Ditch company rebuffs Montava, seeks lawsuit dismissal

FORT COLLINS — A ditch company that has blocked the 999-acre Montava development in northeast Fort Collins has filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit that the developers filed to force an agreement.

Montava Development & Construction LLC, along with related companies, filed a lawsuit against WRCC Inc., the company that owns and operates a ditch across part of what Montava hopes will be a large residential and commercial development near the Anheuser-Busch facility. The lawsuit alleged that after years of negotiations with the Eaton-based company to reach an agreement on ditch crossing, that ditch operators illegally were blocking Montava with demanded changes.

WRCC sees the situation differently. In its motion for dismissal of the lawsuit, the ditch company attorneys said that Montava, because it doesn’t actually yet own the property that it wants to develop, does not have standing to file the lawsuit in the first place. It said the property is owned by Anheuser-Busch and the Poudre Valley School District, which are not party to the lawsuit.

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No. 8 Outlet Ditch is a ditch used to transport water from storage reservoirs to the Larimer and Weld Canal, a conveyance owned by a company also not party to the lawsuit.

WRCC alleged that Montava concealed information from the court in its filing, including that a letter that Montava said communicated agreement with its plans for crossing the ditch was based on “an incomplete 50% progress set.” WRCC also said the letter was not a “promise to accept Montava’s proposals.”

“…(T)he entire complaint must be dismissed for failure to state a valid claim upon which relief can be granted,” WRCC’s motion concluded.

Max Moss from Montava, in a request for comment from BizWest, said “Montava has made a good faith effort for over five years to reach a resolution with the ditch company to allow crossings of its ditch. Although it is unfortunate that legal action became necessary, we remain confident a solution is achievable and we will, of course, respond to its motion and continue with the legal proceedings.”

The case is Montava Development & Construction LLC, et al, versus WRCC Inc., case number 2024cv30143 filed in Larimer County District Court on Feb. 19, 2024.