Court rules landowner Jared Bossly was not in contempt against Summit surveyors

ABERDEEN, S.D.(HubCityRadio)- On Wednesday, Brown County Judge Rich Sommers ruled that landowner Jared Bossly was not in contempt versus people who was surveying his land for Summit Carbon Solutions.

Judge Sommers didn’t allow testimony from landowners in support of Bossly because it had little impact on how he was going to rule.

Sommers did warn landowners that Summit by court order will continue to be allowed to survey on their land and any further interruptions will lead to contempt charges versus the landowners.

Judge Sommers reminds Bossly that he must stay at least 100 yards away from surveyors at this time.

Bossly’s lawyer Brian Jorde wanted to present evidence trying to clear his client of any wrongdoing but was denied by the judge because it had little relevance to the case at hand.

Jorde wanted to file a motion to find Summit Carbon Solutions in contempt but was denied by Judge Sommers due to a ten day notice that needed to be given once contempt orders are introduced.

Spokeman from Summit Carbon Solutions released the following statement to DakotaNewsNow:

“Summit Carbon Solutions is pleased the judge made clear to all landowners they cannot interfere with surveys, which are necessary to minimize project impacts to the environment and agriculture.

The overwhelming majority of survey work conducted over the past two years has involved landowners voluntarily offering the company permission to access their land. We look forward to continuing to work with landowners in gaining access for survey. We remain dedicated to transparent, respectful dialogue with all involved parties as we continue to drive forward with our sustainable solution. In this case, our crew chief did his best to make sure the landowners knew he was on their property, so they were not surprised by their presence.”