WOODSTOCK — Tensions between two Vermont nonprofits over a Norwich dairy property has escalated into a legal fight.
The Upper Valley Land Trust is suing Vermont Technical College for financial damages the preservation group claims it has suffered as a result of an incomplete real estate transaction.
The land trust filed a lawsuit earlier this month in Windsor Superior Court in Woodstock against Vermont State Colleges alleging that Randolph-based VTC violated a purchase-and-sale agreement for the dairy farm, which the college has leased to a small manufacturer of yogurt and ricotta cheese.
The company, Norwich Farm Creamery, has been operating at the roughly six-acre site on Turnpike Road a few miles from the center of the village since 2016. The creamery sells its dairy products, which include milk, at a handful of Upper Valley farmers markets and stores.
The property has several buildings, including a barn, a house and a mobile home. In its lawsuit, the land trust said that it has been stymied in completing an option agreement it has with the college to acquire the property because of the lease to the creamery. The land trust wants to use the farm for educational programs.
The land trust said that under the terms of its purchase option with the college, the property is supposed to be free of tenants or other encumbrances. But the lease VTC signed with the creamery prevents UVLT from taking ownership of the property, according to the lawsuit.
“Notwithstanding VSC’s contractual obligation to deliver the dairy parcel to the Land Trust, VSC has notified the Land Trust that it cannot and will not convey the dairy parcel as required by the option agreement,” the lawsuit states.
Now, despite a concerted effort to find a solution, land trust officials have run out of patience.
“We spent a year trying to come to a resolution” with VTC, Jeannie McIntyre, executive director of the Upper Valley Land Trust, said in an interview on Monday. “We weren’t successful in that. We don’t believe we will be successful. We don’t see any likelihood the property will be conveyed to us in the future. Therefore we are seeking damages for default.”
The dispute between two prominent central Vermont nonprofit institutions traces back to 2015, when Andy Sigler, former chief executive of papermaker Champion International, and his wife, Peg Sigler, donated nearly 360 acres of land in Norwich to VTC. The school was to operate a hands-on dairy training program at the property, which is assessed at $2.5 million.
In order to help facilitate its dairy training program, the land trust agreed to buy 352 acres of the property for the fire-sale price of $300,000, which the college was to use to finance the dairy program on the remaining 6 acres.
As part of that arrangement, the land trust was given an option to purchase the 6 acres for $50,000 in the event Vermont Tech ceased to use the farm for education purposes.
Because of mounting financial pressures and insufficient student interest, VTC shut down the dairy program in 2016 but was already in a five-year lease with the small commercial creamery operated by Chris Gray and his wife, Laura Brown. The couple has declined to abandon their lease with VTC, which can be renewed for up to 20 years.
Pat Moulton, president of VTC, expressed dismay over the filing of the lawsuit.
“I am surprised UVLT is willing to commit resources to a lawsuit,” she said in an emailed statement, “Just weeks before we received notice of the suit, Vermont Tech had agreed to the terms of a settlement with UVLT negotiated over the last eight months. There are clear pathways to resolving these issues, and we remain open to discussing all of them.”
Caught in the middle are Gray and Brown, who say their small business has suffered as the college and the land trust have been unable to work things out.
“We’re small farmers caught between two powerful institutions that have deep pockets for legal battles. Thanks to them we’ve lost money every year and had to go into more debt to spend on lawyers,” the couple said in email. “Both VTC and UVLT worked with us as partners on this project for three years. Then VTC went back on their promises and sent us a notice of termination right in the middle of our lease.”
“UVLT then tried to get us evicted unless we paid a five-fold increase in rent, a rate unsustainable for any farmer on this property,” they said. “The only way value-added dairy farming will continue on this historic dairy farm is if we’re allowed to stay at a reasonable rate and bring the cows back. It’s that simple. Most people outside of these two institutions understand that.”
John Lippman can be reached at jlippman@ vnews.com.
Correction
Norwich Farm Creamery began operating at the inception of Vermont Technical College’s dairy training program in Norwich. An earlier version of this story misstated when the business began operating.
