Plaintiffs Dismiss Keystone Lifetime Pass Holders’ Case
On Friday, October 2,Holme Roberts & Owen LLP (HRO) won a significant victory for its client Vail Resorts when Keystone Resort lifetime ski pass holders who rented out their passes for monetary payment dismissed their claims for damages after almost two weeks of trial. The initial Keystone investors received lifetime passes in 1969 when Keystone was originally formed. Over the years some of those investors sold their lifetime passes to others who chose to rent them out. Vail Resorts bought Keystone in 1996 and announced in 2006 the pass holders could not rent out lifetime passes in competition with Keystone. The legal process began three years ago when numerous Keystone lifetime pass holders sued Vail Resorts for $9 million.
The case went to trial in Summit County on September 21 and was submitted to the jury on October 1. On Friday, October 2, plaintiffs dismissed their claims with prejudice, with no payment from Vail Resorts. In addition, plaintiffs consented to an order to bar any future commercial use of the passes, and agreed not to appeal. In exchange, Vail agreed to waive its costs.
HRO attorneys Michael Hofmann and Bobbee Musgrave tried the case, with support from paralegal Marvene Muniz. Jurors commented that HRO attorneys’ closing argument swayed them in favor of the defendant.
Ms. Musgrave is Co-Chair of HRO’s Antitrust and Competition Group and a partner in the Litigation Practice Group. Commenting on the trial outcome, Ms Musgrave noted:
“The tone we set was friendly, low-key and reasoned. We won this case with a straightforward, professional approach. We emphasized that what was in the original 1969 contract still holds true today.”
Mr. Hofmann, her colleague, and a partner in the firm''s complex and commercial litigation practice group, stated: “We are pleased that we could deliver such a fine outcome for one of our valued clients, Vail Resorts.”
Holme Roberts & Owen LLP is an international law firm that was established in 1898 and has approximately 250 lawyers practicing in ten strategically positioned offices in Denver, Boulder, Colorado Springs, Dublin, London, Los Angeles, Munich, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, and San Francisco. The firm''s lawyers provide a broad spectrum of legal services in virtually every area of the law, including corporate, securities, mergers and acquisitions, estate planning, commercial litigation and arbitration, real estate, health, employment, tax, environmental and intellectual property, technology and media.
Contacts:
Holme Roberts & Owen LLP
Richie Hunter, 303-866-0330
richie.hunter@hro.com
