UI Charitable Advisors lawsuit could close two Park City chairlifts, severing link

UI Charitable Advisors filed a complaint in Summit County Third District Court on Feb. 6 that seeks millions in damages and an injunction that could force Park City Mountain to stop operating the Timberline and Iron Mountain Express chairlifts, potentially severing the lift connection between the resort’s Canyons Village side and the rest of Park City Mountain. The nonprofit bought the parcel at the bottom of Iron Mountain in December 2024, the complaint says.

The parcel sits inside The Colony at White Pine Canyon, a roughly 4,600-acre residential community with direct ski-in access, and is described in filings as about 63 acres that contain the bottom terminal of Iron Mountain Express and the southern terminal of Timberline and reportedly portions of those lifts. The complaint also alleges Park City Mountain operates the Cascade ski run on the land and asserts resort infrastructure and public skiing activity exceed whatever easement rights the plaintiff says exist.

The suit lays out trespass and unjust enrichment claims in stark terms: “Despite having no right to do so, (Park City Mountain) continues to operate the Timberline and Iron Mountain Express ski lifts, maintain infrastructure, facilitate public use for skiing and assert unauthorized control over ski runs, trails and roads,” the complaint said. “Defendants’ conduct exceeds the scope of any easement, constitutes ongoing trespass and unjustly enriches them by enhancing resort connectivity, increasing revenues and reaping operational benefits — all at UI’s expense and without compensation.” The complaint asks not only for monetary relief but also for the right to remove “trespassory objects,” language that could lead to shutdown or physical removal of lift infrastructure.

Park City Mountain, operated by Vail Resorts, issued a single-line public response defending its easement rights: “We are confident in our longstanding and long-term easement rights underlying our ski operations throughout The Colony, including on the parcel in question in this recent filing,” attributed to Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Deirdre Walsh in some published accounts and spelled Deirdra Walsh in others. The resort’s statement does not appear to be accompanied by a formal court filing as of the initial reports.

UI Charitable Advisors, described online by the organization as a philanthropic advisory firm based in Provo, pressed for negotiation before suing; Chief Technology Officer Jacob Lundskog said efforts to resolve the matter “privately and amicably” over the past year were unsuccessful. The complaint traces a disputed chain of title back to 2003, when the developer allegedly granted potential easement rights to American Ski Company, and asserts recorded maps from 2010 limited easements to skiing rather than lift operations—allegations the filing presents as the basis for its claims.

Procedurally the case is in its early stage: the complaint was filed Feb. 6 in Summit County’s 3rd District Court and, according to initial reporting, Park City Mountain has not filed a formal response and no hearings are scheduled. If a court orders the injunction UI seeks, Park City Mountain’s operational map—built over acquisitions including The Canyons in 2013 and the 2015 Quicksilver gondola connection—could face significant disruption that would alter day-to-day ski access for guests and residents near Canyons Village.