A Mesa County district judge has restricted how Pivot Energy and other defendants can use a shared private easement to access properties outside Palisade, amid an ongoing dispute involving alleged trespassing, road-safety concerns, and an assault. The ruling, issued by District Judge JenniLynn E. Lawrence on Sept. 25, follows an evidentiary hearing on Sept. 4 and a temporary restraining order issued April 23.
The preliminary injunction specifically prohibits using the easement to benefit the separate Summy Solar Project, which includes installing power lines for that project. Judge Lawrence found that the Summy property has no rights under the easement, stating, “None of the Defendants have any present legal right to use the Easement to benefit the Summy Property.” However, the injunction does not stop continued access within the easement to James Sterling’s property at 656 39 Road, where Pivot Energy has leased land for a different solar project.
The lawsuit, filed April 17 by James and Christine Murphy, Raven Novak, Cullen and Krista Howard, and James and Maureen Delany, named Sterling, Pivot Energy Development LLC, Pivot Solar 44 LLC, Sturgeon Electric Company, and Public Service Company of Colorado (Xcel Energy) as defendants.
The court’s findings also addressed property modifications and conduct. Judge Lawrence found that Sterling’s excavation along the easement road created unstable slopes, described as eight to 10 feet of vertical cuts, which could threaten the roadway and nearby power poles. The injunction prohibits Sterling from creating further unsafe conditions, including additional vertical cuts that leave unstable slopes.
Additionally, the order bars defendants from trespassing on Cullen and Krista Howard’s property by using a shortcut outside the designated easement. According to the order, property owners had historically used the shortcut with permission, but intensified use led the Howards to revoke that permission and post no-trespassing signs. Video evidence showed each defendant or its employees trespassing on the property before the Howards roped off the shortcut.
According to the plaintiffs’ statement in the case-management order, the dispute intensified when Sterling allegedly removed a community gate and kicked neighboring landowner Cullen Howard in the chest when confronted. The statement indicates Sterling later pleaded guilty to third-degree assault and is subject to a mandatory protection order.
In their statements included in the case-management order, Pivot and Sterling argue the easement broadly permits access and utility uses benefiting Sterling’s property, including those associated with solar development. They contend the agreement does not restrict access to residential purposes or require neighboring owners’ approval for reasonable improvements, and deny their use has overburdened the properties.
Xcel Energy denied wrongdoing, arguing the agreement permits installation of electrical distribution lines to connect the solar projects, or that it could acquire additional property rights through condemnation. Sturgeon Electric Company also denied wrongdoing, negligence, and trespass. However, Judge Lawrence wrote in the preliminary injunction order that “The fact that certain utility companies can use eminent domain does not give them license to use an easement they have no legal right to use without any due process or compensation.”
The preliminary injunction addresses property access, permitted uses of the easement, and conditions along the roadway while the lawsuit proceeds. It does not resolve the entire lawsuit or impose a blanket prohibition on nearby solar development.
A seven-day trial has been scheduled to begin on Sept. 27, 2027, continuing through Oct. 1 and Oct. 4-5. Pivot, Sterling, and Xcel may seek to pause discovery depending on progress in Xcel’s condemnation action.
