A south-metro school district agreed to pay $42,500 to settle claims that construction of Eagle View Elementary in Elko New Market damaged neighboring farmland.
The deal, approved recently by the New Prague School District, is one piece of a settlement signed by the farm owners, the city of Elko New Market and eight contractors.
The dispute stemmed from work that began more than four years ago near the farm owned by Charles and Geraldine Friedges, according to a lawsuit they filed against the school district and city in late 2008.
The couple, whose principal crops include oats, alfalfa, corn and soybeans, had asked for more than $50,000 for damage that they said resulted from construction of roads and the school, which opened in the fall of 2006.
The Friedgeses claimed that the city and school district did not use effective erosion, storm water and sediment control measures and allowed heavy machinery to be operated on their property without permission.
Both the city and school district denied liability and said contractors who did the work should pay for damage, according to legal documents. A handful of contractors -- whose work ranged from excavation to grading and landscaping -- were drawn into the dispute, and more finger-pointing ensued.
The terms of the settlement were largely confidential, and the deal was structured in such a way that no party is supposed to know how much the others paid or the total amount received by the Friedgeses, said Mark Azman, an attorney for the school district.
But records obtained under state data-practices law show that the school district agreed to pay $42,500 -- an expense that's covered by insurance, said Superintendent Craig Menozzi.
"We thought it was a reasonable settlement, and we're just happy to have it over with," he said.
The city of Elko New Market paid nothing, records show. As part of the deal, the city agreed to waive its rights to seek costs in the case.
The settlement agreement is not an admission of liability by any of the parties, but a way to avoid litigation and resolve the dispute, the deal says.
Attorneys said they expect the case to be dismissed in the next few weeks. The Friedgeses received their settlement check about a week ago, said their attorney, Bradley Gunn.
Efforts to reach the Friedgeses by phone were unsuccessful, but in court documents, the couple said they suffered extensive crop damage. The problems included flooding, silt buildup, seeded topsoil scraped away by bulldozer blades and damage to tile drain lines serving the farm, they said.
The couple also claimed that noxious weeds invaded their land as a result of the damage, forcing them to change from conventional seeds to Roundup Ready seeds in 2007.
In 2008, herbicides used on school grounds or nearby roads drifted onto the farm, damaging soybeans and causing the Minnesota Department of Agriculture to partially quarantine the crop, the couple said.
Sarah Lemagie • 952-882-9016
