How much has the city government spent on the Oswego Lake case?

Since Mark Kramer and Todd Prager filed litigation over the lack of public access to Oswego Lake in 2012, records show that the city of Lake Oswego has spent about $761,000 defending the case.

The city hired Tonkin Torp for legal consulting and attorneys of that firm have represented the city in court — including at the recently concluded trial over the city’s rules. Tonkin Torp has collected $420,000 from the city since the beginning of 2022, which was when the latest two phases of the trial in Clackamas County Circuit Court took place. However, the case had already been heard at the Oregon Court of Appeals and the Oregon Supreme Court before being remanded back to circuit court.

Currently, shareholders and easement-holders within the Lake Corporation have access to the lake and there are two other swim parks that are only for city residents and Lake Grove residents respectively.

An advisory jury recently offered opinions on the city’s justifications for preventing public access from Millennium Plaza Park, Sundeleaf Plaza and Headlee Walkway and determined that no reasoning was justified for preventing access at Millennium while some reasons — including property restrictions and the design and construction of the other two properties — were determined by the jury to be justified for barring access. During the first phase of the trial, the court ruled that the lake was subject to public trust doctrine and therefore its waters are deemed public. Judge Kathi Steele will take the jury’s opinions into consideration in her ruling but is not bound by them. A hearing on the case is scheduled for June 3.

The city does not comment on pending litigation.