Attorney General Salazar's Consumer Protection Case Against Colorado Springs Attorney To Proceed To Trial Despite Bankruptcy Filing

Denver -- Colorado Attorney General Ken Salazar announced today that a federal bankruptcy court in Denver has ruled that his office may proceed to trial against Colorado Springs attorney Robert Mason and his two associates, Claude Ray Page and Harry Hochstetler. Mason and Page forced a delay of their trial, set to begin on June 3, 2003, when they each filed bankruptcy petitions the afternoon before trial.

The State alleged in its 2001 lawsuit that Mason and Page misrepresented the benefits of the estate plans they sold to elderly consumers throughout the State of Colorado. Hundreds of consumers purchased defendants’ estate plans after being told that the plan would insure that the government would pay any long-term health care costs. The estate plans do not qualify consumers for Medicaid nor do the plans act as an alternative to long-term health care insurance.

On the eve of June 3rd trial, defendants Mason and Page filed bankruptcy petitions in the federal court and argued that the State's case must be put on hold until their bankruptcy cases were resolved. The El Paso County District Court Judge delayed the trial until the federal bankruptcy court could determine whether the federal automatic stay applied.

Attorney General Salazar, in praising the bankruptcy court's decision, said, "the decision to allow the State to proceed with this consumer protection case sends an important message to defendants who hope to use the bankruptcy laws to avoid responsibility for their deceptive trade practices. Moving this case forward quickly is doubly important," said Salazar, "because the majority of the our consumer witnesses are elderly and some of them have had serious health problems."

United States Bankruptcy Judge Elizabeth Brown ruled that the State’s consumer protection case against Mason and Page was a proper exercise of the State’s law enforcement powers and was exempt from the automatic stay of proceedings normally granted after a bankruptcy filing. The trial against Mason, Page and Hochstetler is now set to begin on August 19, 2003, in the El Paso County District Court.