The owner of 32 bison killed by gunmen in March has sued a Texas businessman and his Denver lawyer, claiming they hired the hunters who felled the animals.
Bringing the suit in Park County District Court against Austin, Texas, businessman Jeff Hawn and his Denver lawyer, Stephen Csajaghy, is Monte Downare, a longtime Colorado rancher and well-known figure in Park County.
The bison were killed over hundreds of acres of land in an area roughly 15 miles southeast of Hartsel.
The killings triggered an extensive investigation by five state and local agencies.
In a lawsuit filed just days before the bison were shot, Hawn, who identified himself as 50 percent shareholder and manager of Wateredge Properties, claimed that Downare’s bison had repeatedly broken through fences erected to keep them off Wateredge property, damaging or destroying fences in 50 places.
But in the counterclaim against Hawn and Csajaghy, Downare alleged that Csajaghy, Hawn and Wateredge conspired to “hire hunters to kill the buffalo” owned by the Downare family.
The “hunt resulted in the death of 32 head of buffalo, including 26 cows that were presumably carrying calves and six bulls,” the Downares’ claim asserts.
Of the 32 bison killed, only eight were shot on the Hawn property. The rest, said the suit, were killed on property not owned or controlled by Hawn and his Wateredge Properties.
Csajaghy did not return calls for comment. The lawyer has asked in the past that all questions to Hawn be funneled through him.
The Downares characterized the bison killing as “outrageous conduct” that caused them emotional distress.
They are seeking compensatory and punitive damages plus attorneys fees and costs.
At the time of the shootings, Park County Sheriff Fred Wegener said his deputies had never seen anything like it.
“There are just hundreds of acres with carcasses laying out there,” Wegener said. “There are carcasses and hides.”
A total of 14 hunters suspected of shooting the animals were questioned by authorities and their weapons seized. They claimed that they were given permission to shoot the animals, although investigators have declined to disclose whom the men said gave them permission.
In his initial lawsuit against the Downares, Hawn said he first erected fences in 1995 and that they were sturdy, constructed of wooden poles and barbed wire, and similar to other fences in Park County designed to keep livestock and other animals from crossing on to Hawn’s property.
“The damage that (the Downares’) buffalo have caused to the property is staggering,” said Hawn’s claim against Downare. He said the Downares’ bison killed hundreds of trees on the property, “including many trees near to the home that Mr. Hawn professionally installed within the past year.”
But in answering the allegations, the Downares denied that their bison caused the damage and said Hawn’s claims are without merit because Hawn and Wateredge failed to repair the damage caused to the fences by wildlife.
The Downares also claimed that Hawn’s property damage was an “act of god.” South Park has endured a wicked winter, with heavy snow and high winds.
Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com
