Judge: Marshall Fire debris litigant has no standing, no connection to Boulder County

BOULDER — Former Federal Emergency Management Agency director Michael Brown and his group Demanding Integrity in Government Spending does not live in Boulder, cannot be harmed by government decision-making in the county, and therefore has no standing to sue the county and its elected and appointed officials in an attempt force them rebid a contract for Marshall Fire debris cleanup, a Boulder County District Court judge determined Monday, dismissing the suit.

In a set of filings over the past several months, Brown accused county leadership of violating Colorado open meeting laws in the lead up to the decision to offer a contract to DRC Emergency Services LLC.

Facing criticism that he was delaying the critical cleanup process, Brown then backed off his demand of a rebid but still insisted on deposing Boulder County officials about their conduct during the contractor-selection process.

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“It is undisputed that plaintiff is not a resident or citizen of Boulder County. The

complaint lists plaintiff’s address as being in Centennial, Colorado, and there was nothing

submitted to suggest plaintiff, or any individual affiliated with plaintiff, had any particular

connection to Boulder County,” Judge Stephen Howard wrote in his order. “… A plaintiff does not have standing where plaintiff’s injury is indirect and incidental to the defendant’s conduct.”

Brown is a radio talk-show host on KHOW and KOA who led FEMA under President George W. Bush prior to resigning in 2005 amid controversy surrounding his handling of the Hurricane Katrina disaster. 

Throughout the legal process, Boulder County leaders have maintained that officials did not violate open-meetings laws. 

“The dismissal allows us to focus on the important next steps in helping fire survivors with recovery,” deputy county attorney David Hughes said in a prepared statement Tuesday.

This article was first published by BizWest, an independent news organization, and is published under a license agreement. © 2022 BizWest Media LLC.