One Aspen Chalet, a Cuvee property in the Pitkin County town. (Facebook)
A former executive at the vacation rental company Cuvee says she was wrongly fired and sued for blowing the whistle on kickbacks and other financial improprieties there.
“Cuvee commenced a series of actions against (Pollyanna) Forster intended to destroy Forster professionally, financially and emotionally,” she alleges in a June 25 countersuit.
Forster, who lives in Eagle, was hired last July to be the Vail Valley director of operations for the Greenwood Village-based company. Cuvee manages dozens of Colorado mountain properties, pairing homeowners with well-heeled travelers and planning excursions for the guests.
Forster was fired in May after less than a year on the job. There are two stories why.
The company claims that its Vail Valley properties underperformed when led by Forster and that her interpersonal skills were lacking. The night she was fired, Forster stole a client list and other key documents and made false accusations of impropriety, according to Cuvee.
But Forster says Vail Valley properties thrived under her, earning her promotions, bonuses and praise from CEO Larry Mueller during her short time there. Forster denies stealing any proprietary information. And those accusations she made? They weren’t false.
In October, Forster says, she reviewed a $6,000 invoice for the deep cleaning of an eight-bedroom home in Vail. When she asked the cleaner why it was billing so much for a $1,280 cleaning, she was told it was part of an “arrangement” with Cuvee, she says.
A few months later, she questioned a $3,500 Christmas tree lighting and similarly learned the contractor had an arrangement with Cuvee employees. The actual cost was $800.
“The excessive billings by and payments to certain vendors was part of an improper and unlawful arrangement whereby such vendors would then pay, or kick back, money to the Cuvee employees,” Forster alleges in last week’s countersuit. She claims that she alerted higher-ups, who told her not to worry because the homeowners’ “money grows on trees.”
Forster says she then raised concerns about the kickbacks and disparaging comments coworkers were making about her with Mueller. They planned to discuss them May 15. But before they could, Cuvee executives and employees involved in the alleged kickback scheme conspired to have her fired May 14, according to Forster’s countersuit.
Pollyanna Forster
“These actions were in response and retaliation for Forster advising Mueller of the financial improprieties and harassment of her,” Forster’s lawsuit against Cuvee alleges.
The former Cuvee exec is seeking an undetermined amount for wrongful termination and unpaid wages. Her lawyers are Dan Wolf and Ava Cusack with Caplan & Earnest in Boulder.
In a statement, Cuvee said it was “disappointed to see the lengths some people will go to attempt to avoid the repercussions of their actions. Luckily, making false statements and bringing claims that you know are without merit in a judicial proceeding have consequences.
“It is clear that the allegations that Forster included in her ‘counterclaims’ were drafted in an attempt to spin Forster into some sort of victim, when the truth as Cuvee understands it is the exact opposite,” the company wrote Monday, calling the counterclaims meritless.
“Our commitment to integrity and transparency remains unwavering, as it has since the company was founded, and we are confident that the truth will prevail as the facts come to light.”
Cuvee’s lawyers are Beth Lennon and Carissa Davis in the Denver office of Venable.
One Aspen Chalet, a Cuvee property in the Pitkin County town. (Facebook)
A former executive at the vacation rental company Cuvee says she was wrongly fired and sued for blowing the whistle on kickbacks and other financial improprieties there.
“Cuvee commenced a series of actions against (Pollyanna) Forster intended to destroy Forster professionally, financially and emotionally,” she alleges in a June 25 countersuit.
Forster, who lives in Eagle, was hired last July to be the Vail Valley director of operations for the Greenwood Village-based company. Cuvee manages dozens of Colorado mountain properties, pairing homeowners with well-heeled travelers and planning excursions for the guests.
Forster was fired in May after less than a year on the job. There are two stories why.
The company claims that its Vail Valley properties underperformed when led by Forster and that her interpersonal skills were lacking. The night she was fired, Forster stole a client list and other key documents and made false accusations of impropriety, according to Cuvee.
But Forster says Vail Valley properties thrived under her, earning her promotions, bonuses and praise from CEO Larry Mueller during her short time there. Forster denies stealing any proprietary information. And those accusations she made? They weren’t false.
In October, Forster says, she reviewed a $6,000 invoice for the deep cleaning of an eight-bedroom home in Vail. When she asked the cleaner why it was billing so much for a $1,280 cleaning, she was told it was part of an “arrangement” with Cuvee, she says.
A few months later, she questioned a $3,500 Christmas tree lighting and similarly learned the contractor had an arrangement with Cuvee employees. The actual cost was $800.
“The excessive billings by and payments to certain vendors was part of an improper and unlawful arrangement whereby such vendors would then pay, or kick back, money to the Cuvee employees,” Forster alleges in last week’s countersuit. She claims that she alerted higher-ups, who told her not to worry because the homeowners’ “money grows on trees.”
Forster says she then raised concerns about the kickbacks and disparaging comments coworkers were making about her with Mueller. They planned to discuss them May 15. But before they could, Cuvee executives and employees involved in the alleged kickback scheme conspired to have her fired May 14, according to Forster’s countersuit.
Pollyanna Forster
“These actions were in response and retaliation for Forster advising Mueller of the financial improprieties and harassment of her,” Forster’s lawsuit against Cuvee alleges.
The former Cuvee exec is seeking an undetermined amount for wrongful termination and unpaid wages. Her lawyers are Dan Wolf and Ava Cusack with Caplan & Earnest in Boulder.
In a statement, Cuvee said it was “disappointed to see the lengths some people will go to attempt to avoid the repercussions of their actions. Luckily, making false statements and bringing claims that you know are without merit in a judicial proceeding have consequences.
“It is clear that the allegations that Forster included in her ‘counterclaims’ were drafted in an attempt to spin Forster into some sort of victim, when the truth as Cuvee understands it is the exact opposite,” the company wrote Monday, calling the counterclaims meritless.
“Our commitment to integrity and transparency remains unwavering, as it has since the company was founded, and we are confident that the truth will prevail as the facts come to light.”
Cuvee’s lawyers are Beth Lennon and Carissa Davis in the Denver office of Venable.
