Colorado Supreme Court clamps down on litigious Aspen attorney who keeps representing himself

The Colorado Supreme Court has ordered an Aspen attorney to stop representing himself as a plaintiff in any future litigation in the state, citing his “abusing the judicial process for the purpose of harassing his adversaries for the better part of a decade.”

In a written ruling delivered Sept. 13, the high court reprimanded lawyer Robert Francis for being a serial litigator by filing dozens of lawsuits tied to his and his family’s long-running feud with an Aspen condominium association.

The ruling said the Supreme Court had no other choice but to restrain Francis from filing suits on behalf of himself, his relatives and any other entities in the state of Colorado. Francis had filed 27 lawsuits in the state’s court system — 21 of them in Pitkin County — related to the same dispute since 2010, the ruling said. Additionally he has taken three cases to the appellate courts and filed at least two federal suits related to the same disagreement.

“No one is entitled to use the judicial process for the purpose of harassing his or her adversaries,” said the ruling. “And when someone like Francis insists on doing just that for the better part of a decade, including after courts have warned him, reprimanded him, and sanctioned him, and after his law license has been suspended, it is incumbent on us to step in and say ‘enough.’”

Francis ignored repeated court warnings and rulings and when he filed his 20th lawsuit, Pitkin County District Judge Chris Seldin warned him to stop suing over the same matter on a pro se basis, “without first obtaining an accompanying certification by an attorney that the pleading is well-grounded in fact and law.” Pro se is the term used for litigating under one’s own representation and without a hired attorney.

“State courts have warned, reprimanded, and sanctioned Francis — all to no avail,” said the Supreme Court’s order. “Even the suspension of his law license has failed to deter his appalling conduct. Under the circumstances, the extraordinary injunction requested is amply justified.”

Francis said he disagreed with and wanted more clarification on the court’s ruling. Pitkin County Combined Courts received the order and will abide by it moving forward, according to a court clerk.

The ruling does not apply to Francis in the event he wants to defend himself pro se. He also is allowed to participate as a plaintiff in a lawsuit, but only if he has hired counsel.

He said he is working on finding a way to challengethe ruling.

The dispute originally landed in Pitkin County

District Court in 2010, when Francis, through another attorney and not himself, sued the condo association over water damage to an unit he controlled at Aspen Mountain Condominiums, which he said originated from sewage drain backup in the building’s common elements. Francis also sued the association for what he claimed was an unjust hike to his unit’s assessment rate, made through a declaration change passed by the association’s board of directors, but not unanimously. The condominium complex is located on South Mill Street at the base of Aspen Mountain.

A trust associated with Francis sold the Aspen Mountain Condominium unit — which was the dispute started — in July 2018 for $1.25 million, according to property records.

Coloradopolitics.com first reported on the Supreme Court’s order on Sept. 14.