Case 2:18-cv-02926-HRH Document 1 Filed 09/18/18 Page 1 of 8

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Sara Powell (005990)
Law Office of Sara J. Powell, PLLC
550 W. Portland St.
Phoenix, AZ 85003
(602) 996-4447
sara@sarapowell.com
John C. Clune, application for admission
Pro Hac Vice forthcoming,
Hutchinson Black and Cook, LLC
921 Walnut Street, Suite 200
Boulder, CO 80303
clune@hbcboulder.com
(303) 442-6514
Attorneys for Plaintiff

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

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Kate P. 1,

No. CVPlaintiff,

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COMPLAINT

v.
Jameis Winston,
Defendant.

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Plaintiff, for her Complaint against Defendant, Jameis Winston, states as follows:

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PARTIES, JURISDICTION AND VENUE

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1.

Plaintiff is an individual and resident of Maricopa County, Arizona currently and

at all times relevant to this lawsuit.
2.

Defendant Winston is an individual and a resident of Hillsborough County,

Florida.

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Kate P. is a pseudonym used in the caption of this complaint. Plaintiff’s full name has
been disclosed to Defendant. Plaintiff will address the use of this pseudonym with the Court
after conferring with Defendant, or at any other time the Court may so require.

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3.

Jurisdiction is proper in this Court pursuant to 28 USC 1332 where the action is

between residents of different states and the amount in controversy is more than $75,000.

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4.

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contained herein.

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SUMMARY OF CLAIMS
5.

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This lawsuit arises from the entitled actions of a professional football player who

felt permitted to sexually assault his Uber driver following a night of unruly behavior.
6.

On March 13, 2016, Defendant Winston, a passenger in the Uber ride service that

he had summoned, sexually assaulted the driver of the vehicle as she was driving him to his
destination.
7.

Defendant Winston was investigated and found responsible for this behavior by

his employer, the National Football League, and suspended for his actions.
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After his suspension was announced, Defendant Winston issued a hollow apology

for putting Plaintiff in a bad “position.”
9.

Defendant returns from suspension in two weeks to continue his playing career

where he stands to make 21 million dollars in the 2019 football season alone.
10.

Defendant has a history of sexually hostile behavior and appears to be no closer to

understanding the impact of his conduct.
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Plaintiff brings this action as much to underscore to Defendant the seriousness of

his behavior as to receive compensation for damages.
12.

Plaintiff and Defendant have previously executed an agreement tolling the statute

of limitations from March 5, 2018 until September 20, 2018.

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Venue is proper in this District as it is the location of the operative allegations

GENERAL ALLEGATIONS
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In March of 2016, Defendant was in Phoenix, Arizona and hanging out with his

longtime friend, Ronald Darby (“Darby”,) and Darby’s friend, Brandon Banks (“Banks”).
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At that time, Defendant Winston had just completed his first season as a

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professional football player after attending Florida State University for three years and signing a

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contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for more than 25 million dollars.

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15.

Also, in March 2018, Defendant was awaiting his deposition in another civil

matter in Florida where he was also being sued for sexual battery.

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SEXUAL ASSAULT
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On Saturday evening, March 12, 2016, Plaintiff began her shift working as a

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driver for Uber, an app-based ride service where account members are linked to local drivers

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contracted by the company for transportation services.

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17.

Plaintiff had been driving for Uber for over a year.

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As is common for Uber drivers in metropolitan areas, Plaintiff had driven several

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professional athletes during this time all without incident.
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In the early morning hours of March 13, 2016, Plaintiff received and accepted a

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request for a ride from the International Club in Scottsdale, AZ with a destination of the Camby

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Hotel in Phoenix, AZ.

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Plaintiff arrived at the International Club at 1:41 a.m. After she arrived, a few

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men walked from the Club and towards her vehicle. It was apparent to Plaintiff that one or more

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of these men would be her passenger. The name on the Uber account that had requested the ride

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was “Jameis W.”

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As the men approached the vehicle, one of them stated, “She is hot. You should

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sit in the front seat, Jameis.” One of the other men opened the front door and the customer got in

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the front seat.

