BRONCOS TRUST REQUESTS NFL ACT AS AN ARBITRATOR

Bill Bowlen’s lawsuit claims the three-person trust was not upholding his brother’s wishes

The three-person trust that runs the Broncos submitted a filing Friday in Colorado District Court requesting a stay in the proceedings triggered by a lawsuit last month by a brother of team owner Pat Bowlen requesting the trust be removed from power.

Since 2014, when Bowlen stepped away from the team because he has Alzheimer’s disease, the trio of Joe Ellis, Rich Slivka and Mary Kelly have served as trustees for the Patrick D. Bowlen Trust. Ellis is the Broncos’ president and CEO.

On Oct. 25, Bill Bowlen presented a lawsuit wanting to remove the trust, “due to their failure to uphold Pat Bowlen’s wishes and act in the best interest of Pat Bowlen, his family and the Broncos.”

The trustees originally had 20 days to respond but received a one-week extension. Their 34page document also requested that Beth Bowlen-Wallace and Amie Bowlen-Klemmer — the two oldest of Pat’s seven children — enter into arbitration with the NFL and not the court system.

In a statement, Dan Reilly, the trustees’ lawyer who has provided legal assistance to Pat Bowlen for nearly 20 years, said: “We have requested that the NFL accept our arbitration of this private family matter per the league’s constitution and bylaws on ownership disputes, and we have filed a motion to stay the legal proceedings pending this ruling. The trustees will continue to implement Pat Bowlen’s succession plan.”

Bill Bowlen has 21 days to file a response to the court about the request for a stay in the proceedings.

In a statement, Giovanni Ruscitti, the lawyer for Bill Bowlen as well as Bowlen-Wallace and Bowlen-Klemmer said: “The trustees’ filing conflates the legal issues, as the issues raised in Bill Bowlen’s complaint are very different than the arbitration they just filed, and it appears to be a delay tactic designed to avoid having the issues raised in Bill’s complaint timely resolved.”

Asked what Bill Bowlen’s next move is, Ruscitti said: “While we have 21 days to file a response to their motion to stay, we expect to file a response in the very near future and Bill intends to vigorously oppose the request to delay these important proceedings.”

In a statement to The Denver Post on Friday night, Bowlen-Wallace said she and Bowlen-Klemmer “are disappointed,” in the filing and added that the lawsuit is “between Bill Bowlen and the trustees and it needs to be resolved in a timely manner.”

Because Bill Bowlen does not own a stake in the Broncos, he is not subject to NFL arbitration. The trustees’ interesting tact in their filing was including Bowlen-Wallace and Bowlen-Klemmer, whose names were not a part of Bill Bowlen’s lawsuit. But they are due to get a stake in the franchise once their father passes away.

The NFL constitution and bylaws contain a provision that requires arbitration for any ownership dispute.

The trustees’ filing said Bill Bowlen’s lawsuit is “the most recent evidence of just such an ownership dispute between the Trustees and two of Pat Bowlen’s seven children — namely, Beth Bowlen-Wallace and Amie (Bowlen)-Klemmer.”

Because of their request for league-level involvement, the trustees, per the filing, requested the stay “while the NFL hears from the parties and considers whether it will accept the arbitration.”

Bowlen-Wallace said her team has “offered to mediate with the trustees, but they have consistently declined that opportunity.”

If the NFL declines to accept the arbitration request, the lawsuit will proceed in Colorado. At that point, it is likely the trustees’ next move would be to ask for Bill Bowlen’s lawsuit to be dismissed.

One aspect of arbitration that could be intriguing to Bowlen-Wallace and her sister: Being able to see the trust document during discovery.

“We have never seen a copy of my father’s trust or the succession plan; we have had to rely solely on what the trustees have verbally told us over the past 10 years,” Bowlen-Wallace said in her statement to The Post.

Friday’s filing was the latest chapter in the saga that began in late May, when Bowlen-Wallace expressed her desire to succeed her father and was supported by Bowlen-Klemmer, Bill Bowlen and Pat’s brother, John. The trustees responded that Bowlen-Wallace was “not capable or qualified at this time,” to for that position.

In their filing, the trustees reiterated their stance that Bowlen-Wallace does not have the qualifications to be the next controlling owner. In her statement, Bowlen-Wallace said she has “fulfilled the educational and employment requirements … and I have a plan to move this organization forward.”

One of Bill Bowlen’s primary points in his lawsuit was Pat “did not fully understand the nature of the documents he signed that made major changes to his estate planning and created the fiduciary position with broad powers that the three trustees currently hold.”

In the trustees’ filing, it is stated Denver lawyer Richard Robinson was hired by Pat Bowlen in March 2007 to review his estate plan and provide recommendations. In an affidavit as a part of the filing, Robinson said “many of (Bill Bowlen’s) allegations are factually inaccurate. … Mr. Bowlen was fully engaged in the process, understood the provisions of both the (Bowlen) Trust Agreement … and signed those agreements.”

As soon as Bill Bowlen files his response asking the court to deny the stay, the trustees will have 15 days to respond.