SALT LAKE CITY — The Fundamentalist LDS Church waited too long to fight the state's takeover of the polygamous sect's finances, the Utah Supreme Court ruled Friday.
The FLDS filed its suit in 2008, three years after the state took control of the United Effort Plan trust amid allegations of mismanagement by then-FLDS president Warren Jeffs.
"The FLDS Association was not diligent in challenging the district court's modification of the UEP trust," the court wrote in its unanimous decision, "and that lack of diligence has resulted in prejudice to numerous parties."
The trust has been valued at $110 million and holds most of the property in twin polygamist communities of Hildale and Colorado City as well as land in Bountiful, British Columbia, Canada.
Tensions between the FLDS and the state have grown steadily since a judge appointed Bruce Wisan as the special fiduciary in charge of the trust. When the sale of Berry Knoll Farm — a 438-acre stretch of land set aside as a building site for a temple — was proposed in 2008, the FLDS filed a lawsuit to block the sale. Third District Judge Denise Lindberg authorized the sale of that land in August 2009, a decision that the church asked the Supreme Court to reverse.
In light of Friday's ruling, Attorney General Mark Shurtleff said he hoped both sides would resume talks and begin working toward a settlement outside of court.
"We never meant to be in litigation for five years on this thing," Shurtleff said. "It's hurting everybody. Everything is being spent on attorneys and litigation. In the meantime, things in that community just keep getting worse."
Talks between the FLDS and the special fiduciary nearly led to an agreement last year before negotiations fell apart, Shurtleff said.
Traditionally church members have given the deeds to their homes and land to the church, and now the fact that the fiduciary might distribute those deeds has been a central point of discussion for the two sides.
FLDS members have accused Wisan of trying to subdivide properties and favoring former FLDS members rather than church members who might deed their property back to church leaders.
It's a claim Wisan's attorney, Jeffrey L. Shields rejects and one the Utah Supreme Court determined was not "ripe" for its consideration.
"We have a secular job to do and we don't want to get involved in the religion," Shields said. "We're very hopeful that instead of fighting about what happened in the past, we can move forward and get some properties distributed to these beneficiaries. I may be na?e, but that's my hope."
An attorney for the FLDS, however, said Friday's ruling would prove "polarizing." Attorney Rod Parker called on the Attorney General's Office to intervene and to provide more oversight for the fiduciary.
"What (Wisan) is doing is really out of control," Parker said. "This is the process that (Shurtleff) started and it's gotten way off track. He needs to make some effort to get it back on track in a way that will get people closer together. Instead, he pushed the rock over the cliff and turned his back on it."
In recent days, Parker said, Wisan has fought to keep the FLDS from using a schoolhouse in the area. Wisan's attorney declined to comment on the claim.
"It's a philosophical thing," Parker said. "He's pursuing an agenda of remaking this community against the community's will. They don't want to be changed or 'rescued,' " Parker said. "They want their lives back."
The FLDS have also filed a similar complaint against the trust in federal court. Parker said the federal case was "high on our list" of potential options but was not a strategy to which the FLDS were absolutely committed.
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