MARSHALL — A lawsuit against the owners of the Broadmoor Valley mobile home park is planned to start this month in Lyon County District Court.

On Friday, attorneys from the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office and attorneys representing Schierholz and Associates appeared in court to discuss trial preparations. However, settlement discussions in the case are also still going on, Judge Tricia Zimmer said.

The Attorney General’s Office sued Schierholz and Associates in 2021, alleging that the Broadmoor Valley owners failed to maintain the streets and mobile home park to state standards. The lawsuit also alleged the owners charged illegally high fees for late rent payments, and retaliated against residents of the park.

On Friday, attorneys on both sides of the lawsuit met with Zimmer, and then appeared in court at a pre-trial hearing. Zimmer said 11 days have been set aside for a jury trial in the case. Trial dates run from Jan. 21 through Feb. 4.

Most of Friday’s hearing involved the two sides in the lawsuit laying out arguments over what evidence or witnesses should be allowed to be presented at trial. There ended up not being enough time for attorneys to address all the issues they wanted to at the pre-trial hearing. Zimmer gave the Attorney General’s Office until Jan. 8, and defense attorneys until Jan. 9, to file written documents.

At Friday’s hearing, Zimmer also gave a summary of the issues she discussed with attorneys before the open court proceedings. Some of those issues included the logistics and scheduling of the trial, and the number of jurors to be seated, she said. Zimmer also said they discussed the status of settlement discussions in the lawsuit. Some discussion of a settlement is still going on, she said.

Beyond the lawsuit, the future of Broadmoor Valley is uncertain. In late November, the city of Marshall and residents of the park were notified that the owners planned to close it down in December 2025. Paul Schierholz, of Schierholz and Associates, said the decision to close Broadmoor Valley came from factors like the cost of updating roads and infrastructure in the park.

Under state law, the city is required to hold a public hearing on the planned closure of Broadmoor Valley. A hearing date has been set for Feb. 18 at Marshall Middle School.