This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A federal judge has awarded the state of Arizona more than $2 million in attorney fees in connection with a 2014 civil rights case brought against two polygamous towns on the Utah-Arizona line by a couple who claimed they were being discriminated against on the basis of religion.
Ronald and Jinjer Cooke filed a lawsuit in federal court in Phoenix in 2010, a case in which the state of Arizona joined.
A 2014 trial ended with a jury awarding the Cookes $5.2 million. The couple later settled the case for $3 million, money that was to be paid by insurers representing Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz., and utility companies controlled by the two towns, which are collectively known as Short Ceek.
Last week, U.S. District Judge James Teilborg awarded the Arizona Attorney General's Office $2,182, 377 in attorney fees, according to court records.
Hildale and Colorado City are home of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Ronald Cooke was raised in the faith then left it and the towns as a teenager.
Cooke returned to Colorado City in 2008 with his wife and children. But the city government and utilities refused to connect utilities, according to trial testimony.
The towns and utilities eventually provided electricity and sewer connections, but refused to provide water.
At last year's trial, the Cookes testified about having to haul sewage from their home and water to their home, and what they described as harassment from the towns' marshals and public officials.
The jury issued its verdict in March. About a month later, the Cookes received a water connection.