A Monroe County judge denied a request Monday from neighbors to halt logging at private property along Lake Monroe and instead ordered the parties to try to resolving the dispute through mediation.
Michael Cain and Linda Raymond filed a lawsuit against Joe Huff last year because they claim he was improperly using shared easements for logging on his property, which is near The Shores subdivision along Lake Monroe.
The neighbors asked the judge to once again stop logging at the Huff property after the Indiana Court of Appeals removed a preliminary injunction in March. The court ruled the trial court's preliminary injunction was too broad, and recommended the case be referred to mediation.
In her order, Judge Holly Harvey says the neighbors’ request for another preliminary injunction doesn’t assert any new facts or claims of harm.
She orders Huff and the neighbors to enter mediation to attempt to resolve the dispute. If they can’t, the claims can move forward in court.
Monroe County is suing Huff in a separate case for allegedly violating zoning laws through unauthorized construction on the property. Huff’s attorney filed a motion to dismiss that lawsuit earlier this month.
