Judge orders Future Legends to pay $600K to landscape subcontractor

WINDSOR — A Weld District Court Judge has awarded one of the Future Legends contractors treble damages after receiving a bad check from the sports complex owners.

Weld District Court judge Shannon Lyons on Friday awarded BrightView Landscape Development Inc. of Parker $600,000 for the claim that Future Legends wrote a bad check for $200,000.

Future Legends is a massive sports complex in Windsor that has been embroiled in financial claims for two years. Future Legends is owned by six LLCs, one of which most recently filed for bankruptcy, citing $10.47 million in liabilities, most of which owner Jeff Katofsky noted are disputed amounts. Overall, there are lawsuits against Future Legends claiming more than $56 million in debts; and $13.9 million in liens encumber the property. 

Lyons also recently appointed a receiver to protect the assets of the dome, the arena and the dormitory on the property. The dome, which was the main moneymaker, is now under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, after Katofsky filed through Future Legends 5 LLC, which is technically the landlord of the dome. Now that it is under bankruptcy, the receiver cannot operate it or pay thousands in outstanding bills against it, everything from electric to water to internet. 

BrightView’s original claim was for nonpayment of $312,587 of landscaping work on the sports complex based on a contract in 2021. BrightView filed a lien for that amount Nov. 13, 2023. Ten days later, Future Legends wrote BrightView a check for $200,000, which didn’t clear the bank.

BrightView sued in February 2024, and its case was eventually rolled into a case with two other cases with the same accusations of Future Legends not paying subcontractors for their work.

In a September 2024 response to the lawsuit, Future Legends disputed the BrightView bill, asserting that the company’s work was defective, that it wasn’t served properly, and that BrightView failed to show that it was even entitled to the $200,000.

Lyons, however, concluded  that the language in their agreement for the work “expressly waives the defense that BrightView’s work was defective.” In his ruling, Lyons stated that Future Legends provided a “heavily redacted” statement of accounts to show there was enough money to cover the check to Brightview.

“Future Legends attempts to use financial sleight of hand to create the appearance that it had sufficient funds to cover the check as of November 20, 2023. However, its efforts fall short of what is required by the statute. The bank statement submitted by Future Legends is so heavily redacted that it is impossible to discern whether the accounts had sufficient funds to cover the $200,000 check after accounting for all other checks, drafts, and orders on the account then outstanding and unpaid. Future Legends has not presented any evidence demonstrating that the other checks, drafts, and orders on the account then outstanding and unpaid were less than $197,409.01, which is the showing that must be made to establish its account contained sufficient funds to cover the $200,000.00 check issued to BrightView,” Lyons wrote,

“The affidavit of Jeff Katofsky conveniently avoids any attestation that Future Legends’ account contained sufficient funds to cover the $200,000 check as of November 20, 2023, plus all other checks, drafts, and orders on the account then outstanding and unpaid. The lack of such declaration signifies that Future Legends has failed to present competent evidence that there is a genuine issue of material fact as to whether BrightView is entitled to recover treble damages under” Colorado statute, Lyons wrote.

Katofsky’s automatic email message said he was out of the office until Oct, 29, and he could not be reached for comment.

Case No. 24CV30139, BrightView Landscape Development, Inc. v. Future Legends LLC, et. al, filed Feb. 20, 2024, in Weld District Court.

Case No. 24-51031, Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, In re: Future Legends 5 LLC, in United States Bankruptcy Court, District of Nevada, filed Oct. 15, 2024.

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