Judge Rules For Stapleton In Dispute With Signature Firm

DENVER (AP) - Former state treasurer Walker Stapleton has prevailed in a lawsuit alleging his 2018 gubernatorial campaign was nearly derailed because he was deceived by a signature-gathering firm he hired.

The Colorado Sun reports a judge ordered Kennedy Enterprises on Friday to refund money paid by Stapleton to collect signatures to get him on the Republican primary ballot.

Stapleton submitted petitions to qualify for the primary, only to withdraw them after questions arose about whether they'd been collected legally.

Stapleton eventually qualified at a party assembly and won the party's nomination. He lost to Democrat Jared Polis in November.

Susan Klopman is an attorney for Kennedy. She says her client hasn't decided whether to appeal the ruling.

© Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.