Prominent Businessman Sues Neighbor for Defamation Over False Claims made at a Famous Colorado Dude Ranch

Denver, Colorado – Brian Watson, a prominent self-made Colorado businessman, has filed a federal lawsuit against Chicago, IL and La Jolla, CA socialite Laura S. Elsaden for allegedly spreading false and defamatory claims about him at an exclusive mountain ranch community, damaging his name and reputation. Watson is seeking over $100 million in damages, claiming Elsaden maliciously called him a “criminal” who frequents “prostitutes” during an event at the exclusive C Lazy U dude ranch located in Granby, Colorado in the summer of 2024.

In the lawsuit (1:24-cv-02302), attorney Nicole A. Westbrook, of Jones & Keller, P.C., states Watson has never used prostitutes, has no criminal record, and has never been convicted of a crime.

Elsaden is Watson’s neighbor at the C Lazy U dude ranch in Granby. On-line, she’s listed as a General Partner of Prestige International, LLC based in Torrance, CA, and as the on-air spokesperson for Ignite USA, which her husband Sami Elsaden founded in 2001 and grew into a $350 million per year business. Ignite touts itself as “the North American market leader in environmentally safe reusable beverage containers.” The company is mostly known for its Contigo brand of mugs, which were originally sold through Starbucks, and then Target stores.

Watson founded Northstar Commercial Partners, a national real estate investment company, 24 years ago. He first started visiting the ranch to spend time with family almost 20 years ago and entertain potential business prospects. During the past few years, Watson purchased land and built a second home on the ranch, and now lives there full-time.  According to court documents, Watson has invested a significant amount of time and money to build his family home at the C Lazy U Ranch in Granby. He has also used the property to conduct business including hosting investors, commercial real estate owners, tenants, brokers, lenders, his employees, and prospective business contacts.

According to the suit, the C Lazy U dude ranch is over 100 years old and is an all-inclusive resort that hosts guests from around the world. Conde Nast has named C Lazy U one of the top 10 resorts in the world for the past few years, and in 2018 it was named the best resort in Colorado. It was also selected as the winner of Oprah Daily’s inaugural 2024 Hotel O-Wards, Wine Spectator Award of Excellence for the ninth year in a row: top 500 Hotels worldwide, by Travel+Leisure, two Top Ten Awards by USA Today’s 2023 Best Readers’ Choice Awards, and many more.

“There is no doubt Defendant knew these statements were false when she made them and that she acted with malice in an effort to ruin Mr. Watson’s reputation, and destroy his opportunities and relationships,” the complaint states.

“Given the worldwide exposure that the ranch enjoys, usually with guests in attendance of means and who are leaders in many industries, such comments could have dramatic and long-lasting negative impacts for me personally and my companies,” Watson said.

The lawsuit outlines that Elsaden confronted Mr. Watson’s guests and made extremely defamatory remarks to at least seven people during an event at the ranch and subsequently out loud in a public restroom for anyone to hear, though Watson believes even more people heard them, and this may have been occurring at other times. In addition to damages, he’s seeking an injunction prohibiting Elsaden from repeating the claims, with a penalty of $10 million per occurrence.

According to the complaint, Elsaden’s defamatory statements have caused Watson severe emotional distress and made him hesitant to bring family, friends and business contacts to the ranch for concern they may also be accosted.

“I bought land and built a home at the ranch to enjoy the beautiful Colorado Mountains, and all that C Lazy U Ranch has to offer,” Watson said. “My family and I chose the ranch for peace and enjoyment, and to help build personal and professional relationships, not to be ridiculed and defamed by neighbors, who elect to state lies behind our backs to our guests. There comes a time in life where you decide ‘enough is enough’, we have a right to enjoy the ranch and life in peace, as much as anyone else.”

“Laura Elsaden must be held accountable for her slanderous and defamatory statements and the destruction of Mr. Watson’s name, reputation, business, and business prospects,” the suit concludes.

CASE INFORMATION 

The United States District Court for the District of Colorado
Brian Watson v. Laura Elsaden
Case No. 1:24-cv-02302