GOVERNMENT
DEEP WATER? Lawsuit says city councilman’s utility defaulted on a $660,000 loan
Clearwater Utilities is among three defendants in a recent lawsuit in which Councilman Jamaine Berry is named.
BY MICHAEL MCDANIEL T HE ARIZONA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION IS SUING BUCKEYE CITY COUNCILMAN JAMAINE BERRY AND the utility companies he leads over an alleged $660,000 loan default. Both sides told InBuckeye they are working toward a settlement. The complaint, filed May 29 in Maricopa County Superior Court, names Berry Utilities Inc., Clearwater Utilities Company Inc. and Aguila Water Services Inc. as defendants. Berry, who represents Buckeye’s District 2 on the city council, is listed in the suit as president, CEO and chairman of Berry Utilities. According to court documents, the foundation loaned Berry Utilities $660,000 in March of 2021 to purchase Aguila Water Services and upgrade its facilities in Aguila, Ariz., 25 miles west of Wickenburg.
than $64,000 in accrued interest, additional interest at a 12% default rate starting in June 2024, plus attorneys’ fees and court costs. On Aug. 29, attorneys for the foundation said the parties were working toward a negotiated settlement agreement, which could be executed soon. There was no settlement by publication time. In an interview, Berry said the lawsuit was a giant misunderstanding. “I am no longer being sued; we worked that all out,” Berry said. Attorneys for the ACF disagreed Sept. 3: “The case is not dismissed. The parties are working toward a negotiated settlement agreement that will hopefully be executed in the coming days,” said Kyle Hallstrom, attorney for The Hallstrom Law Firm. Berry, a fourth-generation Buckeye resident, was elected to the city council in 2022 and has been active in redevelopment efforts in Old Town Buckeye.
no further payments were made, placing the company in breach of contract. The lawsuit alleges Berry treated the three utilities as “alter egos” of one another. The Arizona Community Foundation, a statewide family of charitable funds, argues the councilman ignored corporate rules and instead used loan money to buy Aguila. The foundation is asking the court to order repayment of the $660,000 loan principal, more
The loan carried a 3.5% interest rate and was scheduled to mature in December that year. According to the lawsuit, after Berry Utilities missed the repayment deadline, the foundation twice amended the agreement, extending repayment to June 2022 and later to December 2023. Despite the extensions, Berry Utilities made only four $2,500 payments toward the loan, with the last one in June 2024. The foundation claims
InBuckeye.com | September 2025
September 2025 | InBuckeye.com
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