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MEDIA RELEASE

Wed., March 18, 2026

Contact: Steven Murray, 303-396-9952, steven@smurraylaw.com

DIA General Counsel Files Lawsuit Against City and City Staff for First Amendment Retaliation and Race Discrimination

Alleges Unlawful Retaliation for Disclosing Improper, Unlawful Transactions, & Directives in Conflict with FAA Mandates Re: Mayor’s Park Hill Course Deal & City’s Airlines Decision

DENVER, CO – In a federal lawsuit, the Denver International Airport (DIA) General Counsel charges the City and County of Denver, the City Attorney, the City’s Financial Officer, and the Mayor’s Chief Strategist with retaliation for disclosures of wrongdoing, political retaliation in violation of the First Amendment, and race discrimination.

Everett Martinez, a Latino, is General Counsel and Executive Vice President of DIA. Martinez has served as an Airport attorney for nearly ten years, four of which as the General Counsel

After Martinez made lawful disclosures to Defendants, they told him he can no longer serve as General Counsel, and he will lose his employment.

Martinez, a Colorado native and Harvard Law School graduate, sues the City, Michiko “Miko” Brown, City Attorney; Nicole Doheny, Chief Financial Officer; and Jeff Dolan, Chief Strategist for Denver Mayor Mike Johnston, in their individual and official capacities.

Brown, Doheny, and Dolan are political appointees of Mayor Johnston. Martinez is a career service employee, not a political appointee.

Martinez’s protected disclosures and refusal to engage in unlawful activities involve the Mayor’s Park Hill swap real estate deal and the City’s decision on Key Lime Air.

The Park Hill land deal involves a private developer swapping the land of the Park Hill Golf Course to the City in return for the Airport giving him land at the Airport.

Martinez [1:26-cv-01100] filed his case in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado, alleging that the City and individual defendants retaliated against him for making repeated pleas to them, on multiple issues, to follow the strict legal mandates of the Federal Aviation Administration in all aspects of the Park Hill real estate deal. He repeatedly warned Defendants that violating the mandates could subject the City to legal and potentially catastrophic financial penalties under the FAA revenue diversion rule. This law prohibits the City from using any Airport revenue for any non-airport purpose.

Defendants ignored Martinez’s advice.

Martinez rejected the Defendants’ unlawful directives to conceal a material fact from the FAA, regarding the involvement of the private developer, and not to keep records of matters involving the real estate deal.

The Key Lime Airlines matter involved the City Council voting to bar the airline from a lease at the Airport because the airline was using its aircraft to deport people based in the migration status.

Martinez informed the Defendant and Amanda Sandoval, President of the City Council, of the legal and financial risks of the cancellation decision because the FAA prohibits a City from taking any action against any airline for a discriminatory or non-safety-related reason.

Martinez rejected Brown’s repeated directives to fabricate an investigation for a fake reason as after-the-fact evidence to present to the FAA as justification for the City’s decision on the lease for Key Lime airline.

Martinez refused the Defendants’ pressure to work with them to “get rid” of Phil Washington, a Black man and the CEO of DIA.

Following Martinez’s protected disclosures and refusal to take unlawful actions, the defendants engaged in a pattern of retaliation, including denying him a recommended pay raise and job reclassification, resulting in an annual loss of about $50,000, giving him the lowest performance evaluation of his career, and threatening his job. On January 7-8, 2026, Brown told Martinez that if he did not like his situation, he could get a noose and hang himself with it.

On January 13, 2026, Martinez filed a complaint with the City’s Office of Human Resources. Later, he hired Steven Murray, a Denver-based attorney. On February 20, 2026, and March 9, 2026, Murray submitted documents to the Defendants setting forth Martinez’s legal claims and explaining why any retaliation against Martinez for hiring an attorney and petitioning the government for redress was unlawful.

Two days later, on March 11, 2026, the City told Martinez he could no longer serve as General Counsel, and if he did not resign, he would be removed or declared as disqualified.

Murray stated, “Individuals do not lose their First Amendment rights by accepting employment with the City and County of Denver. The First Amendment provides clearly established fundamental rights and protections for public employees against workplace retaliation because the employee exercised his rights to freedom of expression and association and their constitutional right to petition the government for redress.”

Martinez also asserts a claim of race discrimination against the City and the individual Defendants under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution.

Martinez requests a jury trial and seeks back pay, compensatory damages, punitive damages, and other relief.

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