22 Highlands Ranch Herald
SUED FROM PAGE 1
in the county. The order was first challenged by the Douglas County School District and is now being disputed in a lawsuit filed by two Douglas County businesses: the Parker Montessori School and a Castle Pines hair salon. The civil lawsuit, filed Jan. 6 in Douglas County District Court, argues that both the order and the entire Douglas County Health Department are unlawful and asks the court to agree. “All we’re doing really is trying to hold Douglas County to the law,” said Igor Raykin, from Kishinevsky & Raykin, the law firm that filed the document. In the lawsuit, Anitha Harshan, the director of Parker Montessori, and Becky Henderson, the owner of Curl Up N Dye hair salon, allege that the Douglas County Health Department “was not lawfully constituted” because the county did not “provide the statutorily required one-year written notice” before withdrawing from the Tri-County Health Department. The county has argued that a
January 20, 2022 one-year notice they sent to TriCounty in July 2020 but rescinded soon after was revived when the health agency went back on their agreed terms. Raykin said this was “a ridiculous argument,” in an interview with Colorado Community Media. In a statement released through a spokesperson, the chair of the health department’s board, Doug Benevento, said the department had not yet been served with the new lawsuit. “If we are served we will vigorously defend the process the county followed to establish a health department and its issuance of a public health order related to masking,” according to the statement. “Our county health department is recognized by the State of Colorado and is providing COVID-19 services in Douglas County.” He also said the board stands by its public health order, saying the order is “consistent with our mission to protect public health and the state’s decision to lift its mask mandate.” Raykin said his office plans to serve the county with the lawsuit this week and will then seek a preliminary injunction from a judge. Both businesses suing the
Douglas Benevento was selected as the president of the new Douglas County Health PHOTO BY ELLIOTT WENZLER Department’s board of health.
health department wish to require masks in their facilities, according to the lawsuit. “To protect the employees, staff, children and visitors to Parker Montessori from COVID-19, Plaintiff Hashan has implemented and enforced a universal mask
Prepare for Power Outages & Save Money REQUEST A FREE QUOTE!
ACT NOW TO RECEIVE A $300 SPECIAL OFFER!* (833) 379-1388 *Offer value when purchased at retail. **Financing available through authorized Generac partners. Solar panels sold separately.
$0 DOWN FINANCING OPTIONS!**
requirement for employees, staff, children and all visitors when in the facility since reopening on April 20, 2020,” according to the lawsuit. After the board of health’s SEE SUED, P23
