VT Digger
Chittenden property owner John Gerlach has been found in contempt in the latest development of an ongoing legal battle with Mountain Top Resort. The May 22 decision came after Gerlach removed a rope barring access to one of the resort’s cross-country trails.
The dispute began last summer when Gerlach and his wife, Debra, relocated two of the resort’s trails that ran through their private land.
The Gerlachs purchased the property with an easement that allowed Mountain Top Resort to operate ski trails within their property lines, but also permitted the Gerlach family to move trails as long as cross-country skiers had access to similarly safe and groomed trails.
The resort’s general manager and activities director said at the time that the two modified trails were too narrow and steep to groom, limiting their cross-country skiing guests’ access and potentially hurting their business.
In October, Rutland Superior Court Judge Alexander Burke agreed with the resort in a preliminary injunction, which granted the resort permission to use the original trails and prohibited the Gerlachs from interfering with existing trails or the resort’s maintenance and safety measures. Read more here.
