Kingman gold mine garners $500K lawsuit

KINGMAN — Four Californians claim they poured money into a gold mine near Dolan Springs, only to have the mine sold out from under them without compensation, according to a recent lawsuit.

The 12-page complaint in federal court involves two groups: the Teter family, which lives outside Denver, and the outside investors that have allegedly fed money to the family’s gold mine since 1996.

Court papers indicate that Dolan Springs Mining & Development was originally owned by Fleck Mining & Investment Co. In 1997, Marvin Teter acquired it in a lease/purchase agreement with the intent of striking it rich outside Kingman.

Around that time, investors came along and bought equipment and made in-kind contributions to the mine. The four men — Bryan Brigham, Donald deBoer, Byron Kurosaki and Michael Vanderveur — eventually got a piece of the action under an agreement with Teter. None of their shares in stock exceeded 20 percent; Teter held a 40 percent stake.

After Teter died in April 2007, the operation changed, the investors claim. The company and its lawyers were unresponsive to questions about the mine and its financial condition, even though the investors noticed that the activity around the mine had increased significantly.

After their letters in March and April were rebuffed, the investors decided to sue, using a lawyer from Lewis & Roca, one of the most prominent law firms in Arizona.

Phoenix lawyers Randall Papetti and Emily Cates are representing the investors. They are seeking $503,996 in compensatory damages, punitive damages and an accounting of who owns what at Dolan Springs.