This is the history of the first attempt of Arianna Solare to claim a 50 acre parcel of Great Southwestern Land in 2004. It is referenced from the actual court documents along with coverage by the Taos News and a few other documents. I am going to follow the suit brief by brief and hearing by hearing. As I was there at the time and an active participant in the opposition, I am going to mix in what I experienced on the ground in the community as the court case progressed.   Background Information. In the late 1990s, the Taos…

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There was a hearing this morning on the “Motion to Reconsider the Court’s Order Denying Motion to Reopen Case and Set Aside Default Judgment”. This is the second attempt by Ariana Solare’s two attorneys to reopen the 2004 case. They attempted once again to argue that the intervenors in 2004 had no legal standing to intervene because they had no competing claim to the property. It was asserted by attorney Carol Neelley that there was in fact a hearing to determine standing in 2004. I was present at that hearing and, as I remember, the quote from the judge was…

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I’ve already covered in the first Corporate History of Tres Orejas the various real estate corporations that bought and sold lots here starting with the original subdivider, The Great Southwestern Land Company, in the early 1960s and continuing into the early 1980s. The second covers a non-profit corporation founded by several residents of Tres Orejas in 1994, “The Tres Orejas Neighborhood Association or TONA, an alternative community”. It’s articles of incorporation were notarized on August 22, 1994 with one incorporator’s signature, Jean Louis Bourgeois. They were then filed with the state along with an initial list of 5 directors and…

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  There was another pair of briefs filed by Solare’s attorney yesterday. I have read every brief and attended almost every hearing in this twisted court case but yesterday’s briefs are among the most twisted. After reading and analyzing them, I almost felt like letting my citizen journalism go full tabloid and start with a New York Post style clickbait headline but instead, I’m going to describe them in detail with my most profound sarcasm. The first is a long and rambling brief in response to the brief filed previously stating all kinds of obscure legal reasons the case from…

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This is just a quick post to announce the next community meeting to reestablish the Tres Orejas Neighborhood Association will happen at 6pm on Sunday August 17 at the well site building by the community well. We will be going over what we need to reincorporate the association. I’ve done some research into the original TONA which was incorporated in 1994 and functioned throughout the rest or the 1990s. I was also there at the time as are some of the other people who will be there. I also found that there are also defunct neighborhood associations for Two Peaks…

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First an update on the latest filing in the court case. A brief was filed by attorney Carol Neelley in opposition to the latest motion filed by Solare’s attorney to reopen the 2004 case and set aside the default judgment. It was terse and to the point in legal terms, basically stating that the first motion was dismissed on solid legal grounds both in the substance of the court’s finding of jurisdiction in 2004 and that 20 years is way too late to file such a motion. The meeting took place last Sunday and was generally positive and some of…

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There will be a community meeting on Sunday August 3rd at the West Rim MDWUA well site for the purpose of forming a neighborhood association for Tres Orejas. The meeting will follow the West Rim MDWUA annual members meeting and use the site and facilities for the West Rim meeting. Forming a neighborhood association is a response to the ongoing land grab attempt of unsold Great Southwestern land. In the court filings, Solare’s attorney has tried repeatedly to deny any community interest in the case or even the existence of a community in Tres Orejas. In fact there is a…

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I’m back with my citizen journalism. This post covers two separate but related things happening in Tres Orejas, the ongoing litigation over the 60 acre green land parcel and the current situation with a part of that land being used as an animal rescue. Yes, the litigation is still going on. A bench trial date was set for June 4th this year last fall. In the meantime, a whole slew of papers and motions have been filed in the case, the most notable of which is a motion filed by the plaintiff’s attorney to reopen the original quiet title suit…

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Protect our Dark Skies: Cover windows at night, point all outside lights down, look up in wonder. Say WOW! 🌌 Taos County and the state of New Mexico have Dark Sky Ordinances. Please read the links below and follow the ordinance to protect our Dark Skies. Though written some years ago with individual property owners in mind, businesses have been able to skirt compliance since they can pay the fines – or there has been no enforcement or proper permitting procedures to begin with regarding lighting. We all see the bright town lights every night and it gets worse each…

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There was a hearing on the quiet title suit on October 30th. It looks like this could drag on for some time and is getting into legal hair splitting. The main outcome of this hearing was that all the intervenors except one were removed from the suit and the whole outcome is based on a legal term, “res judicata” which means that it involves something that was legally already settled. The matter in question is whether the outcome of the quiet title in 2004 applies to the current one or not. The attorney for the plaintiff claims it is a…

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