A few years ago before Silverton started controlling the chute it slid, buried the house, and knocked it off it's foundation. Seems to me with the chute now being controlled it's safer for this douchebags house.