Longmont hotel at center of $4 million judgment set for auction after giving key to man who attacked guests

LONGMONT, Colo. – A hotel at the center of a lawsuit — where a mother and daughter were attacked in 2023 after the daughter’s ex-boyfriend was given a key to their room — will be offered for public sale by the Weld County Sheriff’s Office.

According to a notice of sale document obtained by Denver7, the property is set for public auction on December 11 at 10 a.m.

The latest development comes after a Weld County jury in May awarded the two women more than $4 million in damages after they were attacked while staying in the EconoLodge in Longmont.

The women claimed they invited the daughter’s ex-boyfriend, Cody Czichos, to their room and later told him to leave after he was “acting irrationally and unpredictably.”

The ex-boyfriend left the room and later went to the front desk where a hotel employee gave him a key without the permission of the women, according to the lawsuit.

Czichos stabbed the daughter and assaulted the mother and later pleaded guilty in his criminal case to attempted murder, assault and trespassing. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

According to the victims’ civil attorney, Matthew Haltzman, the auction comes after the hotel refused to pay the $4 million judgment.

“A jury heard that trial over a period of four days and awarded our clients over $4 million in a verdict, and since that date, in May, we have been working to collect that judgment for our clients from that hotel, and they have refused to pay,” said Haltzman. "Not a single dollar has been made for payment on that judgment, and so we have taken action by asking the court to direct the Sheriff of Weld County to order a sale of that hotel, and that's what's going to be occurring on December 11 of this year, in order to work on compensating the victims of this horrific case.”

According to the notice, funds from the sale would go towards the judgment.

“This is all about the victims of the case... at the end of the day, this is about getting compensation for them and getting the judgment that they're owed that was determined by a jury of their peers,” said Haltzman. "I think the idea that this hotel can change hands and be run by somebody that is not Premier Hospitality Incorporated, which is the group that was responsible for what happened, will be a huge relief to our clients... It's the opportunity to have somebody take it over and do something good with it, and it's also the opportunity to be compensated for what they fairly deserve.”

Denver7 has reached out to hotel ownership which previously declined to comment.

See the original article here: https://www.denver7.com/news/front-range/longmont/longmont-hotel-at-center-of-4-million-judgement-set-for-public-auction