President Malcolm Burson and my wife Margaret and I attended yesterday’s Sale Motion hearing. Other parties in attendance were Butch Duncan, Richard Smith and Paul Kelley, counsel for the Clary Lake Association Randy Creswell, Bankruptcy Trustee Jeffrey T. Piampiano represented by Kaitlyn M. Husar, Esq., Assistant Attorney Generals Scott Boak and Kevin Crosman representing the Maine DEP, and attorney Dennis Carrillo representing Richard Smith and AQF. Regrettably, Paul Kelley’s bankruptcy attorney J. Scott Logan was not in attendance.
Here is the audio transcript from yesterday’s Sale Motion and Evidentiary hearing consisting of three MP3 audio files each being approximately 2 hours long. At the bottom of this post is a simple INDEX to help you find a given witness’s testimony. For example, I’m sure many of you will want to listen to Debtor Paul Kelley’s testimony, which starts at 0:09:30 on the third audio file “(C) and lasts for about 30 minutes. If you’re interested in seeing the 3 documents discussed during his testimony, you’ll find links to them at the bottom of this post. You may also want to listen to Assistant Attorney General Scott Boak’s testimony which I found fascinating, it starts near the end of audio file B and concludes about 0:05:00 into audio file C. You can also browse the Audio Directory should you want to download any files.
Audio File A, 2:00 hours
Audio File B, 2:00 hours
Audio File C, 1:51 hours
I hope you’ll take the time to peruse these audio files. For those of you who want to follow along, here are the three documents discussed during Debtor Kelley’s testimony:
Sale Motion Hearing Index
Audio File A:
- 0:02:14 Trustee’s introduction
- 0:15:30 Discussion by Attorney Carrillo of AQF’s objection to sale motion.
- 0:37:00 Begin Evidentiary hearing
- 0:37:30 Trustee Piampiano takes the stand
- 1:38:00 Creswell cross examination of Trustee
Audio File B:
- 0:00:00 Creswell cross examination of Trustee continued
- 0:27:00 Carrillo cross examination of Trustee
- 1:44:00 AAG Scott Boak takes the stand
Audio File C:
- 0:00:00 Scott Boak testimony continued
- 0:02:00 George Fergusson Proffer
- 0:09:30 Paul Kelley takes the stand
- 0:48:00 Trustee cross examination of Kelley
- 1:01:30 Creswell cross examination of Kelley
- 1:09:00 Richard Smith takes the stand
- 1:32:00 Trustee cross examination of Smith
- 1:37:00 End of evidentiary hearing
- 1:37:00 Wrap up
We spent the better part of the 4th of July working out the details of a settlement with Richard Smith, and arrived in court Thursday morning thinking there was an agreement to settle only to learn that Richard Smith and Aquafortis Associates LLC had backed out of the agreement. The details of the agreement and the reason for reneging on it are not relevant because there is no longer an agreement. Suffice it to say we expected a short and sweet hearing concluding with the Judge approving the transfer of the dam to the Clary Lake Association free and clear of encumbrances. That didn’t happen.
Hi George.
I contacted you previously letting you know we might be interested in moving to your area. Your dam problem has captured our attention and we have been following. We’re sorry the deal fell through to purchase the dam. Are there any plans to move forward or are you at a standstill?
Thanks,
Annette
Hi Annette!
THE DEAL DID NOT FALL THROUGH!!! We’re still on track to purchase the Clary Lake dam, it’s just been delayed a while. There will be oral arguments in a few weeks and then the Judge will rule on the sale. At this point there is little question whether the Judge will approve the sale of the dam or not, the only question is how the sale will be structured. Either way we’ll end up with the dam. We’ve waited 7 years, we can wait a little longer.
Thank you for your reply. We’re a little anxious about buying property on a lake that has had level problems involving legal issues for so long. We just want to keep informed.
I understand.