Lake Corporation, state of Oregon appealing Oswego Lake case money award 

Published 5:00 am Thursday, July 31, 2025

The state of Oregon and the Lake Corporation filed appeals this week of the $1.5 million money award granted to plaintiffs Mark Kramer and Todd Prager for winning the case that ushered in public access to Oswego Lake.

Clackamas County Circuit Court Judge Kathi Steele previously 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%. The order, however, will be stayed until the Lake Corporation’s appeal of the general ruling — which deemed the waters of the lake public and required the city to provide access to the lake at Millennium Plaza Park — is heard at the Oregon Court of Appeals.

Both the Lake Corporation and the state argued in briefs earlier this year that they should not have to pay attorney fees in the case. The state argued that it was not an impediment to lake access and at one point argued that the lake was a property of the state, while the city stated that if any government body should pay fees, it should be the state because it had abdicated administrative authority.

The city of Lake Oswego had not yet filed an appeal as of Wednesday, July 30.