Rocky Mountain News
Man wasn't bound by association's deal, is entitled to legal fees
By Karen Abbott, Rocky Mountain News
May 25, 2004
Erik Krystkowiak didn't want anyone to build a 160-unit apartment complex across the street from his Colorado Springs home.
He said so, repeatedly, in 1998 meetings of the City Council and planning commission, even though his homeowners association signed a deal with the developer to stop fighting the project.
Colorado Springs turned down the apartment complex proposal.
The developer, W.O. Brisben Companies Inc., sued Krystkowiak for interference with a contract, seeking millions of dollars in damages.
Krystkowiak won. The El Paso County District Court threw out the developer's lawsuit, citing a 1984 Colorado Supreme Court ruling that upheld citizens' First Amendment rights to petition their government in opposition to developments.
The district court judge said Brisben's lawsuit was filed in retaliation for Krystkowiak's outspoken opposition to the apartment complex.
But the district court refused to make Brisben pay Krystkowiak's attorneys' fees under technical legal rules having to do with Brisben's claim that, because the homeowners association signed a contract to stop fighting the apartment complex, Krystkowiak was bound by it even though he refused to sign it personally.
The Colorado Supreme Court ruled Monday that Krystkowiak had the right not only to join the home-owners association, but to detach himself from it when it no longer represented his views.
That meant Krystkowiak never signed away his First Amendment rights to petition the government when the homeowners association signed the deal with the developer.
Because Krystkowiak was sued for exercising those rights, he is entitled to attorneys' fees, the court said.
"The right to petition has been characterized as one of the most precious liberties protected by the Bill of Rights," the Supreme Court said.
The high court sent the case back to El Paso County District Court for a determination of Krystkowiak's attorneys' fees.
Copyright 2004, Rocky Mountain News. All Rights Reserved.
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