This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

See the update below.

Earlier this year, a federal jury in Phoenix said the towns of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz., should pay $5.2 million to Ron and Jinjer Cooke — who for five years were unable to get a water connection to their home.

Then after the verdict, the towns, the utilities they control and the Cookes reached a settlement. What did the towns pay and what were the terms?

Hildale and Colorado City haven't said. Today the Utah State Records Committee may decide whether the settlement should be disclosed.

On behalf of The Tribune, I filed public record requests with the towns asking for terms of the settlement not long after they were reached. To date, attorneys for both towns and their utilities have denied my requests.

For Hildale and the utilities on the Utah side of the state line, there exists an administrative appeal process that ends at the state records committee. I have submitted a brief and so has Hildale attorney Blake Hamilton. I have embedded both briefs or you can click here for my brief and click here for Hamilton's brief.

The hearing should last about an hour. Both sides will be able to make oral arguments and take questions from the committee. The committee typically rules at the conclusion of the hearing but may defer a ruling until later.

Arizona has no such administrative appeals process. The Tribune is pondering its options in regard to Colorado City and the outcome in Utah will weigh into those considerations.

I'll update the blog after the hearing.

UPDATE

The Hildale attorney and I reached an agreement before today's hearing. Watch for an article about the Cooke settlement in the coming days.

Twitter: @tribunepolygamy