FARGO, N.D. (AP) - Federal court documents show that a North Dakota man who has been embroiled in a long legal battle with the state over a confiscated pay loader should receive $20,000 as part of a civil lawsuit.
The loader, used to move dirt and other materials, was seized by a state Bureau of Criminal Investigation agent in May 2014 from Darrell Schrum’s shop in Forbes after it was found to be stolen. Schrum said he was the rightful owner of the loader and set out on what one of his attorneys called “an expensive three-year odyssey” to prove his point.
The judgment of $20,000 is meant to compensate Schrum for the purchase price, repairs and transport costs of the loader, said Schrum’s attorneys, Mark Friese and Neil Roesler. Friese said the two sides are still at odds over how much money Schrum should receive for attorney’s fees.
“We’re hopeful that the state will finally come completely around and make it right for Darrell,” Roesler said.
Attorney Douglas Bahr, who is handling the federal case for the state, did not return a phone message Tuesday seeking comment.
Schrum has argued that he didn’t know the history of the loader when he saw it advertised on eBay and bought it in good faith. After it was confiscated, the equipment was lost in transit and has not been located.
Schrum turned to federal court in August after the North Dakota Supreme Court reversed a state judge’s decision that Schrum be paid nearly $54,000 for the loader. The justices said the order did not comply with requirements for claims against the state, including filing a written notice with the director of the Office of Management and Budget.
The agent who confiscated the loader, Arnie Rummel, was found in contempt of court and ordered to pay a $500 fine. Attorney Tom Dickson, who helped clear Rummel of misdemeanor charges in the case, said his client was unfairly caught in a squabble between Schrum’s lawyers and the state attorney general’s office.
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