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The lawsuit filed by the owners of the Calumet Inn against the city of Pipestone and former Pipestone Building and Zoning Official Doug Fortune appears to be heading toward a July 15 trial. As the case drags on, the historic downtown landmark remains closed. K. Kuphal
No settlement was reached during a Dec. 20 settlement conference at the Minneapolis Courthouse for the lawsuit filed by the owners of the Calumet Inn against the city of Pipestone and former Pipestone Building and Zoning Official Doug Fortune.
The Pipestone City Council has held three closed sessions since November to discuss the pending litigation, but has not taken any action related to those discussions. State statute allows closed sessions to be held to discuss strategy for pending litigation.
With no apparent settlement on the horizon, the case is headed for a jury trial on July 15. The anticipated length of trial is seven days, according to a scheduling order filed Oct. 23.
Tammy Grubbs, Vanda Smrkovski, Heliocentrix LLC and reVamped LLC filed a complaint against the city and Fortune in November of 2022 alleging the city and Fortune violated their due process rights under the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and violated their 5th Amendment rights by preventing them from using or occupying the Calumet Inn when the city condemned the structure in 2020. Grubbs and Smrkovski are seeking monetary damages in excess of $75,000, attorney’s fees, litigation expenses and other relief and costs deemed appropriate by the court.
The city and Fortune filed an answer to the complaint in December of 2022, indicating that they “acted lawfully and properly in all respects” regarding the condemnation of the Calumet Inn, that they were “acting in the best interest of the public health, safety, and welfare” and acting within their “police power, or with authority delegated to them in their official capacity, with a good faith belief their conduct was lawful, constitutional, and pursuant to probable cause.”
Meanwhile, the historic downtown landmark has been closed since Grubbs announced on May, 6, 2022 that it would be closing temporarily due to financial burdens.
