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The FLDS people are claiming victory today because a judge in St. George halted a land sale that had them fired up. Whether they'll get what they want in the long run remains to be seen, but just by speaking up, they changed the legal equation and pushed the court to change direction.
It's ironic that the FLDS came to court, even if only one had come instead of thousands. For years, the courts tried to get them to come, and they refused. Warren Jeffs' legal advice to his followers was always "answer them nothing."
So even as lawsuits threatened all their assets, the FLDS never came to court. With default judgments looming, the courts took control of the United Effort Plan (UEP)land trust, which owns most FLDS land and homes.
A court-appointed official negotiated a settlement of the lawsuits. This week, as he moved toward selling some of the land to raise legal fees, FLDS members finally responded in a blur of court filings and mob scenes.
FLDS spokesman Willie Jessop said, "You know, there's many people here that are facing eviction from their homes. I'm certainly facing the eviction with all my cows off the property, and this affects everybody in this crowd."
With thousands surrounding the courthouse, a state official suggested the FLDS shift, using lawyers and getting involved in the legal process, made a difference. Assistant Utah Attorney General Tim Bodily said, "For whatever reason, it hasn't happened like it has this week, and this is why we have a significant change."
The judge put the sale on hold, and everyone emerged from the courthouse promising to work toward a friendly resolution. FLDS attorney Jim Bradshaw said, "I think all sides are going to move forward and try to solve some of the conflicts and see if we can't come up with some solutions."
That will not be easy. With all the legal complexities of recent years, with key players in jail or facing indictment, it isn't clear who should be in charge of the land trust and what the rules should be. Not to mention a problem that's caused legal turmoil for decades: when someone loses faith in the FLDS, do they get to keep their house or not?
The issue is a previously obscure battle over the UEP trust. It owns most of the property in the FLDS home-base of Colorado City and Hildale. The UEP land trust is worth more than $100 million.
It used to be controlled by the FLDS leader Warren Jeffs. But three years ago the courts took control because of allegations of mismanagement and Jeffs' failure to defend the trust's assets in court battles over people suing him.
In all those years, the FLDS people never spoke up or went to court. Now trust managers appointed by the court are trying to sell UEP land to raise money for legal fees.
The FLDS faithful say the land is sacred and was prophesied to be a temple site.
E-mail: hollenhorst@ksl.com
E-mail: aadams@ksl.com
