SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - A federal judge has blocked a state judge in Utah from hearing a Tooele County case involving a dispute over road ownership on public land.
U.S. District Judge Clark Waddoups sided with the state of Utah, halting the complaint filed last year by the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance and county resident Michael Abdo.
Third District Judge Robert Adkins has been accepting briefs on various motions in that state case.
The Salt Lake Tribune reports (https://bit.ly/1NvDx99 ) Waddoups called the wilderness alliance’s suit an attempt at an “end run” around his jurisdiction in a federal case pending since 2012.
Statewide, Utah counties are asserting claims to 14,000 roads or stretches of road on public land. Tooele County seeks to own 709 such routes.
The wilderness alliance and Abdo are challenging the claims.
Waddoups issued a temporary restraining order from the bench Monday and was expected to issue a permanent injunction in the case.
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Information from: The Salt Lake Tribune, https://www.sltrib.com
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