Denver Woman Wins Judgment After Jewelry Store Used Unlicensed Scale
When Denver resident Chrisanne Grimaldi found herself overwhelmed by more than $80,000 in medical debt, she turned to a painful solution: selling off her valuables. The 60-year-old gathered an assortment of gold, sterling silver, and antique items and brought them to David Ellis Jewelers in Cherry Creek North — a store known for buying precious metals by weight. She walked away with a check for more than $16,000, but something about the transaction troubled her. The staff had taken her items into a back room to weigh them, out of her sight, and Grimaldi’s instincts told her something wasn’t right.
Those instincts proved correct. When she later requested proof that the store’s scales were properly certified — as required by Colorado law — the store refused. A deeper look into state records showed there was no evidence that David Ellis Jewelers had ever licensed or certified their scales with the Colorado Department of Agriculture, despite decades of operation. Under state law, any business that buys or sells by weight must undergo annual scale inspections to ensure accuracy and consumer protection.
Grimaldi filed complaints with the Denver Police Department, the Colorado Attorney General’s Office, and the Department of Agriculture, and then took the business to small claims court. The Department of Agriculture later confirmed the store had no inspection history on file, though it finally sought certification five months after her complaints. Even then, the state imposed no penalties for years of noncompliance. A follow-up inspection found the scales accurate — but the larger issue remained: for years, customers may have unknowingly relied on uncertified equipment.
Facing Grimaldi’s lawsuit, the jewelry store offered her $7,500 to settle, but only if she agreed to a strict nondisparagement clause preventing her from discussing the case publicly. Grimaldi refused, saying she wanted consumers to know their rights and understand the importance of verifying scale certifications. She instead countered with a $20,000 settlement offer, which the store declined.
When the case reached court, David Ellis Jewelers did not appear. On Oct. 21, a Denver small-claims judge ruled in Grimaldi’s favor, awarding her the maximum $7,500 in damages. The judge cited evidence that the store breached its purchase agreement by failing to use a calibrated scale.
Grimaldi says the victory is bigger than the money. “If you don’t know and you’re not informed, nobody’s going to advocate for you,” she said. “You have to advocate for yourself.”
Colorado’s Department of Agriculture urges consumers to look for a dated inspection sticker with initials and a phone number on any commercial scale — whether at a jewelry store, dispensary, pawn shop, or grocery store. For Grimaldi, the sticker that wasn’t there became the warning that launched a months-long fight — one she hopes will protect other Coloradans from being shortchanged.
