Utah tech billionaire sues neighbors challenging his house over their ‘vicious’ dogs

PARK CITY, Utah (KSL) — Tech billionaire couple Matthew and Tatiana Prince have filed a lawsuit against their Park City neighbors, saying they can’t go outside for fear of the “large, vicious and aggressive” dogs that are walked daily along a nearby pedestrian trail that runs through their property.

This legal complaint follows an appeal filed this month by the neighbors — Eric Hermann and Susan Fredston-Hermann, along with eight others — who challenged the approval of the Princes’ proposed house, which they say is out of compliance with local ordinances.

The large dog lawsuit A trail easement running through the Princes’ property gives the adjacent landowners, the Hermanns, legal rights to a pedestrian, bike and ski path, according to the court documents.

Lawyers representing the Princes’ property say the Hermanns walk their two large Bernese mountain dogs, Sasha and Mocha, along the 3-foot-wide path daily, “most of the time without a leash.”

The lawsuit claims the dogs have “aggressively chased and cornered” them, and now they feel that “all residents and guests, and especially children that on occasion may be at the home, cannot be outside,” for fear of the roaming dogs.

The Princes argue that “dogs are not pedestrians” and should therefore not be allowed on the trail at all. The Hermanns’ conduct, they allege, is “willful and malicious — or at the very least, manifested a knowing and reckless indifference and disregard towards the rights of others.”

Seemingly unrelated, the lawsuit also asks the court to grant the Princes a favorable judgment in a dispute surrounding a proposed driveway that the Hermanns say does not conform to an existing easement agreement.

In a statement given to KPCW in Park City, Eric Hermann said the lawsuit “not only falsely and viciously attacks our gentle dogs, but also argues that all dogs should be excluded from pedestrian easements in Park City.”

The Princes are requesting “an award of damages” for the Hermanns’ “trespasses and private nuisance,” and for “breach of the easement agreement,” with the amount to be determined later.

House plans appealed Matthew Prince, co-founder and CEO of cybersecurity company Cloudflare, purchased land near the Treasure Hill open space overlooking Park City’s Old Town in 2020.

Prince, 49, and his wife worked with architects to design a single house to replace the two existing homes on the land. According to Morgan Pierce, the executive director of the Park City Museum, “This new structure draws significant inspiration from Park City’s largest, and most prosperous mining operation,” and is “an improvement to the city skyline.”

Many neighbors submitted letters of support, saying the Princes’ plan “will contribute positively to the neighborhood and our broader community,” and that they are “good neighbors.”

Ben and Erica Dahl, who also have the ski easement that runs through the property, said they are supportive of the house.

But the architectural historians from SWCA Environmental Consultants, tasked with a historic district design review, wrote, “The guidelines are clear regarding requirements for residential massing and scale, and the proposed design does not comply.”

The Princes were previously unsuccessful in an attempt to lobby the Utah Legislature to bypass local controls and build their new residence. Park City Mayor Nann Worel released a statement at the end of March 2023, saying a proposed law “includes language elevating one neighbor’s interests over the interests of all others.”

“No rational explanation has been offered as to why the state Legislature would disrupt the balance of residential life, interfere with a 30-year-old development agreement, and jeopardize municipal zoning. This bill is overt legislative overreach and includes special treatment of one resident over the community.”

The Princes’ proposal is scheduled to go before Park City’s appeal panel on April 30.