ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Another Bowlen family member has joined the dispute over ownership of the Broncos.

Annabel Bowlen, the wife of owner Pat Bowlen, filed a motion in Arapahoe County District Court on Dec. 12 to intervene in the litigation, claiming that “none of the current parties adequately represent Mrs. Bowlen’s interests and her ability to protect her interest will be impaired if the Court denies intervention,” according to the documents obtained by The Athletic.

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In a news release about the filing, Hugh Gottschalk, of the law firm Wheeler Trigg O’Donnell representing Annabel, said: “We believe that the Trustees have honored the wishes of her husband and their obligation to the beneficiaries of the trust, and that the filing of a lawsuit by Mr. Bowlen’s brother serves no purpose.”

Annabel’s motion is notable in part because of the circumstances. In June, she announced that she, too, is suffering from Alzheimer’s. If deemed incapacitated, she wouldn’t be able to testify in the case. Bill Bowlen, the younger brother of Pat who filed a 21-page petition to have the trustees removed from power, alleged Pat “repeatedly expressed” that Annabel Bowlen “should have absolutely no role in the management or operations of the team” and he expressed “concerns about her management and leadership abilities.”

Attached to the seven-page motion from Annabel is the most significant piece of the filing: an affidavit signed by Richard Robinson, the attorney hired by Pat in 2007 to help with his estate planning. Robinson also signed an affidavit that was attached to the trustees’ motion to stay the proceedings.

Robinson drafted the 2009 Patrick D. Bowlen Trust, as well as Pat’s power of attorney and will that year. In the affidavit attached to Annabel’s motion, Robinson stated that she is indeed a beneficiary of the 2009 trust and “prior to Mr. Bowlen’s death and during his incapacity, the co-trustees of the 2009 PDB Trust are charged with making distributions to Mr. and Mrs. Bowlen of income and principal to the trust.”

After Pat’s death, Robinson stated, the trustees are required to distribute to Annabel Bowlen all of the income from the two marital trusts under the PDB trust.

“In addition, they have direction to distribute principal from the two marital trusts to Mrs. Bowlen and to no one else during her lifetime,” Robinson wrote to try to prove Annabel Bowlen’s interest in the matter. “The 2009 PDB Trust provides that all of Mr. Bowlen’s ownership interests in the Denver Broncos will be held in Marital Trust No. 1 upon his death.”

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The filing is the latest chapter in what has become a full-on family dispute over the future of the Broncos.

In May, Beth Bowlen Wallace, 48, one of Pat’s daughters with first wife Sally Parker, announced her desire to become controlling owner, but was quickly met with a stinging response from the trustees, who labeled her “not capable or qualified at this time.” Wallace received her law degree from the University of Denver and worked more than three years with the team as a director of special projects.

Fast forward two months before the start of training camp, Broncos president/CEO Joe Ellis insinuated the plan was for Brittany Bowlen, 28, to take over, or the team would likely be sold. Brittany is the oldest daughter of Pat and Annabel and spent a year in the team’s business department. She is currently working for McKinsey & Company consulting in Denver.

Ellis was appointed controlling owner delegee when Pat stepped down in the fall of 2013 because of the progression of Alzheimer’s and is one of three trustees, along with team counsel Rich Slivka and Denver attorney Mary Kelly, on the Patrick D. Bowlen Trust. Those three are tasked with appointing the next controlling owner, be it from the Bowlen family, as Pat desired, or sold to an outside party if no child is qualified.

Days after Brittany publicly stated her interest in one day becoming controlling owner, Bill filed his petition to have the trustees removed from power. Bill alleged that the trustees have acted in bad faith, have not upheld Pat’s wishes and have held many conflicting roles within the organization and as trustees.

The trustees responded with a motion to suspend the proceedings and included the signed affidavit from Robinson. Robinson said the trustees are executing the plan as Pat would have wished and that Pat wanted the trustees in control, despite their perceived conflicts. The trustees also requested arbitration from the NFL.

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Bill, through his attorney Giovanni Ruscitti, and the trustees have gone back and forth since with legal filings. Bill accused the trustees of using delay tactics, and the trustees sought a 30-day extension to respond to Bill’s objection and a later filing to suspend the trustees’ compensation by the trust and the payment of their attorney fees by the trust.

In an order filed Thursday morning, the trustees were granted a partial extension, until Jan. 11, 2019, to respond.

In a statement provided Thursday, Ruscitti downplayed the filing by Annabel and said, “If the Court allows her to intervene, we don’t believe it will have any impact on the claims asserted by Bill Bowlen.”

(Photo of Annabel Bowlen: Chris Humphreys / USA TODAY Sports)