Pikes Peak Region/ Colorado Springs/ Politics & Govt
The Colorado Court of Appeals has ruled that towns and cities cannot be sued under the state's False Claims Act, delivering a win for the small El Paso County town of Palmer Lake in a lawsuit that accused it of seeking at least $1.3 million in federal and state funding and misusing the money. The unanimous decision, issued October 29, found that municipalities simply don't count as a person under the 2022 law, closing the door on a case that had accused town officials of knowingly submitting false claims to obtain public money and then diverting it for improper purposes.
The case, Moseley v. Town of Palmer Lake, began when residents Roger Moseley and Martha Brodzik sued the town, alleging it made false claims to secure at least $1.3 million in federal and state funding for specific projects and then misappropriated that money, according to reporting credited to Michael Karlik of Colorado Politics. The lawsuit, filed in El Paso County, was heard first at the district court level before reaching the Court of Appeals. The Colorado False Claims Act itself imposes civil penalties on a person who knowingly makes a false claim to the government, but the statute defines person as an individual, corporation, partnership, association, or other nongovernmental legal entity — language that became the crux of the fight.
Before the case reached the appellate panel, Palmer Lake...
CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – Two companies that operated a Clarksville-based pain management clinic and two of their managers have agreed to pay $1.5 million to resolve allegations that the...