Lawsuit alleges illegal wastewater discharge, breach of contract in Blanchard community

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Homeowners near Blanchard are filing suit over a series of complaints including illegal wastewater discharge they say is causing a public nuisance, breach of contract and failure to pay assessments for maintenance of roads and common areas.

The Stoneridge Property Owners Association, Inc. and Greenside Place Townhomes at Stoneridge Association Inc., filed numerous complaints against several subsidiaries of Karupiah Entities, a legal entity owned by Chan K. Karupiah.

Community members allege that, soon after assuming ownership, some Karupiah Entities’ subsidiaries, including defendant CDS Stoneridge-Golf L.P., stopped regularly paying property owner assessments required as part of the land ownership in publicly-recorded agreements, which cover the costs of maintenance of roads, common areas and amenities within the Stoneridge community.

Those fees, plaintiffs allege, total roughly $30,000. The lawsuit also names Espirit Enterprises LLC., J.D. Resort Inc. and K&E Vista LLC for failing to meet their agreements to pay SPOA Base Fees, which total approximately $10,000.

The suit also alleges that the sub-association Greenside Townhomes LLC is owed $7,000 from Karupiah entities for unpaid SPOA base fees and an additional $5,000 acknowledged at a September 2019 meeting. It also states that Ironwood at Stoneridge Homeowners’ Association failed to collect more than $9,000 in SPOA base fees from Karupiah entities and forward them to SPOA.

Plaintiffs are seeking judgment for late fees, penalties, interest, legal fees and attorney’s fees. They also filed liens for lots owned by Karupiah entities and seek foreclosure upon such liens.

Community members further allege that defendant CDS Stoneridge Utilities LLC, which operates a wastewater facility on land owned by ESPRIT, is discharging pollutants in close proximity to Blanchard Creek, Lake San Souci and Stoneridge residential housing.

Plaintiffs state that SPOA exercises supervision of common areas such as Lake San Souci, and that the CDS Stoneridge Utilities LLC is illegally discharging pollutants on land adjoining the Stoneridge community owned by ESPRIT.

That discharge, plaintiffs argue, is negatively impacting the Stoneridge community through offensive odors and potentially putting area residents at risk. They also state that past spillages have prompted investigations by the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, “which has noted significant deficiencies in the wastewater system.”

They further allege that CDS Stoneridge Utilities LLC “routinely flaunts governmental rules and oversite,” and that, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, regulators have been barred from inspecting the property in person.

Because SPOA’s covenants, conditions and restrictions require compliance with environmental laws and prohibit water pollution, SPOA is seeking to compel Stoneridge Utilities to provide annual reports to the Idaho Public Utilities Commission for 2019 and 2020 and ensure that the freshwater delivery system meets regulatory standards and that drinking water provided to the Stoneridge community is safe.

Plaintiffs also state that Stoneridge Utilities has “ inexplicably lost important contracts which allowed for the disposal of processed liquids on nearby land,” further straining the wastewater treatment plant.

SPOA, therefore, seeks assurance that biosolids are being properly transported to certified licensed facilities by a licensed contractor and that the wastewater treatment plant is sufficiently staffed and has the capacity to handle the volume of wastewater it now receives.

Plaintiffs further allege that “on information and belief,” materially false information has been submitted to the Idaho Public Utilities Commission. SPOA seeks accurate information on CDS Stoneridge Utilities LLC financial stability via tax returns, appraisals, and other objective measures.

They seek attorney fees pursuant to Idaho statute concerning commercial transactions and by contractual agreement, a reasonable sum in the event of default for failure to answer at $4,000 per defendant and the actual attorney’s fees if default is entered for any other reason.