GRAND TRAVERSE COUNTY — Peninsula Township is now daring the wineries to come for their judgment money.
Back in 2020, 11 Old Mission wineries sued Peninsula Township for unconstitutional ordinances.
This summer, a judge ordered the township to pay the wineries $50 million.
The wineries could collect judgment on the lawsuit any day now.
It’s not clear why they have not, but Peninsula Township is now looking at what they would have to do if the wineries come to collect.
The township has decided it will have all its properties appraised to find out how much each would be worth.
It’s not clear how much money the appraisals will cost.
Ideas on the table include cutting services like park maintenance, sheriff’s patrol, putting projects on hold, raising property taxes and more.
When the lawsuit first started in 2020, the lawyer for the wineries told us they were only asking for less than $30,000, but the township rejected that agreement.
“We didn’t, on this board, cause this lawsuit. None of us here caused this lawsuit. We are doing our darnedest and we have worked hard to have settlement discussions. Over the course of five years, we have had settlement discussions. I think it is a bad idea to blame the township board for the lack of an agreement. It takes two to tango,” said Peninsula Township Clerk Becky Chown.
The township shared that some wineries have asked about a settlement, but says that it was shut down by the wineries’ lawyer.
9&10 News reached out to the wineries and their lawyer for a response to Tuesday night’s meeting and has not heard back.
Peninsula Township said it will appeal the $50 million judgment.
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