PARIS — The Board of Selectmen has until April 7 to respond to a lawsuit over the ownership of Town Farm Road.

Oxford County Superior Court granted a deadline extension for attorney Geoffrey Hole to respond to the suit.

The plaintiffs, residents of Town Farm Road and Town Farm Estates, want to force the town to take ownership and responsibility for the road, which the town voted to abandon in 1967.

The suit also asks for about $16,000 to pay for repairs to get the road up to town standards.

In 2004, town meeting voters approved an item to accept the road as a town road once certain repairs were completed, including replacing culverts, adding steel railings and reducing a curve. The repairs came from a list by Frank Danforth, who was the town’s road foreman at the time.

The suit alleges those repairs were completed at a cost of $16,000, not including labor by residents. In 2005, and later in 2009, selectmen voted not to take over Town Farm Road.

According to the suit, the plaintiffs “acted in their detriment based on representations made by the agents of the Town as well as the legislative body of the Town.”

The plaintiffs are Edwin Merrill, Alberta Merrill, George Menezes and Deborah Menezes of Town Farm Road, and Sarah Christine Bass, Kerry Phelps, Nicole Phelps, Kenneth Lynch, Nancy Lynch, William Merrill, Terry Merrill, Harold Robinson and Steve Twitchell of Town Farm Estates.

On March 14, selectmen voted to have Hole represent the town in the matter.

Selectman Ted Kurtz agreed to recuse himself from decisions involving the road, as his law firm advised the town on the matter in 2005. Kurtz agreed with the request from board Chairman Raymond Glover that, because of his professional involvement with the case, his participation in board discussions and actions could create the appearance of a conflict of interest.

On Thursday, Tarr said Hole is currently on vacation but will respond to the lawsuit when he returns.

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