Trial vacated in CoiNuts case
COEUR d'ALENE - CoiNuts owner-operator Kevin E. Mitchell won't be going to trial against the state on April 21 as had been scheduled.
Instead, Mitchell, 48, has promised to enter into negotiations with the Idaho Attorney General's Office with the intention of producing a settlement of the state's lawsuit against the businessman over alleged consumer protection violations.
Mitchell appeared Friday in front of 1st District Court Judge Lansing Haynes, following a motion for summary judgment filed by the state to resolve the case.
Deputy Attorney General Stephanie N. Guyon told Haynes that Mitchell should be personally responsible for non-delivery of gold and silver that customers paid for at his now-closed Coeur d'Alene coin shop.
She said he mislead customers.
"He admitted he took the money and didn't provide the goods," Guyon told the judge. "There really is no issue for trial."
In her motion, Guyon wrote that when Mitchell failed to deliver on goods, he also cut off all communication with customers, refusing to refund their money even after they obtained court-ordered judgments against him.
The state's lawsuit was filed in April 2013 on behalf of 18 customers, against both Mitchell and his business. In September, Haynes entered a judgment of $743,000 against the business entity, leaving Mitchell to face trial.
"Mitchell's actions show that he acted with reckless indifference to the truth," Guyon wrote in her Nov. 29 motion. "Again and again he took money from consumers and made promises that, based on his past experience, he had to have known he could not fulfill."
Haynes didn't rule on the motion after the parties agreed to negotiate, and ordered that the trial be vacated. A status conference has been scheduled for the spring when the parties will present Haynes with an agreement.
Mitchell told the court he wasn't ready Friday to defend himself against the evidence the state put forward because he hasn't had access to his business records. He told the court the Coeur d'Alene Police Department and Idaho Attorney General's Office have had those documents.
He said some customers didn't receive gold and silver they paid for because his business was abruptly closed in the summer of 2012 against his will, preventing him from having the time necessary to deliver on the valuables. He said the bad publicity that followed damaged his reputation for honest operations.
Previous to the closing, he said, his business operated for more than eight years and handled tens of millions of dollars in transactions, with only a few problems.
Following Friday's hearing, Mitchell said in an interview that he appreciated Haynes' and Guyon's willingness to allow for negotiations. He said that's likely the best way to help the victims get repaid and resolve the case. However, he said he doesn't have any money.
He also said he received a letter a few days ago from the IRS informing him he was no longer the subject of a criminal investigation for tax years 2009 to 2012.
No criminal charges have been filed against Mitchell by the Kootenai County Prosecutor's Office, though a number of former customers have alleged he bought silver and gold from them with bad checks.