2026-09-10 · Colorado · Courts

A Colorado homeowners association's challenge to an affordable-housing project was found objectively baseless, and its anti-SLAPP defence largely failed — leaving it facing abuse-of-process and tortious-interference claims, with a member exposed personally on an alter-ego theory. The order in DBG Properties, LLC v. Preserve Pine Creek Village, LLC, No. 1:25-cv-02092-WJM-MDB, was filed January 28, 2026 by Senior District Judge William J. Martínez.¹

This is a ruling on a motion to dismiss. Nothing has been proven, and nothing here predicts the outcome.

What happened

DBG Properties received permission and funding to build an affordable housing complex in Colorado Springs. Preserve Pine Creek Village, LLC is a “single purpose” homeowners' association made up of owners of adjacent property.

In January 2024 the Colorado Springs Planning Commission approved the plans; the association appealed to City Council, which denied the appeal. In March 2024 the association filed a C.R.C.P. 106(a)(4) action against the City and Council. DBG intervened as a defendant in December 2024 and sought a declaratory judgment allowing the project and the bond issuance to proceed while the appeal was pending. The association then removed DBG's declaratory-judgment claim to federal court.

In January 2025 the state court dismissed the Rule 106 action with prejudice. In February 2025 DBG voluntarily dismissed the declaratory-judgment complaint — the very basis of the removal — with prejudice. The association still did not move to dismiss the federal action. In April 2025 a magistrate judge recommended remand for want of subject-matter jurisdiction, because the association had relied on an anticipated defence; that was adopted in June 2025, the court finding the association's objection “not sufficiently specific to warrant de novo review” and that it “did little, if anything, to address” the magistrate judge's findings.

DBG then sued for abuse of process, malicious prosecution and tortious interference.

1. DBG Properties, LLC v. Preserve Pine Creek Village, LLC, No. 1:25-cv-02092-WJM-MDB (D. Colo. Jan. 28, 2026) — Order granting in part and denying in part motions to dismiss (source of all quotations) ↩
2. "Lakewood voters strike down pro-density zoning," The Colorado Sun, April 8, 2026 ↩
3. Lawsuit FAQ, City of Arvada — the six-city challenge to Colorado's housing preemptions ↩