Telluride Ski Resort Sues Town Officials Over Alleged Harassment During Sale Talks

Telluride Ski Resort filed suit in San Miguel County District Court on February 24, accusing three current and former municipal officials of orchestrating a pressure campaign to force the sale of a majority stake in the ski area, with the complaint alleging the scheme included leveraging a ski patrol strike that kept the mountain closed for twelve consecutive days during peak winter season.

The lawsuit, brought by lawyers for TSG Ski and Golf LLC, names former Mountain Village Mayor Martinique Prohaska, former Telluride Mayor Pro Tem Meehan Fee, and Mountain Village Town Manager Paul Wisor as defendants. At the center of the complaint is an alleged offer by Fee and Prohaska to purchase a 51% share of Telski for $127.5 million on behalf of a group of unnamed investors. Wisor, according to the complaint, "was instrumental in coordinating the deal and drafting the contract."

The complaint's most pointed allegation is that Prohaska and Fee "represented that they had the power to control a labor strike, and other resources, that prevented the resort from being open and operational from December 27, 2025, through January 7, 2026." Telski is seeking damages for lost revenue during that closure period. The suit characterizes the defendants' conduct in stark terms: "Defendants have used their official powers to harass and pressure Telski into engaging in a financial transaction that it would not otherwise have contemplated, while promising to reward Telski — so long as it sold out to them and kept quiet."

The complaint goes further, accusing the three of having "colluded and acted in concert" with an "objective of harming Telski by keeping the resort closed and/or leveraging their position to purchase Telski under favorable terms." The suit also alleges the defendants offered incentives to resort ownership worth "millions of dollars of economic value," which the complaint frames as a violation of municipal ethics codes.

Prohaska resigned from her position in mid-January, weeks before the lawsuit was filed. Fee initially said she would temporarily step back from her elected duties while the investigation proceeded, but has since announced she will resign once the inquiry concludes. Both Mountain Village and Telluride have opened investigations into the matter. FOIA documentation obtained in connection with the December closure has also drawn scrutiny, according to reporting from Telluride News, though the specific contents of those records have not been made public.

The lawsuit lands against a backdrop of long-running friction between Telski and its neighboring communities. Resort owner Chuck Horning has declined multiple interview requests and did not appear at a town meeting where staff had prepared an 11-question PowerPoint presentation addressing leadership, transparency, dialogue, and community commitment. Telluride council member Dan Enright voiced the frustration felt at that meeting plainly: "I don't feel like that trust is there. I don't think I can trust Mr. Horning's word, and his failure to show up today is the prime example of that. I want to work with the ski company. You are the hub of our economy, sir. So we need you to support our community."

Telski spokesperson Nancy Clark described the dynamic between ski resorts and host communities as a recurring national pattern. "For ski resorts, it is often perceived as 'biting the hand that feeds you.' And for towns, they often have a sense of entitlement for supporting the ski resort, and this can lead to friction," Clark said. "It is unfortunate, but it happens throughout the country."

Horning's company also faces separate ongoing litigation: a housekeeper at a Telski-owned Telluride hotel filed suit alleging Colorado labor law violations related to payment from two separate entities, a case that remains active. A 2023 lawsuit from a ski school worker claiming more than $110,000 in unpaid wages reached a settlement in 2024, and a 2017 overtime suit in California was also settled out of court.

No statements from Prohaska, Fee, or Wisor have been made publicly available in connection with the lawsuit. The case remains pending in San Miguel County District Court.