Powder Corporation runs Park City Mountain. It owns the parking lots, the land at the foot of the mountains, and benefits from the skiers and tourists who visit year-round. It employs 1,200 people and benefited in 2002 when the Winter Olympics were held there. However, there is one interesting aspect of its operations that is creating serious concerns about its survival. Powdr Corporation leases the actual ski slopes of Park City from Talisker Land Holdings. Powdr had a long-term lease at the rock bottom price of \(\$ 155,000\) per year. But, through what a local paper has called "one of the most monumental blunders in Utah business history," Powdr forgot to renew its lease in 2011.42 Powdr claims that it was simply a delay in giving formal notice and that Talisker was aware that there would be a renewal. There were three years of litigation as a result, but a judge has ruled that the lease required formal written notice and Powdr did not give that notice. The judge concluded that when a lease ends, it ends. And Talisker had begun the process of eviction in order to lease to a new tenant. That new tenant is Vail Resorts, a company that runs 10 ski resorts around the country. While the legal battle has been depicted as the battle of small-town owners against a big corporation, Powdr actually has its own national structure, operating or owning ski resorts around the country, including in Vermont and Nevada. And Powdr has two advantages in the dispute. It owns all the land up to the ski slopes. In other words, anyone who leases the slopes cannot get to those slopes without crossing Park City Mountain's property. In addition, Park City Mountain owns the water rights, something that is necessary for producing the extra snow necessary early in the ski season. The law had its determination, but land ownership gets in the way of lease rights. In September 2014, Powdr Corporation sold its Park City resort to Vail Resorts for \(\$ 182.5\) million. Powdr's CEO said, "Selling was the last thing we wanted to do, and while we believe the law around this issue should be changed, a protracted legal battle is not in line with our core value to be good stewards of the resort communities in which we operate. A sale was the only way to provide long-term certainty for employees and the Park City community." \({ }^{\text {"43 }}\)............

 Discussion Questions
1. If the judge had ruled in the case, why did the dispute continue?
2. What lessons can businesses learn from this experience?
3. Would you warn a tenant about a lease expiration if you thought you could benefit from it?