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A Colorado federal judge was skeptical Wednesday that an attorney made a conscious decision when he crashed into and killed a cyclist, imperiling an attempt by the cyclist's spouse to seek exemplary damages.

At a hearing on Wednesday, counsel for Mitchell Hoffman's widow argued that the lawyer behind the wheel recounted such a detailed description of Hoffman that the collision must have been caused by more than just an inadvertent distraction.

Charles F. Cliggett made a decision to focus on Hoffman rather than the road, said Aaron J. Huckstep of Huckstep Law LLC, arguing that Hoffman's spouse should be allowed to amend her complaint and put the issue before a jury.

Judge N. Reid Neureiter was not convinced. The complaint alleges no further details about how the fatality qualifies as the kind of "willful or wanton" conduct meriting exemplary damages, the judge said.

"How is that different from being negligent?" Judge Neureiter said, citing texting while driving as an example of a conscious distraction by a driver. "I'm trying to understand why that's not negligent conduct as opposed to something that would justify an award of punitive damages."

Cliggett's observations about Hoffman before the 2022 collision suggested the driver was focusing on the cyclist, but failed to brake or maneuver his car out of the way, Huckstep said.

That included Cliggett's observations that Hoffman was riding in the center a roughly eight-foot wide shoulder, was "slowly shaking his head side to side," and speculation about whether those movements were a "technique," according to the motion to amend.

"The conscious conduct is the focus on something other than the roadway," Huckstep said.

Hoffman, 71, died in November 2022 while riding his bicycle on the shoulder of State Highway 135 near Crested Butte, according to a complaint filed by his widow, Carolyn Paul.

According to the lawsuit, Cliggett, who was driving in the same direction in a 2019 Honda CRV, made a sweeping right turn and crossed about two feet over the "fog line" separating the road from the shoulder. He continued driving in the shoulder and struck and killed Hoffman.

In the fall of 2023, a jury convicted Cliggett of criminally negligent homicide, a felony; careless driving; and a traffic infraction. He was sentenced to three years of probation, a suspended 30-day jail term and 200 hours of community service, with the judge citing Cliggett's contributions to his community and the fact that drugs, alcohol and speeding did not contribute to the accident, according to a disciplinary opinion.

Cliggett, 74, was censured by state attorney disciplinary authorities in April following the conviction. His law license is inactive while he serves probation, according to the disciplinary opinion.

Hoffman's widow alleged that Cliggett knew cyclists often biked along the shoulder of Highway 135 but failed to move his car out of the shoulder, honk his horn or touch his brakes.

At the hearing Wednesday, Luke J. Volker of Dagner Schluter Werber LLC, a lawyer for Cliggett, said the widow's arguments point to a loss of focus by Cliggett, an "involuntary decision" rather than a deliberate one.

Judge Neureiter asked Volker whether there would be any downside to allowing Paul to amend the complaint and addressing the issue "at halftime" based on the evidence that emerges.

That could establish a precedent that a driver's "loss of focus is enough for punitive damages in every case," Volker said.

Counsel for the parties did not immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday.

Paul is represented by Aaron J. Huckstep of Huckstep Law LLC.

Cliggett is represented by Luke James Volker and Deana R. Dagner of Dagner Schluter Werber LLC.

The case is Carolyn Paul v. Charles F. Cliggett, case number 1:23-cv-03108, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado.