A lawsuit filed by Bill Bowlen, brother of late Broncos Owner Pat Bowlen, against the "three-person trust appointed to run the team was dismissed Thursday" by Arapahoe County District Court Judge John Scipione, according to Ryan O'Halloran of the DENVER POST. Bill Bowlen filed the suit last October, asking the then-Judge Charles Pratt to "remove" Broncos President & CEO Joe Ellis, Exec VP & General Counsel Rich Slivka and Denver-based attorney Mary Kelly "from their power of attorney duties." Pratt announced his retirement earlier this summer, and Scipione "took over the case last week." Ellis said of the decision to dismiss the suit, "We're pleased with the ruling and we certainly expected it to go that way." A source said that Bill Bowlen "expected the case to be dismissed once his brother died in mid-June at age 75 because of Alzheimer's." Another source "disagreed," and said that Bill Bowlen's attorneys "continued to pursue the case after Pat Bowlen's death" (DENVER POST, 8/30).
NOT OVER YET: THE ATHLETIC's Nicki Jhabvala noted the dismissal "may not end what has already become a tenuous and public battle between members of the Bowlen family and the trustees." Bill Bowlen "can appeal" the ruling, and Scipione said in court documents that "other parties, 'including named beneficiaries with standing' can bring claims against the trustees." Jhabvala: "But not Bill Bowlen." Separate from the lawsuit is the "arbitration between the NFL and Pat Bowlen's two oldest daughters, Amie Klemmer and Beth Bowlen Wallace." That process has "been in somewhat of a holding pattern recently, but it is expected to proceed and still has scheduled dates with the league" (THEATHLETIC.com, 8/29).
