AURORA |The City of Aurora secured a victory Thursday, Sept. 10, in the ongoing legal challenges concerning the proposed Gaylord Hotel project on the city’s eastern edge.
A Colorado Appeals Court judge reaffirmed an earlier ruling that dismissed a challenge from a group of Denver-area hoteliers over $81 million in tax subsidies issued under the Colorado Regional Tourism Act (RTA).
The group of hoteliers stated in their appeal that they felt the previous ruling “improperly refused to review” the decision by the Colorado Economic Development Commission (CEDC) in awarding the subsidy to the City of Aurora.
In the ruling, Appeals Court Judge Daniel Taubman wrote that “the hotels lack standing to challenge the CEDC’s decision” along the same legal lines as the previous ruling.
“The Supreme Court has consistently held that plaintiffs lack standing where alleged economic harm is indirectly or incidentally caused by a defendant’s alleged conduct,” Taubman wrote in his analysis. “The court has distinguished between conduct that directly causes the plaintiff’s alleged injury, and conduct that encourages or promotes a third party to engage in conduct that causes a plaintiff’s injury.”
The attorneys for the mostly Denver hotels could make one final appeal to the Colorado Supreme Court. Sean Duffy, a spokesperson for the hotels, said they are evaluating all of their legal options, including another appeal.
Aurora city officials countered the project should have no more legal challenges moving forward.
“There are no more hurdles,” said Aurora Mayor Steve Hogan. “By 2018, Aurora will have the best conference hotel in Colorado, a leisure and business destination, and one of the best large hotels in the western United States.”
Read the full ruling from the Colorado Court of Appeals on the Gaylord project