Vail Resorts is facing a new shareholder lawsuit tied to allegations that major ski companies worked together to keep lift ticket and season pass prices artificially high.
Vail shareholder Thomas Stewart filed a verified derivative complaint Oct. 5 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado against CEO and Chairman Rob Katz and eight other directors. Vail Resorts is also named as a nominal defendant. The suit seeks to hold the board responsible for allegedly failing to oversee the company as the underlying antitrust claims developed.
The lawsuit is separate from the consumer antitrust cases already facing Vail Resorts. Stewart is suing derivatively, meaning he is attempting to pursue claims on behalf of Vail Resorts against members of its own board. None of the allegations have been proven in court.
Lawsuit Builds On Earlier Price-Fixing Claims
The new complaint is closely tied to antitrust litigation already underway against some of the largest companies in the ski industry.
In August, Vail Resorts, Alterra Mountain Company, Boyne Resorts and Powdr were sued in a proposed class action alleging the companies improperly exchanged confidential information about revenue, costs and pricing. The National Ski Areas Association and research company RRC Associates were also named as defendants.
That case alleges the companies used shared information to raise or stabilize lift ticket and season pass prices. It followed a separate March lawsuit against Vail Resorts and Alterra that accused the companies of using high single-day ticket prices and bundled access to steer customers toward Epic and Ikon products.
Stewart’s lawsuit does not accuse Vail directors of personally setting prices with competitors. Instead, it alleges the board knew about, or failed to adequately respond to, conduct that could expose Vail Resorts to antitrust liability.
Shareholder Challenges Vail’s Board Oversight
The complaint names Katz along with directors Reginald Chambers, Susan Decker, Iris Knobloch, Nadia Rawlinson, Michele Romanow, Hilary Schneider, D. Bruce Sewell and Peter Vaughn. Stewart says he has owned Vail Resorts stock since January 2022.
The lawsuit also challenges statements made in Vail Resorts’ 2024 proxy materials, which asked shareholders to approve the company’s Omnibus Incentive Plan. Stewart alleges those materials were misleading because they represented that executives were following company ethics policies and that the board was properly overseeing legal compliance while the alleged anticompetitive conduct was occurring.
The suit brings claims for breach of fiduciary duty, alleged securities-law violations and unjust enrichment. Stewart is seeking damages on behalf of Vail Resorts, changes to corporate governance, the return of certain compensation, legal fees and a jury trial.
Vail Faces Growing Legal And Investor Pressure
The Oct. 5 filing is at least the second recent shareholder derivative suit aimed at Vail’s leadership over the same underlying antitrust allegations. Shareholder Gary Peterson filed a similar case Aug. 24 in the same federal court, naming Vail Resorts and many of the same directors.
The new case arrives during an already turbulent period for the company. Vail recently reported fiscal 2026 net income of $147.5 million, down from $280 million the previous year, while pass product sales through Sept. 18 were down about 12% in units year over year. Activist investor Oasis Management is also pushing for changes to Vail’s board, adding another layer of pressure on company leadership.
The Stewart case adds another front to those challenges. Unlike the consumer antitrust lawsuits, which focus on whether skiers allegedly overpaid for lift access, this case centers on whether Vail Resorts directors failed in their duties to the company while the alleged conduct was taking place.
The case is Stewart v. Katz et al., No. 1:26-cv-04956, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado.
