A District Court judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by Montezuma-Cortez Re-1 School Superintendent Tom Burris against a local man.
Burris had filed suit this summer against J.J. Lewis, accusing him of defamation. In his complaint, Burris and his lawyer, David Illingworth, said Lewis’s reporting to authorities in 2024 a concern about possible child abuse had injured Burris’s reputation and exposed him to “public hatred and contempt.”
On Nov. 4, District Judge William Furse dismissed the lawsuit “with prejudice,” meaning it cannot be filed again.
The lawsuit stemmed from a complicated set of circumstances.
In 2023, a woman told Burris that she was worried about the relationship between her teenage son, who was then in Montezuma-Cortez High School, and a female teacher.
She said the teacher had had the boy and other students at her home, had drunk alcohol in front of them, and had talked about personal matters such as her planning to divorce her husband, according to background information in Furse’s order. The mother reportedly asked Burris to “redirect” the teacher while not using her or her son’s name.
Lewis heard about the allegations in 2024, when Cynthia Eldredge, then the school district’s HR officer, played him a recording she had made surreptitiously of a phone conversation she had with Burris.
In the recording, according to information in Furse's order, Burris and Eldredge were discussing teachers who were not going to be rehired by the district. That included the teacher who had allegedly behaved inappropriately. Burris told Eldredge he’d had a parent complain about that specific teacher because she was “afraid that her son was going to get laid at her house.”
Burris also reportedly told the school board in executive session about the mother’s concerns.
School officials are considered “mandatory reporters,” people who are required to report any suspected child abuse or neglect because of their professional positions.
Lewis, who works as a therapist, is also a mandatory reporter.
“To encourage compliance with these reporting duties, Colorado law provides immunity to mandatory reporters who act in good faith,” Furse’s order states.
After Lewis heard the recorded conversation, he called the Colorado Child Abuse Hotline and spoke with an employee there, Sabrina Jaramillo of the state Department of Human Services. He told her of the possible abuse but said he had no personal knowledge of it occurring and merely wanted to make sure it was investigated.
After a subsequent investigation by Cortez police, Burris was charged with failure to report, a Class 2 misdemeanor.
In February of this year, Burris reached a diversion agreement with the court on the charge. Among other things, he was required to pay a $33 fee, complete a mandated-reporter training, and present proof of a written and approved child abuse and neglect reporting policy for the school district. In return, the charges would be dismissed.
At a hearing on Feb. 25, County Court Judge Ian MacLaren was highly critical of the agreement, although he accepted it.
According to the motion to dismiss filed by Lewis and his attorney, MacLaren said, “Quite frankly, looking at what’s been ordered as part of this diversion agreement, the Court would note that this looks to me to be a slap on the wrist.”
On June 25, Burris then filed his suit against Lewis.
On Aug. 15, Lewis’s attorney, Steven Zansberg, filed a special motion to dismiss the case, and a hearing was held Sept. 8.
Appearing via WebEx at that hearing, Illingworth said that no abuse of the minor boy actually occurred and that the phrase Burris had used – “was going to get laid” – is in future verb tense, “one possible outcome of many.”
Illingworth argued that Lewis was eager to have Burris fired, and that led him to report the concerns about possible abuse.
But Zansberg, who also appeared via WebEx on Sept. 8, said it was irrelevant whether any actual sexual contact took place between the teacher and student. He said Lewis’s statements to authorities “were made in his capacity as a mandatory reporter” and that he had said he just wanted an investigation
In his order dismissing the case, Furse wrote, “Upon review of evidence, there is no support for the claim that Defendant [Lewis] made materially false statements to either Ms. Jamarillo [of the Child Abuse Hotline] or Detective Fletcher [of the Cortez police]. Additionally, there is no evidence that Defendant made any statement with actual knowledge of its falsity or with a high degree of awareness of its probable falsity.”
Furse also wrote that Lewis’s dislike of Burris’s behavior as superintendent had no real relevance.
“While Plaintiff’s evidence demonstrates Defendant is unhappy with Mr Burris’ conduct as Superintendent, such evidence has no bearing on whether the challenged statements were materially false and is not enough to show that Defendant’s reporting was a product of willful, wanton, and malicious conduct,” Furse wrote. “Therefore, the Court finds Plaintiff has not shown a reasonable probability of prevailing. . . .”
In addition to dismissing the case with prejudice, Furse ordered Burris to pay Lewis’s attorney’s fees and costs.
Burris, who has resigned as superintendent in order to retire, can still object to the ruling.
