Court rules against Stockton in land dispute

SANDPOINT — Counsel for a Post Falls developer has forced a game-changing turnover against former NBA point guard John Stockton in a lawsuit over a land purchase at Priest Lake.

First District Judge Barbara Buchanan is ordering the Hall of Fame basketball player and neighbor Todd Brinkmeyer to relinquish ownership of a 65-acre parcel they acquired in 2016, three days before it was to be sold under contract to Tricore Investments, which was planning to turn the property into a waterfront development at the southern end of lake.

The property at issue belonged to Bill and Elaine Warren, who sold lake-front lots to Stockton and the Brinkmeyer family in the 1980s, according to court documents. Stockton contended in court documents that his purchase included the first right to purchase any other lots the couple put up for sale because he agreed to a lot line adjustment.

The right of first refusal clause, however, was never put in writing, according to court documents.

The property became part of an heir-controlled estate and its counsel, Sandpoint attorney John Finney, offered the sale of 45 acres to Stockton and Brinkmeyer in 2015, but neither expressed an interest in purchasing it, court documents indicate. As a result, the land was put up for sale for $2 million.

Tricore, which developed waterfront housing on the Spokane River in Post Falls, made an offer for the property and sought time to conduct feasibility studies due to the presence of wetlands, court records show. The Warren estate ultimately agreed to sell Tricore 65 acres for $2.4 million and a date was set to close the deal in September 2016.

But three days before the sale, Finney persuaded the estate to sell to Stockton and Brinkmeyer for $2.5 million by claiming Tricore was turning its back on the pending sale, according to court documents.

Tricore filed suit to unwind the sale, which led to a six-day bench trial last fall and resulted in a Feb. 8 judgment in favor of Tricore.

Buchanan ruled that the estate had a valid and enforceable contract with Tricore and that the estate was responsible for turning its back on the sale to Tricore.

“Somewhat extraordinarily, the estate is before this court arguing that it was Tricore who repudiated the agreement,” Buchanan wrote.

Buchanan also dunked on the affirmative defenses raised by the estate, Stockton and Brinkmeyer. She found no evidence that Tricore made misrepresentations or concealed material facts during the negotiations.

The court also noted that Finney, the estate’s counsel, closed a deal with Stockton and Brinkmeyer without informing Tricore, which misled Tricore and ran afoul of the Idaho Consumer Protection Act, according Buchanan’s order. Buchanan also called the argument that Stockton had right of first refusal “ludicrous.”

Buchanan concluded that there was evidence to support a finding that Stockton and Brinkmeyer lured the estate to break its contract with Tricore.

“Everything changed when Stockton and Brinkmeyer discovered that the 65 acres adjacent to their lake homes was about to be sold to a developer. They embarked on a systematic campaign to prevent Tricore from purchasing the property,” Buchanan said in the 36-page ruling.

Buchanan’s judgment paves the way for the property to be transferred to Tricore and for Stockton and Brinkmeyer to be refunded their payment to the estate.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.