La Grange Makes Progress In Quarry Fight: Lawyer

LA GRANGE, IL — La Grange officials say they know what they can do to prevent major flooding on the village's south side. But they have a big obstacle — the Hanson Aggregates quarry to the east.

For years, the village has been engaged in litigation with Hanson. La Grange officials contend the quarry violated a 1920s village easement by cutting a drainage pipe on its property about three decades ago. This, officials say, has caused most of the southside flooding.

Related story: How Long Will La Grange Legal Battle Last?

Because of flooding last weekend, southside residents expressed their frustration at Monday's Village Board meeting about the long wait to solve the problem. The village believes the solution is the 50th Street drainage project, which would take stormwater across the quarry.

Before public input, the village had its lawyer, Dan Stanner, recount the latest court developments, which he described as positive.

Recently, he said Cook County Judge Neil Cohen rejected the quarry's request to dismiss the case.

"The judge acknowledged that the village had acquired certain easements in connection with an ordinance passed in the 1920s," Stanner said. "The judge recognized that it cannot be credibly disputed that the pipe was constructed as part of a village project for the benefit of the village. And he said while the village does not possess an executed copy of the claimed easement, there is evidence in the record of the village's substantial performance of the purported terms of the agreement. Therefore, the fact that we don't have it in writing is not a problem for the village's claims."

Last week, Cohen was "on fire" during a status hearing with the two sides, Stanner said. The judge rejected Hanson's arguments that it would be too expensive to have a pipe cross the quarry, the lawyer said.

"His answer was that it was just too bad. You shouldn't have cut the pipe, but he was careful not to prejudge the issues," said Stanner, an attorney with Tabet, DiVito & Rothstein.

He said the judge saw the trial as having two issues — whether the village held a valid easement and whether the quarry was justified in cutting the pipe.

Stanner said his goal was to have a trial by the first quarter of next year if settlement talks fail, as they have before.

Hanson Aggregates has not returned a message for comment.