A view from Oswego Lake. (Staff file photo) Jonathan House)

The lawyers who were awarded about $1.5 million in attorney fees for winning the case over public access to Oswego Lake will have to wait for the appeals process to conclude before receiving their money.

The Clackamas County Circuit Court issued an order July 16 declaring a stay on the allocation of attorney fees until the Lake Corporation’s appeal of the ruling, which declared the body of water public and mandated that the city of Lake Oswego create public access to Oswego Lake at Millennium Plaza Park, is complete.

In early June, Clackamas County Circuit Court judge Kathi Steele ordered that the city of Lake Oswego, the Lake Corporation (which represents shareholders who live on the lake) and the state of Oregon must pay $1.5 million in the plaintiffs’ attorney fees. Steele ruled that the Lake Corporation must pay 45% of costs while the city of Lake Oswego covers 35% and the state is on the hook for 20%.

Steele’s attorney fees decision can be appealed to the Oregon Court of Appeals.

Furthermore, if the Oregon Court of Appeals reverses the circuit court decision on the case, that would also nullify the three entities needing to pay the substantial sum.

The lawsuit forwarded by plaintiffs Mark Kramer and Todd Prager originated in 2012 and recently involved a two-part trial in the circuit court. Steele’s judgment in March forced the city to implement regulations for allowing access to the lake at the steps in lower Millennium Plaza Park. That is the only public access point to the lake.

The Lake Corporation filed a notice of appeal in March with the Oregon Court of Appeals and that process is in its beginning stages. The Lake Oswego City Council voted not to join the corporation in its appeal of the ruling, with the majority of the council wanting to put the lawsuit behind them.