Order sticks in CF Lodge dispute

SANDPOINT — A preliminary injunction is staying put in a legal dispute between the current and former owners of the Clark Fork Lodge, 1st District Court records show.

Attorneys on respective sides of the case agreed on May 22 to keep the injunction and a temporary restraining order in place. The parties have also agreed to enter into mediation to resolve the dispute, court documents indicate.

Judge Barbara Buchanan ordered the injunction and order on May 2 at the request of counsel for William Stevenson, the current owner of the lodge. Sandpoint attorney Brent Featherston alleged that Kelly Theodore Kearns, the lodge’s former owner, attempted to repossess the premises and its contents after he was unsuccessful in amending or unwinding the real estate transaction, according to court documents.

Court filings in the case describe a transaction marked by a clouded title, surprise easements of dubious provenance, an attempt to evict Stevenson, confiscated office equipment and an alleged attempt to hijack Stevenson’s business accounts related to the lodge after the sale went through.

Counsel for Kearns, Sandpoint attorney James Macdonald, argued that the sale never actually closed, which meant that his client still owned the property.

Kearns was accused of damaging property, changing locks and log-in credentials for the office computer and various online accounts.

The court’s order required Kearns to vacate the premises and prohibited him from removing or altering property.

Still unaccounted for in the dispute are expense and credit card receipts, in addition to online and hard-copy registration forms, according to court documents. Handsets to the phone system, log-in credentials for the office computer and an office desk have also not been returned to Stevenson.

Another hearing in the case is set for July 17.

It emerged during the litigation that Kearns voluntarily surrendered his real estate license prior to entering into the real estate transaction in 2018. Kearns was fined for practicing with an expired license in 2010 and fined in 2018 for failing to maintain Errors & Omissions insurance, according to disciplinary records kept by the Idaho Real Estate Commission. Kearns relinquished his license in the fall of 2018 in order to resolve a pending investigation without a formal complaint being filed, records show.

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