Judge orders discovery to move forward in long-delayed lawsuit against Vail Resorts
The case, originally filed in federal court in Colorado in 2020, involves three named plaintiffs who are suing on behalf of themselves and other current or former employees
John LaConte/Vail Daily
A federal magistrate judge has ordered Vail Resorts to move forward with discovery and disclosure obligations in a five-year-old lawsuit brought by company employees who allege they were improperly denied pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
The case, originally filed in federal court in Colorado in 2020, involves three named plaintiffs 鈥� Beaver Creek employees Randy Dean Quint, John Linn and Mark Molina 鈥� who are suing on behalf of themselves and other current or former employees. They claim Vail Resorts violated federal and state labor laws by failing to compensate them for work performed properly.
In an order issued Monday, Judge Reid Neureiter expressed frustration over the delays in the case, noting that it has made “very little progress” despite being nearly five years old. Much of the delay, Neureiter acknowledged, stemmed from a stay pending what Neureiter called “resolution (or non-resolution) of a parallel state court case in California.”
The California case had settled in 2022, but it was later overturned by an appeals court in October.
Meanwhile in Colorado, the 10th Circuit court has conditionally certified a collective of snowsport instructors under the Fair Labor Standards Act and is requiring Vail Resorts to provide critical documents and interrogatory responses by Aug. 15, including employment records, pay and timekeeping information, complaints, internal policies and communications about wage practices dating back to 2017.
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The plaintiffs’ previous motions to compel this information were granted, and the court adopted an extensive schedule requiring Vail Resorts to comply with earlier agreements to produce documents it had promised years ago, some as far back as 2021.
Additionally, Vail Resorts will be required to turn over organizational charts, pay stubs, class rosters and records related to training and leadership structures at resorts across the United States, even for instructors who had previously been excluded from the case.
Neureiter, on Monday, set several deadlines to avoid further delays, including a Nov. 21, 2025, deadline for instructors to formally “opt in” to the collective action, and an April 30, 2026, deadline to complete fact discovery.
Neureiter also scheduled a status conference for Dec. 11.
The plaintiffs have previously suggested waiting until the start of the ski season for instructors to opt in, but Neureiter declined the suggestion.
“The Court recognizes that the collective consists of a somewhat transient population of ski and snowboard instructors, but postponing the dissemination of the notice another several months until the ski season starts seems like more time wasted in a case that has already dragged on far too long,” he said.
