The family of a local disabled woman is suing the town of Breckenridge in a personal injury lawsuit.
The lawsuit, filed Aug. 20 in Summit County court, claims the town and its affordable housing manager at Pinewood Village II failed the woman for more than three years. It comes from the woman’s father, Mike McManus. He is her legal guardian.
From 2020 to 2023, McManus claims his daughter was sexually assaulted at least 20 times by a homeless man camping in the woods off Airport Road. The suspected predator also allegedly intimidated other apartment residents.
The McManus family begged the manager, Corum Real Estate Group, to change locks and hire security. The onsite manager reportedly told them there was a trespassing order against the suspected predator. The family later learned this did not exist.
In 2023 the woman was evicted. McManus calls this unfair and possibly illegal. His daughter suffers permanent mental and physical damage from a traumatic brain injury as a teenager. The suit claims she has declined in recent years, in part because of the abuse she suffered at the Breck apartments.
The lawsuit charges the town and Corum with negligence and demands a jury trial, where McManus and his daughter could win an undetermined amount.
The town and Corum have requested multiple extensions since the suit was filed. The McManus family attorney, Elliot Singer of Conduit Law in Denver, has not challenged these requests. He tells Krystal 93 multiple extensions are common in the early months of a complex civil suit.
The town tells Krystal 93 it will not comment on pending litigation, but a new deadline is coming soon. Town attorneys must respond to the lawsuit by Oct. 9. Corum attorneys must respond to
The suspected predator, Christopher Thomason, has a rap sheet. Breckenridge police and Summit County Sheriff’s deputies have contacted him at least ten times since 2017. In 2023, soon after the woman was evicted from the Breck apartments, he was arrested and found guilty of menacing and domestic violence. Police records show he threatened to kill the woman’s father. He served 120 days in jail.
A few months later he was arrested again for violating a protection order. He pleaded not guilty and was acquitted, when the woman testified on his behalf.
Soon after this testimony her father was named her legal guardian.