Lawsuit over raids may be dismissed

SPANISH FORK — A lawsuit over the Utah County Sheriff's Department's raids of music parties in Diamond Fork Canyon last summer could be dismissed — but don't expect the case to quietly disappear.

Attorneys for UPROCK, Inc., a Salt Lake record company that promoted one of the parties that was raided, and the other plaintiffs on Monday filed in U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City a request to dismiss without prejudice their suit against Sheriff James O. Tracy, Jr., Utah County Attorney Kay Bryson, the government of Utah County and other defendants.

"A dismissal without prejudice means that it can be refiled in the future," Brian Barnard, the attorney representing the plaintiffs, wrote in an e-mail to the Deseret Morning News.

"It's a clear reflection the lawsuit was lacking in merit in the first place," said Peter Stirba, an attorney who represented Utah County in federal court.

Stirba said he will now recover for Utah County the costs for the legal defense from the plaintiffs.

But the plaintiffs have not given up on the case, Barnard said. They are considering their options, looking for support through national groups or other organizations who have fought similar battles. The plaintiffs maintain their First Amendment rights to free speech and gathering were violated.

Sheriff's deputies and police from other agencies circled an Aug. 20 party two hours after it began. They said they shut down the party because the promoters did not obtain the necessary permit for events involving more than 250 people for more than 12 hours. Barnard has said the raid was excessive and militant.

The promoters and sheriff's officers dispute the amount of time the party was to have lasted. Undercover police also said they saw drug sales and consumption.

Despite a request to dismiss the case, the plaintiffs believe their case is strong, Barnard said.

"Their hope is that an amended lawsuit can be filed, which would include the people who were in attendance at both of the concerts July 16th and Aug. 20th," Barnard said.

Stirba said the plaintiffs can't easily get the case dismissed. He believes he will be able to get attorney fees, which he said have run into the thousands of dollars but less than $1 million.

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Contributing: Geoffrey Fattah

E-mail: lhancock@desnews.com