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Though is it not customary for riders to sit in the front seat, it is not altogether

uncommon and did not raise any immediate concerns for Plaintiff.
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After Defendant was in the car, one of the other men now known as Ronald

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Darby, stated to Plaintiff, “Do you know who you are driving?

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quarterback.” Another one of the men indicated, “You have precious cargo, make sure you take

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real good care of him.”

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The Tampa Bay Bucs

Plaintiff proceeded to drive away with Defendant as the sole passenger, seated in

the front passenger seat.

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Immediately upon pulling out of the parking lot of the International Club,

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Defendant Winston became belligerent with some male pedestrians that were near the same club

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-screaming and swearing obscenities and racial epithets out the window. It did not appear as

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though Mr. Winston knew these people and Plaintiff became concerned that a fight was going to

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break out and that her vehicle may be damaged as a result. Plaintiff rolled up the vehicle

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windows which temporarily interrupted the hostility enough for the vehicle to pull away.

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After driving another block, Defendant Winston demanded, “I want a burrito.”

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Plaintiff asked him where he wanted her to take him and he responded, “I don’t care I just want a

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burrito.”

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Mr. Winston was clearly in a poor mood. Though he did not appear to be very

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intoxicated, as he was not slurring his words and did not smell like alcohol, his hostility made

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Plaintiff concerned that this could be a bad ride.

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Plaintiff drove Defendant Winston to a fast food Mexican restaurant called “Los

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Betos” where Mr. Winston could order some food through the drive through window, which he

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did.

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While waiting in the drive through line, Plaintiff googled the Tampa quarterback

on her phone and recognized that the search result was in fact the man in the passenger seat.
30.

While waiting for the food to arrive and without any warning, Defendant Winston

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leaned toward Plaintiff and placed his fingers between her legs and pressed them firmly against

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her vagina over her yoga pants.

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Concerned about Defendant Winston’s earlier hostility, Plaintiff was very worried

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about reacting in a manner that could incite Defendant Winston again.

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Defendant and then back down at his hand and asked, “What’s up with that?” Defendant

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Winston then withdrew his hand.

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32.

Plaintiff looked at

Plaintiff was now frightened having just been sexually assaulted by a man who

had already been highly belligerent.

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33.

Plaintiff made no conversation with Defendant Winston, instead just keeping to

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herself. Throughout the rest of the ride, Plaintiff drove in fear that Defendant Winston would

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again try to assault her or worse.

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34.

Plaintiff made it to the Camby hotel without further incident and Defendant

Winston left the vehicle, leaving his fast food trash behind as well.
DEFENDANT BANNED FROM UBER FOLLOWING INVESTIGATION
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Plaintiff quickly concluded her ride and data entry on the app platform and then

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immediately tried calling her boyfriend. He did not respond. Plaintiff then sent him a series of

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text messages indicating that “I just got semi molested by the Tampa Bay Buc QB” and that she

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was “pretty shaken up . . .” They discussed via text what to do and whether going to the police

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would lead to anything given his prior rape investigation in Florida that did not result in charges.

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Plaintiff completed one more ride and then decided she had had enough for the

evening and went home.
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The next day, Plaintiff contacted Uber to report what happened. She notified them

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in an email, and subsequently provided a verbal statement in a recorded phone call with Uber’s

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Support Team.

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Defendant Winston would never be paired with her as a passenger again.

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Uber indicated that they would investigate the matter but, in any event,

Uber contacted Defendant Winston to get his side of the story. According to

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Uber’s recorded phone call of the conversation, Defendant Winston stated that he didn’t recall

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much about the ride that had just happened a few days prior. When the Uber employee used their

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standard “someone in your party was reported. . .” language used when investigating passenger

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misconduct, Mr. Winston then offered that there were other people in the car with him.

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After considering the two statements and the ride documents, Uber concluded that

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Defendant Winston should be banned from their platform and notified him of that outcome. Due

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to Defendant Winston’s celebrity status and the negative attention that would likely come with

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any criminal case against Defendant Winston, Plaintiff chose not to report the matter further.

