HANCOCK, Mass. -- Construction of 10 wind turbines along Brodie Mountain has stopped after Massachusetts Land Court issued a temporary injunction against Berkshire Wind Power Cooperative Corp. late last week. The injunction, obtained by abutter Silverleaf Resorts Inc. as part of a pending lawsuit, prevents Berkshire Wind from using part of a road that crosses private property in Lanesborough leading up to the site of the project.

Tyler Fairbank, chief executive officer of EOS Ventures, Berkshire Wind's communications and public relations firm, said Tuesday that the injunction is temporary while a Land Court judge reviews a suit filed by Silverleaf about the validity of a special permit for the access road.

Two of the 10 turbines planned for the project have been erected. Silverleaf's lawyers contend that if the wind project is completed, "Silverleaf will be unable to use its property for its intended purpose -- a high-priced resort," the injunction order states.

The special permit was granted in June 2004 by the Lanesborough Zoning Board of Appeals, allowing Berkshire Wind to improve and use an existing Jeep trail. Fairbank said the length of the access road is 1.3 miles, but only the eight-tenths-mile of road that is in Lanesborough needed a special permit.

"The project is temporarily on hold until the issue is resolved," Fairbank said. "The Berkshire Wind Cooperative is still planning for the full construction of the project. The timeline is subject to change, depending on the direction this takes."

Silverleaf, a corporation based in Dallas, Texas, filed a motion on Feb. 13, challenging where and how the road to the project's site was constructed. Silverleaf plans to develop the former Brodie Mountain Ski Resort in New Ashford into 324 time-share units in 27 buildings.

In its motion, Silverleaf argued the special permit granted for the construction and use of the access road had lapsed because Berkshire Wind hadn't begun "substantial use or construction of the road" within a year of the permit's issue. It isn't the first time Silverleaf and the Berkshire Wind have butted heads.

Silverleaf sued Berkshire Wind in federal court in 2006, claiming that the wind turbines would detract from the view of its proposed time-shares and that engineers for the wind project had trespassed on Silverleaf land. The company settled out of court in late 2007. Previous motions filed with the Land Court by Silverleaf were dismissed in August and September 2008. The motions had challenged the zoning board's issuing of the special permit and the location of where the access road was built.

During a three-day trial in August, Berkshire Wind argued its special permit hadn't lapsed because it had used the existing Jeep trail to access the ridge line to deliver rebar to the site and had various agents, engineers and government employees access it by foot and all-terrain vehicles. Those actions constituted "substantial use or construction," court documents stated.

Following the trial, Silverleaf filed a request for injunctive relief, seeking a court order to keep Berkshire Wind from using the access road while the court's decision was pending. The court granted the injunction on Oct. 8 but ordered Silverleaf to post a bond of $250,000 that would be paid to Berkshire Wind if the court decided in its favor.

Berkshire Wind representatives estimated the project would lose $2 million to $3 million if the injunction were granted, according to court documents. "The time frame which the decision will be rendered is unknown at this point," Fairbank said.

The Lanesborough Zoning Board of Appeals was also listed as a defendant in the case. Efforts to reach its members and Silverleaf officials for comment were unsuccessful.

The Berkshire Wind project is owned by the Berkshire Wind Power Cooperative Corp., a collaboration among the 14 members of the nonprofit Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Co., which includes the communities of Ashburnham, Boylston, Groton, Holden, Hull, Ipswich, Marblehead, Paxton, Peabody, Shrewsbury, Sterling, Templeton, Wakefield and West Boylston.

Construction of the turbines was expected to be completed in January and by next spring to start generating enough power for 6,000 homes. The Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Co. owns the distribution rights to the electricity the wind turbines would generate.

Berkshire Wind Cooperative Group purchased the wind project for $4 million in June 2008.