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A Florida technology company has filed a malpractice lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado accusing Holland & Hart LLP and one of its attorneys of mishandling a high-stakes dispute with the city of Fort Collins that resulted in a judgment now exceeding $21 million.

In a complaint filed Wednesday, Open Investments LLC alleges that attorney Paul D. Swanson negligently represented it during prior litigation brought by the city over a failed multimillion-dollar utility billing system project. According to the suit, the city claimed that Open Investments and its subsidiary, Open International, misled officials into approving a system the companies allegedly knew was unfit for the city’s needs and could not be delivered on time.

Alleged Conflict of Interest

Open Investments contends it was never a party to the master professional services agreement between Open International and Fort Collins. Instead, it says it signed only as a guarantor of its subsidiary’s performance and contractual obligations.

Despite that distinction, the complaint alleges that Swanson and the firm treated the two companies as “one and the same” throughout the litigation, failing to assert defenses unique to Open Investments. The company claims Holland & Hart’s engagement letter confirmed joint representation of both entities but did not disclose any potential conflicts of interest or obtain informed consent for the dual representation.

“Instead of correcting the city’s mischaracterization, defendants adopted it,” the complaint states, asserting that the firm reinforced the premise that the parent and subsidiary were indistinguishable.

Open Investments further alleges that Swanson lacked prior experience serving as lead trial counsel in a case that went to verdict and that the firm did not offer alternative counsel with more substantial trial experience.

$21.4 Million Exposure

The Fort Collins case proceeded to a jury trial, where the city secured a $13.5 million verdict after jurors found the Open entities liable for fraudulent inducement. The trial court later entered a final judgment of $19.8 million, including restitution. With postjudgment interest and costs, Open Investments says the total now stands at approximately $21.4 million.

According to the new complaint, Swanson never argued at trial that Open Investments’ liability was limited to its role as guarantor. Instead, he referred to both companies collectively as “Open,” allegedly blurring their separate legal identities before the jury.

Open Investments says it attempted to raise its guarantor-only defense during postjudgment proceedings and on appeal to the Tenth Circuit, but both courts rejected the argument as untimely because it had not been properly preserved at trial.

The company now asserts claims for negligence and breach of fiduciary duty, alleging that Holland & Hart advanced the interests of another client at its expense and breached duties of care and loyalty. It seeks at least $21.4 million in compensatory damages, along with reimbursement of legal fees it paid for what it calls negligently performed work.

Attorneys for Open Investments and representatives of Holland & Hart did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Open Investments is represented by Rumberger Kirk & Caldwell PA. The case is Open Investments LLC v. Swanson et al., No. 1:26-cv-00774, pending in the District of Colorado.