Wasatch County ordered to pay $400K in Daniels Canyon Mine dispute

HEBER CITY — The Wasatch County Council was ordered by a 4th District Judge to pay $400,000 in attorney fees to a mining company it has been in dispute with for more than a year over a proposed expansion.

The conflict stems from Maverick Rock expressing its intent to expand mining operations from an existing mine near Goshen, Utah County, to Daniels Canyon, off of U.S. 40 in Wasatch County. The proposed mine would be 426 acres.

According to state code, a mine operator has the right to expand mining to any new land that "contains minerals that are part of the same mineral trend as the minerals that the mine operator already owns or controls or is a geologic offshoot to surface or subsurface land ... that the mine operator already owns or controls." The code states a legislative body must hold a public hearing after receiving notice of a mining operator's intent to expand.

The Wasatch County Council, however, delayed holding the meeting for months, despite five requests from Maverick Rock. Wasatch County Councilman Erik Rowland said the council was "unanimous in our disagreement with this mine."

Even after requesting geologic reports from Maverick Rock — who complied — the county sent a final decision letter on June 18, 2025, denying the hearing request. Maverick Rock then filed a petition in 4th District Court claiming the county "failed to perform an act required by law."

The petition was a writ of mandamus, meaning it asked a judge for a court order to compel the county to do its statutory duty of holding the meeting. A few months later, the mining company filed a complaint to go with the petition, seeking damages for the county violating state code, refusing Maverick due process and interfering in its vested mining rights.

Maverick Rock claims the council's actions have had "devastating effects" and caused "immense harm," costing at least $20 million in damages and preventing the company from bidding on major projects.

On April 3, 4th District Judge Jennifer Mabey ruled in favor of the mine's petition, concluding the county failed its statutory duty to hold a public hearing and confirming the company did indeed have the right to expand due to common mineral trends being present at both sites.

After the ruling, Maverick Rock filed a motion seeking approximately $479,000 from the county in attorney fees.

The county appealed Mabey's decision, but did enter into a mitigation agreement with Maverick Rock in July to implement "the strongest protections available" for permitting, water protection, creek infrastructure, air quality, noise, highway safety and site documentation.

The county also filed a motion seeking to strike the damages complaint, alleging Maverick's petition for relief and civil complaint for damages are "mutually exclusive remedies that cannot be joined." The county further argued that because a writ of mandamus was pursued, Maverick should be barred from seeking damages.

Arguments were offered on the two motions during a hearing on Oct. 29. Mabey issued a ruling on Nov. 6 denying the county's motion to strike the complaint and partially approving Maverick Rock's request for attorney fees.

Mabey disagreed with the county, saying the county's reliance on two cases in its reasoning for the motion to strike is "misplaced and conflates a bundled pleading with separate, sequentially adjudicated proceedings."

The nature of an extraordinary writ of mandamus is to compel a government body to perform a non-discretionary public duty. But the writ does not "extinguish an applicant's separate, backward-looking legal injuries caused by alleged wrongful governmental delay," she said.

While the writ ordered the county to hold a public hearing, it does not disqualify Maverick Rock from seeking to recover attorney fees or damages for what it views as losses stemming from the county's refusal to hold a public meeting.

"Because Maverick Rock prevailed in obtaining the writ and incurred necessary fees, it is statutorily entitled to a reasonable attorney fee award," Mabey said in her ruling.

The judge further noted that Maverick Rock demonstrated it was "reasonably necessary" to obtain more expensive counsel from outside of Wasatch County due to the legal proceedings including "complex, first-impression statutory questions" of a Utah statute that had never been interpreted by Utah appellate courts and complicated scientific geological data.

While the ruling accepted the hourly billing rates from Maverick Rock's counsel, it sided with the county that awarded fees should not include charges of multiple attorneys appearing, meeting and working simultaneously on the same matters. The ruling said the staffing had specific areas of duplication that were found to be "excessive."

"Instead of imposing an across-the-board percentage cut, the court has conducted a more detailed line item audit," the ruling states.

While the hourly rates of specialized attorneys were warranted for the case, it was not justified to have so many attorneys involved in the various proceedings, the ruling said.

Mabey concluded after going through billing records that the requested amount of attorney fees should be reduced by $75,000 to account for duplicative work. This means the rest of the attorney fees requested, $404,151.50, should be awarded to Maverick Rock.

The county's payment of the awarded fees is not due until the legal matter reaches its final conclusion, the ruling said. Maverick's claim of affirmative damages of alleged financial harm remains pending as does the county's appeal of the petition ruling.

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