A Utah judge has ordered the sale of a 400-acre parcel of land that is part of a communal property trust established by followers of jailed polygamous sect leader Warren Jeffs.
In a ruling issued Monday, 3rd District Judge Denise Lindberg says a liquidity crisis of the United Effort Plan Trust makes the sale of Berry Knoll necessary. The land-rich but cash-poor trust has about $3 million in debts and no dependable stream of revenue.
The order calls for the northern Arizona property to be sold to the highest bidder but gives no timetable. The decision comes nearly a month after Lindberg took public testimony on the sale.
"Having now considered all the arguments for and against the sale, the court concludes that the trust's financial condition and the ongoing difficulties in securing a reliable revenue stream to meet its past and present obligations warrant granting the (sale)," Lindberg wrote.
Court-appointed accountant Bruce Wisan, who manages the trust, will advertise the sale, accept the bids and select the bid that most benefits the trust. Lindberg also gives Wisan room to reject the bids and instead accept an offer on the land tendered last year.
Neither Wisan's attorneys, nor attorneys for the Fundamentalist LDS Church, were immediately available for comment Monday.
Worth an estimated $114 million, the UEP holds most of the land and homes in Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz. The twin border towns are home to members of the FLDS Church. The FLDS considered communal living a religious principle and formed the trust in 1942 for the shared benefit of all who keep the tenets of the faith.
Wisan has managed the trust since 2005, appointed after the trust was seized by the Utah courts amid allegations of mismanagement by Jeffs. Revisions to the trust during his tenure have converted the trust into a secular entity.
The FLDS view state intervention in the trust as part of an attack on the religion. Members rejected Wisan's management and largely ignored him, unless threatened with eviction from their homes.
Wisan first sought to satisfy trust debts, which include fees owed to his firm, his attorneys and some property taxes, through the sale of Berry Knoll last fall.
FLDS members countersued in state and federal court to stop the sale, saying a portion of the land, which is used for grazing and farming, had been designated for a religious temple.
In her ruling, Lindberg said those actions — and those of Hildale and Colorado City leaders who have also squabbled with Wisan during the past four years — ultimately contributed to her decision to authorize the Berry Knoll sale. Lindberg said the lawsuits and delays have resulted in unnecessary litigation that helped ratchet up the debts.
"In sum, a number of options could have been employed to minimize the need to sell trust assets, had the FLDS community and the cities been willing to cooperate with the trust," the judge wrote.
Lindberg also said the FLDS had offered "no alternatives," to meet the trust's financial obligations.
Last month, Lindberg also rejected a settlement proposal to resolve the battle for control of the UEP.