The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Maxfield and Town still in conflict
Mt. Crested Butte homeowner James Maxfield was arrested on weapons and drug paraphernalia charges in fall 2009. He then sued Mt. Crested Butte Town Manger Joe Fitzpatrick and Police Chief Hank Smith in Arizona’s Superior Court in Maricopa County for slander. The Superior Court of Arizona dismissed the case against Smith and Fitzpatrick on February 19, 2010.
According to court documents, “With regard to the Defendants’ Motions to Dismiss, the court agrees with Defendants that this court lacks personal jurisdiction over the Defendants, residents of Colorado. The events forming the basis for Plaintiff’s action occurred in Colorado. Personal jurisdiction must be established by the Defendants’ actions, not those of Plaintiff or a third party… Therefore it is ordered granting Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss with Prejudice.”
Some background on the case: Between 2007 and 2008, Maxfield built a retaining wall to level out his property, but neighbors, including Police Chief Hank Smith and his wife, Beverly Kier-Smith, complained that it was an eyesore and asked the town to remedy the situation. In order to appease the concerns of neighbors and avoid a legal conflict with Maxfield, the town decided last year to replace the walls with something more aesthetically pleasing, at a cost of more than $6,000.
In early September 2009, the Mt. Crested Butte police raided Maxfield’s home and confiscated several firearms, documents, photographs, and drugs. The items all apparently belonged to Maxfield, who allegedly has a criminal history. He was arrested on charges of possession of weapons by a previous offender and possession of drug paraphernalia. Colorado law prohibits felony offenders from possessing a weapon within 10 years of their conviction. According to the affidavit filed in Gunnison District Court, Mt. Crested Butte police were tipped off by an unnamed female informant, believed to be Maxfield’s girlfriend. She apparently told officers that Maxfield had a felony on his record and was currently in possession of firearms.
Fitzpatrick says the dispute over the retaining wall and the arrest of the property owner are unrelated events.
After he paid bond and returned to his home in Arizona, Maxfield filed suit against Fitzpatrick and Smith in Arizona Superior Court. In the complaint, filed on October 15, 2009 Maxfield alleged that Fitzpatrick and his wife began a public slander campaign in May 2008 “in an effort to defame his character” and “to cause the local public opinion to be opposed to the plaintiff’s excavation project.”
In the complaint filed against Smith in Arizona’s Superior Court in Maricopa County, Maxfield alleged Smith was also involved in a slander campaign against him. He requested $3.5 million in relief for damages.
The charges against Fitzpatrick and Smith are now dismissed. Maxfield was facing both municipal and federal charges for weapons and drug paraphernalia possession. According to Smith, the town of Mt. Crested Butte made a motion to dismiss the municipal charges without prejudice, reserving the right to re-file the case.
Maxfield still faces a federal charge—felon in possession of a firearm—and his case was scheduled for March 8 in Federal District Court in Denver. Smith said the federal case was recently continued until August.
