A Sonoran Truth Editorial, August 10, 2013.
Phil Haldiman recently published an excellent article about Donny Boy in the Scottsdale Edition of the Arizona Republic: http://www.azcentral.com/community/scottsdale/articles/20130806sonoran-news-publisher-unpaid-fees-court.html
“The publisher of the Sonoran News newspaper in Cave Creek is scheduled to appear in court Friday because of unpaid fees from a lawsuit that has worked its way through the court system for a number of years. In December, a Maricopa County Superior Court judge ordered Don Sorchych, who is also the editor of the Sonoran News, to pay about $24,000 to Cave Creek resident Gerald Freeman over the maintenance of a shared road in the northern part of town. Sorchych is scheduled to participate in a debtor’s exam Friday, in which he will be expected to answer questions about his assets, properties, employer, salary and other business interests that will lead to payment of the fees.
Based on the results of the hearing, Jack Wilenchik, a lawyer for the plaintiff, FDS Finance LLC, can immediately file to seize Sorchych’s assets or garnish his wages.
In an initial suit filed in 2005, Freeman asked for Sorchych’s share of maintaining a road leading to their houses. Court documents state that Freeman and Sorchych derive equal benefits from the easement, and due to erosion from rain and other factors, the shared road requires periodic maintenance to keep it in a condition “substantially similar to its condition at the time the easement was granted in 1969.” For more than 10 years, Freeman paid for maintenance and various repairs to the road, and periodically asked Sorchych to reimburse his share of the work, being refused each time, according to court documents. The court found that the reasonable and appropriate expense for maintenance and repair of the roadway is $42,181. In December, the judge ruled in favor of Freeman in the amount of $21,090, with taxes since totaling about $24,000.
This case is not the only time Freeman and Sorchych have squared off in court. In 2011, Freeman filed a complaint against his neighbor that ended up embroiling the town in controversy. The suit claimed that Sorchych continually used a private driveway leading to Freeman’s house to “regularly harass and intimidate” him, according to documents.
During this time, the town of Cave Creek asked six landowners in the area to deed their portions of a private easement for town improvements. This included the easement that was in litigation. Sorchych deeded this part of his land to the town on Jan. 5, 2012, effectively removing himself from the ongoing suit. Then-Town Manager Usama Abujbarah placed the deed for the land on the Jan. 17, 2012, consent agenda without the council’s knowledge of the lawsuit, claiming he didn’t think the suit would affect the town.
Consequently, the council approved the deed unanimously, but rescinded its receipt of the gift at the next meeting after learning of the lawsuit. Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Karen Potts called Sorchych’s action to not inform the court of the gift “deceitful conduct.” In January, Sorchych’s lawyer in the case, Carol Lynn de Szendeffy, was placed on probation for a year for not informing the court of the gift, and consequentially violating the rules of the Arizona Supreme Court. The court awarded Freeman $2,400 in sanctions for their conduct.
Sorchych also is being sued for defamation in Maricopa County Superior Court. Cave Creek couple Gilbert and Arsenia Lopez have filed the complaint alleging that they suffered “damage to their reputation, their standing in the community and their good name” as a result of statements published in the paper they say are false, according to court documents. The suit stems from statements made claiming Gilbert Lopez, a former Cave Creek town councilman, promised the Carefree Cave Creek Chamber of Commerce just under $10,000 to pay for an information center in 2007. Lopez denies the promise.
Sorchych has not filed a response in court to the defamation claim.”