Talkeetna Historical Society lawsuit settled

The lawsuit filed against the Talkeetna Historical Society by Steve Van Troba has been dismissed.

The case was in and out of court for over 3 years. The case was originally filed as a real estate matter in the summer of 2007 and included a suit against the Mat Su Borough, Michael Kelly — the museum curator at the time, and the Talkeetna Historical Society.

A street through Historical Society property, Nagley Street, was vacated by the Borough years ago.  Van Troba began using it for access to his horse corrals.

President Rich Crain said that the society had asked Van Troba to stop using their property for access and tried to come to a resolution with Van Troba, without success.

Before the Society was able to file final plats with the Borough, the matter became a lawsuit.  Meanwhile, Crain says he had filed an extension with the Borough to file the final plat until the lawsuit was settled.

Judge Kari Kristiansen recently ruled there was no support for Van Troba’s contention that an easement existed by implication.

Van Troba had argued he had an easement to his property via historical access on Nagley Street.  The courts found otherwise.

In September, the attorney for the Talkeetna Historical Society, Eric Jensen, sent a request for a final judgment to the court.  Van Troba had 30 days to respond and did not.  Jensen says the matter is closed and cannot be appealed. Crain says a large portion of the Belle’s Barn grant money received years ago for signage and landscaping was spent on the lawsuit.

Now that the lawsuit is over, the platting process with the Borough can be completed.