A concept of The Evergreen, as presented to Vail’s Planning and Environmental Commission in 2022 by Mauriello Planning Group.
Courtesy Photo
Five condo owners at the Evergreen Lodge in Vail have filed a lawsuit in Eagle County District Court accusing Solaris founder Peter Knobel and his associates of trying to push them out of their homes.
The condo owners — George and Mary Cavanaugh, Peter Sallerson, Kenneth Maloney, and Barbara Lynne Scott Palermo — say they were promised new units in a luxury redevelopment planned for the Evergreen Lodge property, but later saw those agreements unilaterally terminated.
The Evergreen Lodge was built in 1974 and is located near Vail Health, sharing a South Frontage Road roundabout with the hospital.
The Solaris Group acquired the property in 2012 under the name HCT Development and received approvals in 2023 for a redevelopment plan, which could include 109 residential condominiums ranging from one- to four-bedroom units; a minimum of 100 attached accommodation units; amenities such as a lobby with a front desk and concierge, workout facilities, an exterior pool, hot tubs, fire pits, space for an eating and drinking establishment, and space for a retail shop; and 20 on-site employee housing units.
According to the complaint, Knobel gradually purchased or gained control of most of the existing condos in the Evergreen Lodge and used that majority stake to install himself, his daughter, and several of his employees and business associates on the condo association’s board of directors. Other defendants named in the suit include Knobel’s daughter, Thea Knobel, and board members Ryan Smith, Jacob Mienert and Brian Butts.
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“The Association’s Board of Directors is comprised of eight directors, five of which are either Knobel or Knobel Unit LLC-appointed directors,” according to the complaint.
The plaintiffs argue the board, made up of what they call “conflicted directors,” has acted solely in Knobel’s interests — including by approving a sale of the property to another Knobel-controlled company.
“Knobel’s control of at least nine of the units allowed him to appoint the four Conflicted Directors to the Board and to elect his Solaris general counsel Smith as President of the Board,” according to the complaint.
The lawsuit claims Knobel’s actions violate the association’s bylaws and governance policies, which require conflicted directors to recuse themselves from decisions in which they have a financial interest. Instead, the complaint alleges, Knobel’s allies have approved appraisals that undervalue the plaintiffs’ mountain-facing units and taken steps toward forcing a below-market sale.
The filing describes Knobel’s redevelopment plan as beginning in 2022, when he and his entities offered unit owners “reconstruction agreements” that promised comparable condos in a new project if they supported demolition of the existing building. Some owners signed, but by this summer, Knobel’s companies sent letters terminating those agreements, according to the complaint.
Maloney and Palermo also allege Knobel personally harassed them, calling them repeatedly in June in an effort to press them to sign a new, less favorable deal.
“Maloney and Palermo’s phone records show that Maloney answered at least twenty phone calls from Knobel between June 17, 2025 and June 27, 2025,” according to the complaint, “and Knobel left countless messages asking for them to call him back.”
The case, filed under Eagle County District Court case number 2025CV30182, is one of three civil lawsuits Knobel is currently involved in, according to Colorado court records.
A preliminary injunction hearing has been set for Oct. 30 at the Eagle Courthouse, scheduled for 1:15 p.m. in courtroom four.
