Supreme Court AFFIRMS District Court Ruling Denying the Formation of a Village at Johnson Lake

Post date: Apr 03, 2009 3:46:5 PM

In an eleven page opinion issued on April 3rd, the Nebraska Supreme Court AFFIRMED [upheld] the judgment of the Dawson County District Court ruling issued by Judge Rowlands which confirmed the Dawson County Board's denial of a petition to form a Village at Johnson Lake in the northeastern areas and allowed SID#1 to intervene in the case. The Supreme Court Appeal was filed by Glenn and Teresa Lanman on behalf of the original petitioners.

The opinion further stated "that this court has noted that a sanitary and improvement district 'cannot be considered unincorporated.' We have also held that sanitary and improvement districts are municipal corporations within the meaning of statutes pertaining to the payment of warrants. We therefore conclude that a sanitary and improvement district is a public corporate entity within the boundaries of which a village may not be incorporated pursuant to [state statutes] 17-201. Accordingly, the Board [county commissioners] had no legal obligation to declare the existence of the proposed village of Johnson Lake, and the Lanmans were not entitled to a writ of mandamus."

{click the attachment below to read the full opinion}