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PLAINTIFF COMES FORWARD DURING THE #METOO MOVEMENT
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In the fall of 2017, women around the country began coming forward in large

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numbers to disclose previously unreported allegations of sexual abuse and harassment at the

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hands of high profile or powerful individuals. The movement, now associated with the hashtag

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“MeToo,” became wide-spread and encouraged women who previously were afraid of coming

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forward against their more powerful assailants. The courage of these women became contagious

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and Plaintiff was following the almost daily new disclosures closely in the media.

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As a result, Plaintiff became motivated to overcome her fear of reprisal and

contacted Buzzfeed.com, as they had run similar #MeToo stories around the same time. A
journalist interviewed Plaintiff, performed his due diligence and the story ran as national news.
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In response to the story, Defendant put out his own statement indicating that

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Plaintiff must have been “confused” about who was sitting next to her and suggested again that

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there were others in the car.

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Defendant’s friend and companion from the International Club, Ronald Darby,

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then gave a statement to the media indicating that the allegation was false, that he and another

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friend were in the car the whole time, and that nothing inappropriate occurred.

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NFL INVESTIGATION
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One such person who saw the news coverage was Lisa Friel, NFL Special

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Counsel for Investigations. Ms. Friel’s role with the league is to investigate any matters that may

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fall under the league’s conduct policy and may require discipline of any employee. Ms. Friel

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reached out to Plaintiff through Uber and requested the opportunity to speak with Plaintiff.

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Ms. Friel asked for Plaintiff’s cooperation in the league investigation and Plaintiff

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agreed by providing an interview describing the events as well as producing a number of

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documents that supported her claims at the league’s request. Multiple members of the Plaintiff’s

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family and friends also gave statements to Ms. Friel, indicating that the Plaintiff had reached out

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and told all of them within 24 hours after the assault occurred.

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The league found Defendant Winston responsible stating: “As a result, the

investigation had concluded that Winston violated the Personal Conduct Policy by touching the

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driver in an inappropriate and sexual manner without her consent and that disciplinary action was

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necessary and appropriate.”
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The league further determined that Plaintiff was consistent and credible and that

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the public accounts described by Defendant and Darby were in fact false and that no one else

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was in the vehicle other than Plaintiff and Defendant.
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Defendant Winston received a three-game suspension and will return to his role

on the team later this month.

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FIRST CLAIM FOR RELIEF

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(Sexual Battery)
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Plaintiff re-alleges and incorporates herein by reference the preceding allegations

in each of the above paragraphs.
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Without consent, Defendant intended to cause a harm of offensive contact with

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Plaintiff by inflicting unwanted sexual contact upon Plaintiff by grabbing her vagina with his

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hand.

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51.

Defendant did cause such harmful sexual contact by molesting Plaintiff by

grabbing her vagina with his hand.
52.

As a direct and proximate result of Defendant conduct, Plaintiff has suffered

damages in the nature of emotional distress as well as future therapy expenses.

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SECOND CLAIM FOR RELIEF

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(Punitive Damages)

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53.

Plaintiff realleges and incorporates by this reference the preceding allegations in

each of the above paragraphs.
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Defendant’s conduct complained of herein was attended with a conscious or

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reckless disregard for a substantial risk of harm to Plaintiff, and a pattern of similar conduct

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toward other women.

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55.

Plaintiff is entitled to exemplary or punitive damages to punish and deter such

conduct.

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JURY TRIAL DEMAND

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Plaintiff hereby demands a jury trial.

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WHEREFORE, Plaintiff seeks a judgment against Defendant as follows:

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1.

An award of damages to be determined at trial, including, without limitation,

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Plaintiff’s past, present and future emotional pain and suffering, and past and future economic

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losses in amounts to be determined by the jury;

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2.

Punitive or exemplary damages;

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3.

Pre and post-judgment interest on all sums awarded;

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4.

Such other and further relief as the Court deems just and proper.
Respectfully submitted,

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DATED: September 18, 2018

By:

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/s/ John C. Clune
John C. Clune
Hutchinson Black and Cook, LLC
921 Walnut Street, Suite 200
Boulder, CO 80303
(303) 442-6514
clune@hbcboulder.com

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Attorneys for Plaintiff

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By:

/s/ Sara Powell
Sara Powell
Law Office of Sara J. Powell, PLLC
550 W. Portland St.
Phoenix, AZ 85003
(602) 996-4447
sara@sarapowell.com

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