Attorneys Ben McAninch and Paul Shneider successfully represented the Lake Washington Sanitary District in a special assessment appeal by a property owner. Lake Washington Sanitary District is a municipal corporation that provides sanitary sewer service to properties surrounding Lake Washington and Lake George. After it expanded its service area to serve properties surrounding Lake Ballantyne and rural Madison Lake, it specially assessed property owners for the cost of constructing the $7.5 million wastewater collection system. One of the property owners appealed alleging that his property was not benefited by the amount of the assessment and challenging the process for determining the assessment.
Attorneys Ben McAninch and Paul Shneider successfully represented the Lake Washington Sanitary District at trial, where it was determined that their client acted lawfully. The property owner appealed to the Minnesota Court of Appeals. After briefing and oral argument, the Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s determinations. Friedrichs v. Lake Washington Sanitary Dist., No. 07-CV-13-4757, 2015 WL 3512407 (Minn. Dist. Ct.), affirmed by Friedrichs v. Lake Washington Sanitary Dist., No. A15-0965, 2016 WL 1290898, (Minn. Ct. App. Apr. 4, 2016).
Blethen, Gage & Krause PLLP has been part of the Southern Minnesota community for over 120 years. Our attorneys have significant experience advising clients on a wide range of issues. In addition to for-profit businesses and individuals, our clients include public and private universities, school districts, statutory service cooperatives, state agencies, cities, counties, townships, sanitary districts, foundations, churches, health care clinics, social service organizations and charitable organizations. All of our attorneys are active in the community and many sit on various non-profit boards. These experiences and clients have built a strong base from which our attorneys provide prompt and responsive service.
