Yahoo Finanzas Judge Says Jurors Will Be Made Aware That Nevada Officials Deleted Text Messages In Contentious Nevada Land Case
A district court judge has said that jurors will be informed of Nevada officials intentionally deleting text messages about a controversial housing project during an upcoming trial.
The ruling handed down by Judge Joanna Kishner last Wednesday introduces a turn in the protracted legal dispute over the Blue Diamond Hill development in Clark County, where developer Jim Rhodes has faced repeated roadblocks in his efforts to build thousands of homes. The civil trial, which involves figures such as Clark County District F Commissioner Justin Jones, aims to resolve long standing conflicts over land development and public accountability.
The decision by Judge Kishner follows a previous sanction in April of last year when U.S. Magistrate Judge Elayna J. Youchah criticized Commissioner Jones for the mysterious disappearance of his texts just three hours after a 2019 vote that halted the Red Rock project. The texts, lawyers for Gypsum Resources argued, likely contained important communications regarding the project.
While Judge Youchah ruled that the deletion of the texts, a violation of Nevada Supreme Court precedent for preserving public records, was intentional, the legal battle intensified last week when Judge Kishner announced that jurors in the civil trial set for July 8 will be briefed on the deletion of the texts by the Nevada officials.
Judge Youchah previously described the deletion as indicative of bad faith, according to a report issued by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
The issue first came to light during a routine discovery process, where it was found that Commissioner Jones, and possibly other officials, had erased those text messages shortly after the unanimous vote in 2019. During the evidentiary hearings, lawyers representing Rhodes and Gypsum Resources pressed on the value of the missing texts, arguing that their absence obstructed the ability to fully present their case.
The dispute dates back to 2003 when Rhodes, a developer known for projects across the Las Vegas Valley, set out to construct a sprawling residential community on Blue Diamond Hill, just west of Las Vegas near Red Rock Canyon.
Despite environmental concerns and vocal opposition from local residents and conservationists, Rhodes and his company, Gypsum Resources, pressed forward, purchasing the land and announcing plans to build up to 5,500 homes. The endeavor quickly became tangled in legal and regulatory challenges, culminating in a state law designed to block the development—a law that was later deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of Nevada.
Plans for the project faced repeated setbacks over the years, influenced by shifting political winds within Clark County’s governance. After initial approval and subsequent legal reversals, the project hit a roadblock in 2019 under the stewardship of the Clark County Commissioner, who had previously worked as an attorney for Save Red Rock, a group opposing the development.
The county’s unanimous decision to deny a ‘right of way' waiver effectively stalled the project indefinitely, prompting Rhodes to file a lawsuit against the county, accusing it of obstructive practices.
The jury’s awareness of the destruction of evidence could influence their understanding of the motivations behind the county’s decisions regarding the Blue Diamond Hill project.
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This article Judge Says Jurors Will Be Made Aware That Nevada Officials Deleted Text Messages In Contentious Nevada Land Case originally appeared on Benzinga.com
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