The Court of Appeals reinstated a man’s lawsuit against the Colorado Department of Corrections for destroying his personal property while he was jailed on pending criminal charges.

Although a lower court believed the state’s governmental immunity law blocked Jacob Patrick Ind from suing the department, a three-member appellate panel on Thursday found a clear exception that gave Ind a viable claim for the property loss.

Ind was serving two consecutive life sentences in October 2017 for the 1992 murders of his mother and stepfather when he succeeded in overturning his convictions. He stayed in the El Paso County jail for his court hearing after transport from the Limon Correctional Facility, where he was incarcerated. Ind had his possessions at the prison packed, inventoried and handed over to jail staff.

He then moved to the Teller County jail awaiting a new trial, according to the appellate court. But when Ind attempted to retrieve his property, the Colorado Department of Corrections informed him that his possessions had been destroyed.

Ind filed a civil complaint in Logan County District Court in response to the destruction of his property, seeking $15,000. The Logan County court transferred the case to Lincoln County, where the prison is located, at the department’s request and over the objection of Ind.

The Lincoln County District Court in turn dismissed the case after agreeing with the department that governmental immunity shielded it from a civil lawsuit for its alleged actions.

The Colorado Governmental Immunity Act generally blocks civil liability suits against the government, but there are certain exceptions. For example, while a person may not sue if they have been convicted of a crime and are incarcerated, a person who is not yet convicted can file a negligence lawsuit.

In Ind’s case, the Department of Corrections allegedly destroyed his property after his convictions were overturned. Although Ind would later plead guilty to a new set of charges and receive a 60-year prison sentence, he was in fact a pretrial detainee at the time the department disposed of his possessions. As such, Ind’s lawsuit fit within the exception to governmental immunity.

The Court of Appeals panel also deemed the transfer of Ind’s lawsuit to Lincoln County a mistake. Ind had asked for the case to go to El Paso County because the decision to destroy his property allegedly occurred in the Colorado Springs office.

“We acknowledge that venue of this case may also be proper in Lincoln County where Ind’s property was most likely physically destroyed. However, if, as here, venue is proper in more than one county, generally the plaintiff has the right to choose the place of trial,” wrote Judge Sandra I. Rothenberg, who is retired from the Court of Appeals but sat on the panel at the chief justice’s assignment.

In response to a question about why it reportedly destroyed Ind’s property, a spokesperson said the Department of Corrections does not comment on ongoing litigation.

The panel ordered the lawsuit transferred to El Paso County District Court. Ind has since been released on parole.

The case is Ind v. Colorado Department of Corrections.