Lawsuit over Sawtooth airstrip revived; Boren says his religion, finances drove ‘hate’
Idaho businessman Mike Boren has revived a defamation lawsuit against public officials who opposed his use of a pasture near the Sawtooth National Recreation Area as an airstrip, less than a month after a judge dismissed Boren’s claims against them.
Boren, co-founder of Boise-based financial technology company Clearwater Analytics, filed an amended complaint earlier this month, this time alleging that the defendants “appear to hate Boren due, at least in part, to his success and his political and religious beliefs.”
Todd Cranney, Boren’s spokesperson, said Boren is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but the complaint didn’t elaborate on how Boren’s faith was attacked.
Boren filed the new complaint against the four defendants named in the original lawsuit: Blaine County Housing Authority director Sarah Michael, Blaine County Commissioner Dick Fosbury, Sawtooth Search and Rescue Cmdr. Gary Gadwa and Boise video producer Jon Conti. It reiterated much of the initial lawsuit, which said the defendants told lies about Boren and his airstrip use that damaged his reputation worldwide, prompting death threats against him and his family.
“The motive behind this campaign was openly expressed by defendants: Their purpose was to make an example out of Boren by punishing him reputationally for using his land in a manner that they disagreed with,” Boren’s attorneys wrote in the amended complaint. Boren’s pasture on the private Hell Roaring Ranch is located in the Sawtooth National Recreation Area.
Cranney said Boren opted to file the amended complaint, as allowed by Idaho law, rather than appeal the dismissal. Idaho law allows plaintiffs to amend entire claims after a lawsuit is dismissed.
Clean Water Act violation allegation listed in complaint
In a statement, Cranney said the amended complaint focused in on the “character assassination” that Boren said he endured.
Boren first applied for a conditional use permit in March 2021 to designate a pasture at his ranch south of Stanley as a private airstrip. Opponents said he was marring the scenic beauty of the surrounding Sawtooth National Recreation Area and defying a historic Forest Service scenic easement at the property.
Critics also alleged Boren’s fuel storage violated the Clean Water Act and said he didn’t comply with FAA standards, neither of which is true. All of those allegations are included as part of the defamation lawsuit. Boren’s application for a designated airstrip was approved by Custer County officials in September 2021.
In October, Custer County Judge Stevan H. Thompson dismissed the claims against Gadwa, Fosbury and Michael. Thompson said in his decision that the case bore similarities to strategic lawsuit against public participation — also known as a SLAPP lawsuit.
According to Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute, the term refers to lawsuits brought with the intent of silencing critics. The institute said SLAPP lawsuits have no basis in true legal claims but can keep people quiet on public issues through threat of time and money spent fighting in court. Several states have anti-SLAPP legislation, though Idaho is not among them.
