Denver judge dismisses lawsuit alleging bribery

A Denver judge has dismissed a lawsuit that claimed bribery and bid rigging helped a Michigan company land a contract to bring a brewpub, two Smashburgers and a Roasting Plant coffee shop to Denver International Airport.

In a series of orders issued June 28, Denver District Court Judge Brian Whitney ruled that the plaintiff in the case, DIA Brewing Co., failed to provide evidence that supported its allegations of a pay-to-play scheme at the airport. Whitney, in granting the defendants’ motion to dismiss the case, wrote that DIA Brewing “has not sufficiently established actually injury to create standing” for a lawsuit.

DIA Brewing, which is affiliated with Wynkoop Brewing Co. and the Cherry Cricket restaurant group, filed its suit in February. It claimed that in late 2015 and early 2016 then-DIA chief revenue officer Bhavesh Patel manipulated the bidding process for a 10-year concession contract to ensure that Michiganbased Midfield Concession Enterprises Inc. won despite being less qualified than local competitors.

In return for rigging the bidding process — including by allegedly ordering the destruction of scorecards that showed Midfield was the least-qualified bidder — the lawsuit claims Midfield was expected to bring two companies affiliated with Patel in as beneficial owners in its airport operation.

A key element of the suit was DIA Brewing’s claim that an unidentified person contacted the company in February 2016 to inform it of a conspiracy between Patel and Midfield. The person claimed to have attended a meeting between the two sides.

Whitney was not swayed by that claim, writing that DIA Brewing “offers no additional details and no supporting evidence” regarding its informant or the meeting.

Whitney also ruled that DIA Brewing missed the legal deadline to sue Patel in relation to the bid process. Since he was a public employee at the time, Patel was subject to the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act. The law dictates that a person or entity seeking to sue a public employee in the state must notify that person in writing no more than 182 days

after learning of the conduct that prompted the potential lawsuit. Since DIA Brewing claimed to have learned about the conspiracy on Feb. 26, 2016, it was required to provide written notice to Patel by Aug. 26 of that year, Whitney ruled.

The case was dismissed without prejudice — meaning DIA Brewing could refile — but Whitney found Patel is shielded from being sued in the case because of the rules set out in the governmental immunity law.

The suit and its dismissal were first reported by BusinessDen.

So far, Midfield’s airport company, MCEDIA, has opened two of the four businesses it was contracted to bring to DIA: a Roasting Plant coffee shop near the arrival platform for the University of Colorado A-Line train and one of two Smashburger locations. The second Smashburger and Tom’s Urban Kitchen & Brewery, a brewpub concept that will serve beer from Tivoli Brewing Co. inside the airport’s Westin Hotel, have not yet opened, airport officials say.

Midfield’s 10-year deal with DIA requires the company to pay the airport a minimum of $1.96 million per year.