Renee Brinkerhoff would like you to know that she did not want to do this.
“But my hand has been forced,” she said last week, “and my only recourse is the court.”
On Jan. 2, the businesswoman behind the La Loma restaurants sued her ex-husband, William Brinkerhoff, reawakening the legal fight and public feud that has come to consume the former longtime couple, splitting their businesses and costing them millions in attorney fees.
“Our divorce is settled, and I am just trying to run the businesses that the (divorce court) judge awarded me, take care of my family, and move on,” said Renee Brinkerhoff, who is 69. “Life is too precious to be tied up in legal battles, but I’ve learned that I have to stand up for myself, and I hope for my and my family’s sake that we can put this matter to rest.”
The separation of Renee and William Brinkerhoff in 2022 has resulted in six legal cases, plus two appeals, in the years since. In the latest, Renee accuses her ex-husband of moving $1.1 million out of Brinkerhoff Exploration to keep that money out of her hands. She acquired a controlling stake in the small oil and gas company through the divorce.
William Brinkerhoff, 71, and his attorney, Kelley Duke, did not answer requests for comment.
The lawsuit, which accuses William Brinkerhoff of fraud and conspiracy, is awkward because it requires Renee to also sue two limited partners in the oil and gas company: Bill and Cargill MacMillan III, billionaire heirs to the Cargill agribusiness fortune.
“The MacMillans are wonderful people and I have nothing but respect and admiration for them. They have been lifelong family friends, and it grieves me to be put in this position,” she said.
“Unfortunately, this legal matter is another instance of Bill (Brinkerhoff) deceiving and manipulating well-meaning friends to help him carry out self-interested, corrupt and injurious business practices and leaves me again with no recourse but to seek help from the court.”
She wants Judge Ben Leutwyler in Castle Rock to order the return of the $1.1 million that was allegedly taken out of the company. Chase Bank is holding the cash for now, she said.
Her attorney in this case is Joshua Bugos with Gray Bugos & Schroeder in Littleton.
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