Trident Holdings told a court that it wanted to wait to see how last year’s statewide elections turned out before moving forward with a lawsuit it filed.
The firm, backed by Alec Williams and unnamed investors, proposed a large-scale land swap that would have moved much of the area surrounding McCall, Idaho, into its private control. The Idaho Department of Lands rejected the proposal, an action which the Idaho Land Board upheld in 2022. The firm then sued for judicial review.
In February, BoiseDev reported that the State of Idaho and Idaho Department of Lands asked a judge to throw out a petition for judicial review filed by Trident in 2021 – saying the firm hadn’t taken any steps on the lawsuit for a year, as of February.
Waiting on voters
In a filing in response to the state asking to throw out the case, Trident attorney David Arkoosh wrote that the lack of activity “is justified by the fact that 2022 was an election year, which saw all seats on the (Land Board) in limbo due to the electoral races for Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General, State Controller and Superintendent of Public Instruction, which officeholders comprise the five-member Land Board.”
Of the five members, three seats changed – with Phil McGrane replacing Lawrence Denney as Secretary of State, Raúl Labrador replacing Lawrence Wasden as Attorney General, and Debbie Critchfield replacing Sherri Ybarra as Superintendent of Public Instruction. Governor Brad Little and State Controller Brandon Wolf are holdovers.
During a hearing on the state’s petition to dismiss Wednesday, Judge Samuel Hoagland interrupted Arkoosh’s arguments to ask why that mattered.
“How (do) new members of the Idaho Land Board have any impact on what I’m reviewing — which is a decision made by the previous Land Board,” Hoagland asked.
Arkoosh argued that they are asking to have their request turned back to the land board – saying the previous version of the panel didn’t follow proper procedure.
He told the judge that his client didn’t think the former Land Board wouldn’t treat any new application differently.
“Petitioner does not have great confidence that under the regime as it was, under the former land board, any new application would receive different treatment, and in fact, it is my understanding based on new communications with petitioner and members of the agency that they have said they would deny any new application out of hand, that is at all similar to the prior application,” he said.
‘I’m just not buying that’
Both Arkoosh and Williams made donations during last year’s political cycle. Williams gave a single $100 donation to McGrane, according to filings with the Secretary of State. Arkoosh gave $1,142 in cash to McGrane, a Republican, plus a $315 in-kind donation. He also gave $5,000 to Democrat Tom Arkoosh, who ran for Attorney General and lost against Labrador, a Republican. David Arkoosh is related to Tom Arkoosh.
Because Trident has not revealed its list of investors, it is unknown if any of those individuals made additional political donations.
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Arkoosh said he and his client apologized for being silent for a year.
“I think it was a moment of indecision on petitioner’s behalf of waiting to see what was happening with the electoral process as well as the judicial proceeding,” Arkoosh said.
Hoagland responded sharply.
“Ya know, I’m just not buying that, Mr. Arkoosh,” Hoaglund said. “A response saying ‘we’d like to see the outcome of the election,’ a motion or stipulation to stay proceedings until the election could have been easily filed. I think it’s disrespectful, at the very least.”
Arkoosh told the court that his firm and Trident have continued to try to make their case with elected officials.
“We have made multiple attempts… I know the petitioner has made multiple attempts informally to reach out and resolve this issue through Idaho Department of Lands and the Land Board and the AGs office, as have I, to no avail.”
Hoagland said he would take the arguments under advisement and make a ruling at a later date.
Correction: Based upon an incorrect interpretation of a comment during the hearing, we incorrectly attributed the familial relationship between David and Tom Arkoosh.
