A Holland & Hart lawyer resigned last week after admitting that he overbilled clients while working at another firm.
Frank Sledge tendered his resignation Wednesday, Holland & Hart chairman Paul Phillips said Monday. The firm had hired Sledge from Denver-based White & Steele in September. “Mr. Sledge’s resignation specifically related to events at White & Steele,” Phillips said.
Sledge’s attorney, Larry Pozner, said his client has cooperated with White & Steele’s investigation. “Frank takes sole and complete responsibility for this situation. No other parties are involved,” Pozner said. “He is attempting to repay any money falsely received.”
White & Steele learned of problems with Sledge’s billing after a client contacted the firm with questions, firm president Jim Dieterich said. Sledge’s billings “contained false information about what he had done, expenses he had incurred. It cost both the law firm and clients money that wasn’t honestly charged,” he said.
Sledge has practiced law in Colorado since 1993. He is a University of Colorado graduate and has served as president of the Colorado Defense Lawyers Association.
DENVER
Oil and gas industry wants policy input
The Colorado Oil and Gas Association called Monday for Gov. Bill Ritter to create a “blueprint for Colorado’s energy development” that will include input from the energy industry.
Officials of the oil and gas group said they are concerned about several bills in the state legislature that would have “potentially wide-ranging effects on the industry’s ability to operate effectively in the state.”
One such bill would add more nonindustry representatives to the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission and increase the body’s responsibility to protect public health.
DENVER
Xcel Energy appoints customer-service exec
Xcel Energy has named Ken Floyd as vice president for customer care and revenue cycle. Floyd will be responsible for all of Xcel’s call-center operations and for managing payment processing.
Floyd previously was director of customer service for the Sacramento Municipal Utility District, which was ranked first in California and fifth nationwide in a J.D. Power survey of business- and residential-customer satisfaction.
“Xcel Energy is committed to transforming its customer-interaction processes to enhance our relationship with customers,” said Ray Gogel, Xcel’s chief administrative officer.
DOUGLAS COUNTY
CH2M Hill seeks U.K. nuke contract
Douglas County-based CH2M Hill is among companies interested in a contract to oversee the decommissioning of a nuclear-reprocessing plant in the United Kingdom, said company spokesman John Corsi.
The engineering and construction company has taken the first step in a contracting process that begins with a requirement to submit a “pre-qualification list” for the Sellafield plant in Cumbria, Corsi said.
DENVER
Janus Capital Group boosts Bunge holdings
Janus Capital Management LLC has boosted its holding in Bunge Ltd., the world’s biggest soybean processor, to 10.1 percent from 6.7 percent, according to a regulatory filing.
The unit of Denver-based Janus Capital Group now holds 12.1 million Bunge shares, Janus said Monday in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The document didn’t say when the shares were purchased or at what price.
DENVER
Legislation in works to hike tax exemption
Joe Rice, D-Littleton, is expected to announce legislation today that would raise the business personal-property-tax exemption from the current $2,500 to $8,000 during the next five years.
House Bill 1325 would exempt business owners from paying personal-property tax on equipment purchased with an actual value below a certain threshold.
Gov. Bill Ritter has expressed support for such a measure.
BROOMFIELD
Gaiam’s quarterly earnings skyrocket
Gaiam Inc., a Broomfield- based lifestyle-media company, posted a 187 percent gain in fourth-quarter earnings as it expanded its media-distribution network.
Gaiam earned $4.3 million, or 16 cents per share, compared with a profit of $1.5 million, or 7 cents per share, for the same period in 2005. Revenue for the period ended Dec. 31 increased 13.2 percent to $72.8 million from $64.3 million last year.
DENVER
Storm Cat Energy chief to take leave
Denver-based Storm Cat Energy Corp. said Monday that Scott Zimmerman, president and chief executive, is taking an administrative leave from the company for personal reasons.
Storm Cat said in a statement that Zimmerman’s leave is not related to any operational or financial issues with the company, nor the result of a disagreement with the board of directors over the direction of the company.
DETROIT
Ford selling stake in Aston Martin
Ford Motor Co. is selling a controlling stake in Aston Martin – creator of $100,000-plus sports cars made famous in James Bond movies – for $925 million.
Aston Martin now will be run by a consortium of investors, including racing mogul David Richards, car collector John Sinders and the Kuwaiti companies Investment Dar and Adeem Investment Co.
Ford announced the sale Monday at Aston Martin’s headquarters in Gaydon, England.
DETROIT
Battery life called key to plug-in auto future
General Motors Corp. must develop an advanced battery that can last 10 years before customers will take a risk on purchasing its plug-in hybrid-electric vehicles, a GM executive said.
Questions about lithium-ion battery technology make GM wary of giving a timetable for building an auto that gets its primary charge from a home outlet, Beth Lowery, head of GM’s battery division, said at a briefing in suburban Detroit on Monday.
WASHINGTON
Humane Society seeks fur-mislabeling fines
The Humane Society of the United States will ask the Federal Trade Commission today to fine retailers and designers of clothing that contains mislabeled fur from dogs, wolves and raccoon dogs.
The documents filed with the FTC name designers Andrew Marc and Michael Kors, among others. Department stores, including Barneys New York, Macy’s, Dillard’s, J.C. Penney and Neiman Marcus, also were cited.
