Present
recent Michigan Court of Appeals ruling in favor of the City of Benton Harbor and Harbor Shores Development Inc., and on March 3, 2010 filed an Application for Leave to Appeal with the State of Michigan Supreme Court. We feel more strongly than ever that the Trial Court and Court of Appeals erred in their decisions and we are deeply concerned about the dangerous precedent that has been set; making it easier for corporations and government to take dedicated public park land and use it for private commercial purposes. People who make a gift, who leave a legacy like the Klocks, should know that their legacy will be protected in the future. Unless the Michigan Supreme Court reverses the lower court's decision, "those who do not own a foot of ground...have no piano or phonograph", as John Klock promised at the dedication ceremony, are the biggest losers because the park is no longer theirs.
On November 3, 2009, the Michigan Court of appeals heard oral arguments regarding the 1917 Klock deed and 2004 Berrien County Court Consent Judgment. At that time it was noted by two of the judges on the panel that this case was their most difficult case of that month and that they would be taking a hard look at the written arguments in this case. Click to read the Brief on Appeal that was filed on November 26, 2008.
in favor of the defendants, the City of Benton Harbor and Harbor Shores Community Redevelopment Inc. We maintain that the Circuit Court, and now the State Court of Appeals, attempted to define individual words in the Klock deed, not the full context of the language of the deed. |
| Our legal challenge is continuing - our fight is not over! Please make a tax deductible donation NOW! |
Past
In 2003 a group of citizens joined together to prevent the sale of a portion of JKP
for a housing development. Their efforts resulted in a lawsuit, Settlement
Agreement and Consent Judgement that allowed a small portion of property to be
developed in exchange for permanent protections of the remaining park property
forever.
When the 2004 Consent Judgment was handed down retired Judge Ron
Taylor said the "Deal" that was entered into would protect JKP once and
for all. If that was true then why were we forced to file another lawsuit to
defend the Klock Deed and Consent Judgment; why was it dismissed;
and why was this beautiful natural resource and important piece of
southwestern Michigan's history annihilated for a golf course?
During the 2003 litigation over the housing development it was discovered that there
was no reverter clause in the Klock deed and that the entire park was up for grabs.
A retired Berrien County Judge who acted as our "advisor", and our attorneys,
advised us to settle out of court as they felt the risk was too great and that the park
could be lost forever if we didn't.
- Language in the Klock Deed states: "...shall forever be used by said City of Benton
Harbor for bathing beach, park purposes, or other public purposes." "Other public
purposes" could have meant gas lines oil wells, or a hospital etc... Supposedly, to
remedy that threat, new language was included in the Settlement Agreement and the
Consent Judgment that was described to the plaintiffs as an additional layer of
protection against further privately owned or commercial development in the park.
The new language included: "The Court permanently enjoins the City from using
any portion of the property depicted as "Jean Klock Park" as depicted in Exhibit C
to this Consent Judgment for any purpose other than bathing beach, park purposes
or other public park purposes related to bathing beach or park use, except for
recreational vehicle campsites.
What was unknown then, and therefore not entered into discovery, was that for
more than 20 years the former Whirlpool CEO and Cornerstone Alliance, the
Whirlpool founded Chamber of Commerce, were planning to "transform" this
publicly owned Lake Michigan park into a privately owned golf course
development. We discovered the undisclosed intentions in December of 2004,
eleven months after the Consent Judgment was signed.
2005-2009
- The revelation in December of 2004 was followed by a news articles about River
Run, a golf course development, but no mention of using Jean Klock Park for it,
just land along the Paw Paw River. Not long after we discovered maps that proved
that all along the plan was to use the park. It wasn't until the summer of 2005 when
the truth was forced out of the developers and reported in the local newspaper.
Suddenly, River Run became Harbor Shores.
- For all of the layers of protections Jean Klock Park had it seems that none of them
mattered, including the magical language that was included in the 2004 Consent
Judgment. Instead, it is being argued that a golf course can be considered a public
park use, something that we were never advised of or contemplated as a public park
use during litigation and mediation.
Not long after Dave Whitwam, former Whirlpool CEO, and officials from
Cornerstone Alliance, tried to negotiate with the plaintiff group but to no success.
There was no point. We compromised in 2003 and allowed approximately 4 acres in
the park to be developed for residential purposes. That was the one and only
compromise and even that should never have happened - and wouldn't have - had
we known then what we know now.
- From 2005 until the summer of 2008 we worked non-stop to show government
officials and regulatory agencies how the public had been kept out of the process
and that the process itself was, and is, in violation of State and Federal laws. There
has been no transparency, no truth. After exhausting all efforts within the system we
had no choice but to take legal action. On July 8, 2008 a lawsuit to uphold the
Consent Judgment and Klock Deed was filed. On August 22, 2008 the lawsuit was
dismissed. On November 26, 2008, an appeal was filed with the Michigan Court of
Appeals in Grand Rapids.
- A separate Federal lawsuit by another group of plaintiffs was also filed last year. To
learn more about the status of this equally important lawsuit please visit:
www.protectjkp.com.
| Save Jean Klock Park |
| Litigation Past and Present |
| Following the 2004 Consent Judgment Ruling: "Deal will protect rest of Klock" Herald Palladium - January 28, 2004 "The Friends of Jean Klock Park are disappointed that any development, however small and restricted, will be allowed in the park. However, we are pleased that this settlement will finally, once and for all, put an end to periodic attempts over the years to sell off or otherwise profit from this important piece of the heritage of the southwestern Michigan area." -- RONALD TAYLOR Chief Trial Judge (Ret) Berrien County |
Friends of Jean Klock Park | PO Box 8988 | Benton Harbor, MI 49023 info@savejeanklockpark.org | www.savejeanklockpark.org © 2009 Friends of Jean Klock Park. All Rights Reserved. |
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