BUTTE — A Butte-Silver Bow County district judge has ruled against 406 People First in its lawsuit over signatures collected for a ballot initiative that would have allowed a public vote on data centers in the southwest Montana county.
Watch here Butte judge rules in favor of B-SB:
In court documents filed Aug. 28, District Judge Frank Joseph ruled against the group, pointing to previous cases and focusing on statute. Joseph stated that misrepresentations of law are not misrepresentations of fact and do not apply to a legal term called equitable estoppel, which requires "the existence of conduct, acts, language or silence amounting to a representation or concealment of material facts."
"You know we're really disappointed, but we're prepared to appeal," Denise said.
A new Montana law MCA 13-28-206) sets a deadline one month ahead of the state's deadline for local election administrators to count signatures for ballot initiatives. Court documents say the law was available for all to see and abide by, despite the actions of the county's election administrator, Cynthia Sherman, who set an incorrect deadline for signature gathering.
"I was handing in signatures every week, sometimes multiple times a week, and so we already knew on July 31 that we had hit our goal. So, this law it impedes our justice. It doesn't help us," Denise Kelly, the president of 406 People First, said.
"The purpose of the of the law is to provide enough time, and, so, there was plenty of time in this case for the election administrator to verify all the signatures. It makes no sense to hold somebody to a hard deadline when the purpose of the law has been satisfied," attorney John Meyer said
In court documents, Joseph writes that both parties had the means and opportunity to receive advice from counsel regarding statutory deadlines, and both parties failed to review the statute and calculate the correct deadline.
"Unfortunately, right now, we are in the position where we have to go and argue for our rights. I mean, our government has failed and so our rights... we have to put in our time, our money, and our energy to preserve our rights," Kelly said.
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