EudoraNews.com

Douglas County Rural Water District No. 4 filed a motion for attorney fees that resulted from its lawsuit with the City of Eudora.

RWD 4 filed the motion last week requesting U.S. District Judge Julie A. Robinson award court costs totaling $743,904.72.

On May 28, a jury in U.S. District Court in Topeka found the city of Eudora had limited the district’s ability to serve 113 acres just south of Kansas Highway 10 and County Road 1061 that were annexed into the city in recent years.

The Eudora City Council has appealed the verdict.

The jury also awarded $23,500 in damages to the district to pay for engineering studies presented as evidence.

The filing stated that the fees included $625,052.75 for attorney fees; $68,896.90 for paralegal and law clerk services; $16,031.74 for expert witnesses; and $33,923.33 for other fees.

The city has 30 days to review and respond to the filings, after which Judge Robinson will make a ruling.

Curt Tideman, the city’s attorney, said the city’s appeal would focus on the power of the water district to enter into a loan agreement with the federal government and whether or not the city prevented or limited the district’s ability to serve its territory.

Tideman said both issues were matters of law that were too complicated for a jury to decide and, instead, should have been decided by Judge Robinson.

The appeal likely will be heard by the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver.

Tideman estimated that the court likely would hear the case in about one year.

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