Futernick’s last law suit against Sumpter Twp. settled May 11

The 2019 lawsuit brought by Sheldon Futernick, owner of Holiday West and Holiday Woods Mobile Home Parks, against Sumpter Township was settled May 11 when Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Leslie Kim Smith signed the stipulated order of dismissal with prejudice and without costs or attorney fees to any party.
Julie R. Futernick and Karen Futernick, widow and daughter of Sheldon Futernick, worked as co-personal representatives of the Estate of Sheldon M. Futernick, who died in October at the age of 93.
Julie Futernick, of Las Vegas, NV, said after her husband died, she and their daughter wanted to continue with his plan to sell the mobile home parks and so they worked to settle the law suit.
The facilitated agreement states:
1. The current alleged water and sewer arrearage which the Township claims is owed to the Township, in the amount of $145,042.36, will be cancelled and the water and sewer bills for Holiday Woods and Holiday West Mobile Home Parks shall be deemed paid in full for all purposes through the March 8, 2021 billing date (which includes the last water meter read on March 2, 2021 and January 11, 2021 for sewer). The Township releases Futernick and any future owner of the Holiday Woods and/or Holiday West Mobile Home Parks from any liability for water and sewer charges calculated for the above-referenced meter read dates which were billed March 8, 2021 and discharges any lien rights with respect thereto.
2. Until July 1, 2021, the Township shall calculate the sanitary sewer charges to Holiday West and Holiday Woods Mobile Home Parks based on metered water usage. The Township shall calculate the final read for the sanitary sewer charges for Holiday West quarterly for Futernick, based on metered water beginning January 11, 2021.
3. The billing procedure described above shall continue until July 1, 2021, after which time the Township may redetermine the manner in which it charges for sanitary sewer services in the Township, among other things, taking into account possible infiltration of storm water into the sanitary sewer system.
4. Nothing contained in this Facilitated Agreement (“Agreement”) shall constitute an admission by the Township that its methods and procedures for calculating water and sewer charges were in any way unlawful. Nothing contained in this Agreement or in the stipulation and order of dismissal described shall prejudice or impair the right of the Township to determine water and sewer charges in the manner it sees fit.
5. Nothing contained in this Agreement or in the stipulation and order of dismissal shall constitute an admission by Futernick that the Township’s methods and procedures for calculating water and sewer charges were lawful. Nothing contained in this Agreement or in the stipulation of dismissal shall prejudice or impair the right of Futernick, or its successors and assigns, to claim and to seek legal redress if it believes that the Township’s future invoices for water and sewer services are incorrect or that the Township’s methods and procedures for determining its water and sewer charges are unlawful. Provided, in no event shall Futernick, its successors and assigns, claim any refund of charges invoices on or before March 8, 2021.
6. Futernick releases the Township for all claims for damages or any refund of water or sanitary sewer billings for any Futernick-owned property within the Township through the March 8, 2021 billing date, which includes only the water meter read on March 2, 2021 and January 11, 2021 for the sewer read.
7. This Agreement resolves all issues pending between the parties in Wayne County Circuit Case No. 19-001611-CZ as of the date of this Agreement. The Parties shall execute a stipulation to dismiss Wayne County Circuit Case No. 19-001611-CZ with prejudice and without costs or attorney fees.
The agreement was signed by the Futernicks, their attorney Edward F. Kickham, Jr., Sumpter Township’s attorney Stacy J. Belisle, the mediator David B. Meyer, Sumpter Supervisor Timothy Bowman, and Sumpter Clerk Esther Hurst.
At the township’s April 13 meeting via zoom, township attorney Rob Young announced the Futernick lawsuit is resolved after 27 years of on-and-off litigation with Futernick. He said a new company purchased Futernick’s Holiday Woods and Holiday West mobile home parks in the township on April 1.
Julie Futernick told the Independent that her husband calculated what the township water and sewer charges should be for the mobile home parks and paid those right along on time. He did not pay the extra the township claimed he owed and the order of dismissal cancelled those extra fees.