The national NAACP is suing 12 former executive members of the Boulder County Branch, alleging that they conducted civil conspiracy and civil theft, among other actions, during the publicized and disputed dissolution of the local branch earlier this year.
The civil suit was filed on Monday against Annett James, Jude Landsman, Veronica Sommers, Gabriela Kioupakis, Lawrence Pevec, Darren O’Connor, Madelyn Strong Woodley, Judy Hutson, Glenda Strong Robinson, Sheila Davis, John Howell and Velveta Golightly-Howell. The NAACP is represented by the Denver law firm Crowell & Morning LLP.
The defendants are accused of breach of fiduciary duty, conversion, civil theft and civil conspiracy. The suit calls for a trial by jury.
The branch’s assets include a checking account that holds nearly $77,000 in deposits and stock in Google valued at $25,000 as of December 2024, according to the suit, which states that Sommers, the former branch secretary, has ignored multiple requests from the NAACP to turn over the accounts.
The then-executive members voted in March to dissolve the Boulder County Branch, which the national NAACP has repeatedly said only the national board of directors has the power to do. Monday’s filing alleges that a March 28 email sent from the defendants went to a list of “members, donors, and friends of the NAACP Boulder County Branch” notifying them of the vote to dissolve. That list, the NAACP claims, counts as trade secrets.
“The email also had the effect of halting donations to the Branch and/or NAACP through the Branch website, and stopped new members from joining,” the suit says.
The lawsuit highlights two cease-and-desist letters that the national NAACP sent to Kioupakis, alleging that she continued to represent herself as a member of the Boulder County Branch after her membership had been suspended. The second letter was sent on April 30 after she allegedly sent emails from an account that contained “secretary.naacpbouldercounty,” the suit says.
The Colorado Secretary of State’s website shows that on April 25 that the Boulder County Branch was dissolved. Two days later Steve Ricard, a national board member from Kansas City appointed to oversee the Boulder County Branch, filed a statement of correction to revoke the dissolution document.
The lawsuit also calls for: an injunction against each of the 12 defendants for the disposal of branch assets, use of branch assets and trade secrets, and use of the NAACP’s name, likeness or marks; a declaratory judgment that the NAACP Boulder Branch has not been lawfully dissolved and its assets should remain with the branch; and declaratory judgment that none of the defendants have the right to act on behalf of the NAACP or the branch.
Also in the prayer for relief, the suit calls for: “equitable relief, including an accounting of the branch’s assets; judgment against all defendants; pre-judgment and post-judgment interest; … and all other relief the court deems proper.”
The case has been assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Cyrus Y. Chung, with a scheduling conference set for Aug. 7 at the Byron G. Rogers U.S. Courthouse in Denver.
This is a developing story.
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