This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A Utah mink farmer alleges in a lawsuit that noise and lights from a traveling circus set up next to his farm caused him to lose at least 150 breeding females and thousands of kits.
The suit, filed Monday in 3rd District Court, accuses Summit County and Coalville City of taking property without due process of law and negligence for allegedly allowing the circus construction without getting approval from G & G Ranch and owner Glen Black. Black is seeking $249,190 in general damages, attorneys' fees and court costs.
Coalville City Attorney Sheldon Smith said Wednesday that the city has not been served with the suit and he has not had a chance to review it.
Summit County officials could not be reached Wednesday for comment, but on Friday Summit County Attorney Margaret Olson released this statement: "Summit County has a vested right to operate its fairgrounds. This vested right preceded the existence of the mink farm. The County will continue to operate its fairgrounds consistent with its vested rights."
According to the suit, minks are very sensitive to light and noise during their three-and-a-half-month birthing season and because of that, Coalville city ordinances do not allow construction or excavation near a mink farm between March 1 and June 15 without first obtaining approval from the owner.
In addition, city ordinances require that all light fixtures installed within 300 feet of a mink farm be directed toward the ground or away from the farm, the suit says.
However, Summit County issued a temporary business license in April 2015 authorizing the circus to build a big top and other carnival-like structures on county rodeo grounds next to the ranch, the suit says. The center of the mink farm was approximately 158 feet from the construction, according to the suit.
Neither Summit County nor Coalville sought Black's approval for the construction and the city "failed entirely to enforce its own ordinances and stop the construction of the circus or the erection of the lights," the suit alleges.
The noise and lights led to the loss of at least 150 new breeding females purchased in 2014 for the 2015 season, as well as the unborn and stillborn kits, the suit says.
Twitter: @PamelaMansonSLC