Boren files defamation lawsuit over Sawtooth airstrip, says opponents told ‘reckless’ lies
Mike Boren, co-founder of Boise financial tech company Clearwater Analytics, has filed a lawsuit that alleges several people, including a Blaine County commissioner, defamed him over his controversial use of a private airstrip at his Stanley-area home.
Boren applied for a conditional use permit last year to create a designated airstrip in a pasture at his Hell Roaring Ranch on Idaho 75, about 15 miles south of Stanley. The move drew intense criticism from neighbors and other Idahoans in part due to its proximity to the Sawtooth National Recreation Area, which has for nearly 50 years prioritized scenic wilderness. Boren’s permit was approved by Custer County last year.
The May 6 lawsuit alleges that airstrip opponents persisted in circulating criticisms and lies about Boren and the airstrip, damaging his reputation and subjecting his family to death threats, vandalism and widespread ridicule. It names three defendants — Blaine County Commissioner Dick Fosbury, Sawtooth Search and Rescue Cmdr. Gary Gadwa and Boise video producer Jon Conti — as well as unnamed “Does 1-20.”
Boren’s attorney claims the defendants recklessly or maliciously spread lies about Boren, including false claims that his airstrip was in violation of multiple federal agencies’ regulations. The lawsuit said Fosbury developed a strategy alongside Gadwa and the group of unnamed individuals — a cadre of “mostly Blaine County residents” — to disparage Boren. A YouTube video that Conti made repeating many of these claims is cited in the lawsuit as “the direct consequence of the defamation initiated by Fosbury, Gadwa and the Opposition Group.”
Todd Cranney, a spokesperson for the Boren family, told the Idaho Statesman in an emailed statement that the lawsuit is “a last resort by Mike Boren to cure the misinformation and baseless rumors that he ‘built an illegal airport’ on his ranch in the SNRA and lied about it to government officials.”
Gadwa declined to comment, and Fosbury did not provide comment after telling the Statesman last week that he had not heard about the lawsuit and needed to confirm the information. Conti’s lawyer, Bill Smith, told the Statesman the complaint is “both frivolous and baseless.”
Smith said he expects to file a motion to dismiss the case and is considering a countersuit to allege malicious prosecution.
Boren seeks damages over false information
The lawsuit alleges that Fosbury used his position as a Blaine County commissioner to set up meetings with stakeholders who opposed Boren’s private flights from his pasture, where his airstrip was designated. It said Fosbury also used his position “to attempt to influence and even thwart Custer County’s decision-making process,” and dispensed inaccurate advice to the opposition group. Boren said he had to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to obtain his conditional use permit as a result.
According to the lawsuit, Conti posted a YouTube video in March entitled “The Billionaire Building a Private Airport in the Sawtooths,” in which he described Boren as a “billionaire ---hole” who had illegally built an airport on his ranch. The lawsuit clarifies that the airstrip is neither a public airport, nor was it constructed illegally.
Boren said he reached out to Fosbury prior to filing the lawsuit and received no response. He also said he reached out to Conti and offered him a chance to visit the ranch and hear Boren’s perspective. Conti reportedly declined, prompting Boren to offer “a settlement that would require Conti to apologize and pay $5,000 to non-profit organizations in the SNRA.”
Conti rejected that offer, the complaint said, and countered by asking Boren for $100,000 in exchange for keeping the video off the internet. Smith told the Statesman Boren had been told that the video was taken down almost immediately and would not be reposted.
According to the lawsuit, Boren is seeking monetary damages to be determined at trial. He is also asking that his legal costs be covered by the defendants.
