WOLF CREEK— The owners of Wolf Creek ski resort and developers of the proposed Village at Wolf Creek have reportedly settled their lawsuit over the project.

The Pitcher family, owners of the ski area through Wolf Creek Ski Corp. Inc., sued Leavell-McCombs Joint Venture over the $1 billion Village at Wolf Creek resort project in 2003.

U.S. District Court Judge John Kane dismissed the case last Tuesday without ruling as to the admissibility of any evidence presented, according to The Associated Press.

The Pitchers reportedly cooperated with the Village at Wolf Creek’s developers early on, but pulled out in the 1990s.

Led by Kingsbury Pitcher, they sued the joint venture, claiming they had no legal responsibility to help develop the resort. Leavell-McCombs countersued, alleging that the Pitchers had committed fraud and breached their contract.

The settlement cancels a trial that was scheduled for July 7. The Pitchers had reportedly threatened to introduce evidence of the political intrigue that has surrounded the Village since the 1980s. The two sides were haggling over political allegations when the settlement was announced.

Honts and McCombs asked Judge Kane to delay parts of their lawsuit against the ski area until they could get the roads approved, but Kane denied their request.

The developers also reportedly wanted to prevent the Pitchers from bringing up a wide range of topics including the 1986 land exchange that gave the developers 300 acres below the ski area. Officials of the Rio Grande National Forest originally denied the exchange but reversed themselves two weeks later.

Also reportedly kept out of court was the Pitchers’ theory that McCombs and Honts were trying to bankrupt the ski area and force them to sell it.

Another item of contention was McCombs’ efforts to get former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, to let the developers bypass environmental laws and use a dirt Forest Service road as the access route to their property.

The joint venture proponents argued that all the evidence was a distraction and an attempt to ruin their image.

The joint venture that includes Texas sports and communications mogul B.J. “Red” McCombs, must jump through a number of regulatory hoops before work can begin on the planned resort near the base of Wolf Creek Ski Area.

Although terms of the agreement with the Pitcher family are being kept under tight wraps, Bob Honts, a professional municipal planner helping develop the Village, reportedly said that both sides “have amicably resolved all their differences.”

They will also pay all their own legal fees.

“The charges are the pure invention of suspicion and a cunningly crafted media campaign portraying the (developers) as the evil Goliath to the Ski Corp.’s heroic David,” attorneys for the developers alleged in a court brief.

Honts said Leavell-McCombs “absolutely” intends to build the Village, despite a series of what may be seen as legal defeats.

At build-out, the 300-acre resort would accommodate 10,500 people and include 222,000 square feet of commercial space, but Honts, who is a partner with McCombs in the development, has repeatedly declared that it will start small and grow in accordance with pubic demand.

Principals in the joint venture include Honts and McCombs, both of Texas. McCombs, founder of media giant Clear Channel Communications Inc., owns a home in southern Colorado’s Cuchara Valley and once owned the Minnesota Vikings and the Denver Nuggets.

A separate lawsuit filed by environmental groups over the development was settled out of court in February, with steps yet to be taken including evaluation of an access road by the U.S. Forest Service, approval of a highway access permit by the Colorado Department of Transportation and approval of development plans by Mineral County, which can only be considered after access is approved.

According to Honts, the next step will be with the Forest Service, which is under a court-ordered agreement to do another environmental impact study for proposed access roads to the development.

Forest Service spokesman Mike Blakeman said the government will bill McCombs for the costs of the Environmental Impact Study (EIS) for access roads and Forest Service employees will do most of the work on it, not a private contractor. Rio Grande National Forest (RGNF) officials will choose the team that does the environmental analysis.

Blakeman, public affairs officer for the Rio Grande National Forest, said the developers had submitted an application to initiate the study and it is still under review by the agency.

According to Blakeman, the agency has yet to develop a timeline for how long it will take to complete the EIS, although it hopes to start the initial phase of the study this summer.

While the EIS may impose conditions or modifications to its form, federal law requires the agency to grant access that allows for the “reasonable use and enjoyment” of the property by the owner.

As the Village continues through the approval process, an action Honts vows it will take, developers must also have to submit an application to the Colorado Department of Transportation for an access permit to U.S. 160. Current access to the Village parcel is a rugged, gravel Forest Service road only open to vehicular traffic from mid-June until the snow flies.

In addition, the developers must return to Mineral County for approval of Village plans.

In September 2007, the Colorado Court of Appeals upheld a trial court’s decision that overturned Mineral County’s 2004 approval of the development. The lower court had ruled that the development did not provide for adequate access to the state’s highway system. The appeals court ordered the project back to the Mineral County for further consideration.