A Colorado man has learned that he can’t federally sue the Cheyenne Frontier Days bouncer who allegedly beat him up because the bouncer is also from Colorado.
Federal courts typically only consider federal questions of law, and lawsuits between parties of different states where the contested amount is more than $75,000.
Frederick Amen in June accused Cheyenne Frontier Days Inc. of negligence and its red-shirted concert bouncer of battery.
Amen claimed in a June 28 federal lawsuit complaint that the bouncer, whose name he did not know, grabbed him from behind and threw him to the ground, seriously injuring Amen’s back and elbow July 21, 2022.
Amen was trying at the time to get back from the port-a-potties to a Cheyenne Frontier Days concert, his complaint says.
Now, A Name
A representative of Cheyenne Frontier Days Inc. has since told Amen that the bouncer is a Colorado man named Tyler Beckle, according to an Aug. 11 court filing in which Amen asked U.S. District Court Senior Judge Nancy Freudenthal to dismiss the case, reserving Amen’s right to file it again in the state-level Laramie County District Court.
Because Amen and Beckle are both from Colorado, Amen reasoned, the federal court can’t hear the case.
Freudenthal dismissed the case Tuesday without prejudice, meaning Amen could bring it again if permissible.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Amen had not refiled his lawsuit in Wyoming’s Laramie County District Court.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
