A Pinal County judge has ruled that 17 Circle Cross Ranch homeowners can move forward with their lawsuit against Salt River Project over the high-voltage power lines built through their neighborhood's common areas.

Judge Joseph Georgini of Pinal County Superior Court denied SRP's request to dismiss the case in an order entered Aug. 3. The ruling means the lawsuit, which SanTanValley.com first covered in January, now heads into discovery, the stage where both sides gather and exchange evidence.

How the Case Got Here

SRP built a 69-kilovolt overhead transmission line across the open-space common areas near Gary Road and Charbray Drive. The Circle Cross Ranch HOA owns that land, and SRP acquired the HOA's interest through condemnation, the legal process that lets a utility take private property for a public project in exchange for payment.

The homeowners say that process left them out. The neighborhood's recorded rules give each homeowner a separate legal right, called an easement of enjoyment, to use the common areas. According to the homeowners' complaint, those spaces served as walking paths, scenic views and a buffer from surrounding development. SRP never named the individual homeowners in its condemnation case and never paid them for those rights, so they filed their own suit seeking just compensation, the payment the Arizona Constitution requires when private property is taken.

Their case followed a 2025 Arizona Supreme Court decision holding that individual homeowners are entitled to compensation when HOA common areas are taken for public projects.

What the Judge Decided

SRP argued the homeowners had no right to bring their own lawsuit and could only seek payment through SRP's existing condemnation case against the HOA. Judge Georgini rejected that argument. He wrote that the right to sue over a taking comes directly from the Arizona Constitution, and that property owners may bring their own case when a condemnation action does not name them or address their separate property interests.

The homeowners' nuisance claim, which covers the power lines' ongoing impact on their properties, also survived. The judge called that claim a closer question and said SRP may raise the issue again later if those damages turn out to overlap with what the condemnation process already covers.

The ruling does not decide who wins. It means the homeowners have stated valid claims and now get the chance to prove them.

What Happens Next

The case, Lohrmeyer v. Salt River Project, moves into discovery in Pinal County Superior Court. No trial date has been set.