Can tenant sue mgnt co. for security deposit in CO

[John Rooster]

Back story: I bought a condo at a foreclosure sale 4 months ago. I posted my usual 3 day notice after getting the Deed. It turns out the property is being rented and the tenant wants to stay. Well this is great news to me as I was going to rent the condo anyway, her lease is $100/month more than I was expecting to get, I have no eviction to do, I have no painting to do or carpet to replace, I have only a couple of repairs to do, and I have an immediate tenant!!! The only major downside is that the tenant can not pay me their security deposit till they get their prior security deposit back from the management company, so I write the rental agreement such that the tenant is to pay me the security deposit in 45 days (by mid June). Well mid June is long past, and the tenant does not have their security deposit back from the Management Company. Yes, I know that is not really my problem, but I fell sorry for her, and the reality is she can not afford to pay me the security deposit, and my only recourse is to evict her, which I would not like to do. I suspect that the management company is not going to give her the security deposit back since they did not know about the foreclosure till after the sale, and they probably forwarded the security deposit to the out of State owner long ago.

Question: My tenant is not bright enough to sue the Management Company on her own, and I fell sorry for her, and I don't see that there is going to be any way I am ever going to get my security deposit until she gets her security deposit back from the prior Management Company. I want her to assign her claim against the Management Company to me, so I can sue the management company for the security deposit (note: the assignment of claim is not part of the question, I know that she can assign it to me). The question is... Is the management company legally responsible for the security deposit? I will name the former owner in the action as a defendant, but he lives out of State and will be impossible to serve and collect from. All paperwork was handled by the management company, the tenant never spoke to the former owner, the security deposit and all rent payments were paid to the management company. So, do you think the management company is legally responsible for the security deposit, and that I will be able to get a judgment against the management company?