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r 1~-• • HOLLAND & HART idr. Robert A. Hykan February 24, 1984 Page 2 The enclosed letter plainly illustrates the relative equities of the present circumstances. Mr. Mills cannot be heard to argue that he was mistakenly relying on oral permission and believed his continued operations to be lawful. To the contrary, Mr. Mills was informed by representatives of Phelps Dodge that his lease for Section 15 had "expired according to its terms" and was even a participant in efforts to obtain an extension. hlr. Mills knew thet Victor-America was negotiating to lease the Section 15 coal to a third party, but took no steps at that time to assert his alleged right to con- tinue mining in that section. Only after Mr. Mills was sued for intentional trespass and substantial damages did he then come forth with unverifiable claims of oral permission which, even if true, would not be legally suffient to justify either issuance of the Mining Permit or continued mining from the Sec- tion 15 properties. Because of the comment in his letter dated February 22, 1984, I am sending a copy of this letter to Mr. Pascoe. As I indicated to you previously, he has not been sent copies of my earlier correspondence because, to the extent my client may have been aggrieved by P1LRD's mistakenly issuing the permit in question, I considered that to be a matter between MLRD and Victor-American Fuel Company. The only interests of Mr. Pascoe's client which could be adversely affected by remedying that error are not, by definition, valid interests. If the permit was properly issued, Trinidad Basin Mining will not be harmed. If it was improperly issued, revocation or revision of the Permitted Area will not deprive Trinidad Basin Mining of anything to which it is lawfully entitled. Very truly yours, ~Br' on Tvhite of HOLLAND & HART BRTj r : dpm Enclosures: as stated cc(w/enc.): P1r. avid Shelton ~ !9r. Michael S. Savage !9r. Gerard Rem cc(w/o enc.): Monte Pascoe, Esq. Gerald L. Sjaastad, Esq.