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(CN) — At the parties’ request, a Colorado judge on Wednesday ended a legal battle between an equity firm chairman and his ex-girlfriend who had claimed he assaulted and defamed her in Aspen, Colorado.
Interior designer Hillary Thomas sued her ex-partner Jean-Pierre Conte in September 2023, accusing him of assault, battery, and extreme and outrageous conduct.
The following month, Conte countersued Thomas claiming defamation and slander, calling her portrayal of him “pure fiction."
The stipulation agreement Thomas submitted Wednesday contained just two provisions: “that all claims and counterclaims asserted by the parties in the above-captioned action are dismissed with prejudice; and that each party is to bear her or his own attorneys’ fees and costs.”
In addition to owning several properties in Aspen, Conte is the chairman of the San Francisco-based private equity firm Genstar Capital.
“This case is about an abusive man who believes his power and privilege make him above the law,” Thomas said in her original 18-page complaint.
In her lawsuit, Thomas described Conte as her life partner of 10 years and that they initially agreed to separate in May 2021, then tried to reconcile near Christmas that year. Shortly after New Year’s Day, however, Thomas said that after a night of heavy drinking Conte assaulted her and left her “terrified for her life.”
She says Conte broke down the guestroom door before “beating her naked body, pinning her down as she begged for her life and slamming her against the wall.”
After, Thomas said Conte “proceeded to engage in repeated threats and attempts to silence Ms. Thomas including by interfering with her business endeavors, engaging in financial coercion and defaming her to her friends.”
In his 23-page counterclaim, Conte said he gave Thomas “considerably more than the cohabitation agreement requires, including gifts, jewelry and additional funds totaling multiple millions of dollars.”
Conte said that after the relationship ended in 2021, Thomas pursued litigation because he refused to purchase a $9 million home for her.
While Thomas claimed Conte had been intoxicated and belligerent that night in January 2022, Conte said Thomas was the one who instigated the argument. In his complaint, Conte attributed Thomas’ injuries to slipping and falling on ice.
“There was absolutely no physical abuse or attack, as Ms. Thomas falsely alleges,” Conte said in his counterclaim.
Thomas is represented by Aspen attorney Christopher Bryan of Garfield & Hecht as well as Christopher Clark of Clark Smith in New York.
Conte is represented by Richard Bednarski of Taft Stettinius in Colorado Springs, along with Patricia Glaser’s team from Glaser Weil in Los Angeles.
Neither party responded to requests for comment by press time.
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