EXCLUSIVE: Shoshone County Landowners Sue City of Wallace And County In Multi-Million Dollar Lawsuit
Are property rights respected in Shoshone County, Idaho?
By Casey Whalen
Summary courtesy of IdahoDispatch.com by Greg Pruett – August 22, 2025.
A land dispute in Wallace, Idaho, has led to a multi-million dollar lawsuit against the city of Wallace, Shoshone County, and several government officials, including a Wallace city council member.
The lawsuit, filed by Ryder Gauteraux and Chuck Jones, claims that their property rights have been violated and seeks an initial $5 million in damages. If their property rights are not restored following the alleged violation, then the damages are increased to $50,576,478. The amount is based on the per-acre value of the only parcel the plaintiffs have sold—approximately $96,000 per acre. They claim they sold 2.6 acres, which consisted of a single home site, to defendant Dean Cooper after trespassing charges were filed and access to the property was blocked.
Gauteraux and Jones own approximately 536 acres of land in Shoshone County.
The lawsuit lists the following defendants: the City of Wallace, Shoshone County, East Shoshone County Water District, the State of Idaho, the Idaho Transportation Department, Dean Cooper (Wallace City Council), Jill Cooper (Dean’s wife), Courtney Frieh (former Planning and Zoning Commissioner), Emma Stayduhar/Marlow (past and current chairman of the Planning and Zoning Historic Commission), and Taylor Marlow.
»»» Download the original complaint here «««
Central to the lawsuit is the plaintiffs’ claim that they’ve been denied access to their property via Weyer Gulch Road. They say they attempted to have the road officially validated, but both the city and county refused responsibility. The city allegedly lacks a road validation process, while the county contends that, since the road lies within city limits, it’s outside their jurisdiction.
On August 7, 2025, a judge held a final hearing to determine the county’s decision not to validate the road; however, the judge’s decision has not been released at this time. If the judge decides the county does not have jurisdiction over the road, then the city would have jurisdiction over it.
The plaintiffs say that they completed the purchase of the approximately 536 acres on August 6, 2020. By the end of August, access to the road was blocked by the city of Wallace. Another access road to the plaintiffs’ property, through Pearl/Wilson Street, was allegedly blocked after the road was vacated to Cooper’s wife’s deceased mother’s estate and neighboring property owners.
Gauteraux and Jones filed their original lawsuit against the city and other government agencies for preventing them from gaining access to the property. The claim states specifically,
“The intentional and tortious actions of the Respondents have deprived Claimants of any commercially reasonable and legal access to their approximately 526 acres and all economically beneficial use of it, and have interfered with reasonable investment-backed expectations. Specifically, Claimants intended to develop the property as residential, business and recreational property, plans which Respondents have directly and intentionally interfered due to Respondents’ desire that the property remain undeveloped despite the fact that the intended uses are permitted as a matter of law. Respondents’ actions are tortious and constitute a taking of private property without due process of law and without just compensation in violation of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution or Article I, §14 of the Idaho Constitution.”
Idaho Dispatch tried to contact all defendants in the claim to request for comment.
All defendants have responded to the case in court documents, denying any wrongdoing and stating that the claimant lacks sufficient evidence to prove their claims, or denying some of the claims in their entirety.
Update on 8/22/25 at 2:10 p.m.: “This is a matter of active litigation and therefore, the County cannot comment on it at this time.”
There are additional claims and allegations surrounding this land dispute that the Idaho Dispatch is currently investigating.
Notes: The state of Idaho, the Idaho Transportation Department, and the East Shoshone County Water District are only listed as defendants because they have adjoining property to the plaintiffs.
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