governmental immunity
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Colorado justices hear arguments on Jeffco slip-and-fall, man’s pursuit of bike thief
Members of the Colorado Supreme Court on Thursday considered whether the state law that broadly shields the government from civil lawsuits applies to upgrades of public parking garages, raising the possibility of cities and counties being increasingly on the hook for personal injury claims in the future. The justices also heard a second case questioning…
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Appeals court rejects Adams County’s argument that sheriff’s office is not a ‘public entity’
Colorado’s second-highest court last week rejected an argument from Adams County that sheriffs’ offices are not actually “public entities” that, consequently, cannot be held liable for deputies’ motor vehicle collisions. A three-judge panel for the Court of Appeals acknowledged that multiple prior court cases stated as fact that sheriffs’ offices are public entities, but none…
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Colorado appeals court reinstates slip-and-fall lawsuit against Jeffco
The state’s Court of Appeals last month reinstated a woman’s lawsuit against Jefferson County for allegedly failing to prevent her slip-and-fall inside a county building. The decision in Krista Dozier’s case comes as the Colorado Supreme Court is preparing to hear another appeal involving Jeffco, where a woman injured herself yards away from Dozier’s fall.…
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State Supreme Court takes up governmental immunity cases for trip-and-fall, speeding officer
The Colorado Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to review two appeals questioning the boundaries of the government’s general immunity from civil lawsuits, with one case involving a trip-and-fall in Jefferson County and the other implicating a police officer in Montrose County who killed two people during a pursuit. At least three of the seven members of…
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Appeals court reinstates lawsuit against CU over failing to place ‘wet floor’ sign on staircase
The state’s second-highest court has reversed a Boulder County judge and decided the University of Colorado’s failure to warn a student about a recently-mopped and slippery staircase means the institution cannot claim immunity from being sued. The lawsuit involving then-freshman Jordan Galef is one of multiple plaintiff-friendly rulings from the Court of Appeals in recent weeks…
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Appeals court warns police to use lights and sirens or lose immunity for crashes
The town of Olathe and one of its officers can be held liable for the collision deaths of two men in 2018, stemming from the officer’s failure to use his lights and sirens for the majority of his high-speed pursuit. In reversing a lower court judge’s decision to dismiss the civil lawsuit against Olathe, a…
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Jeffco parking garage a ‘public building’, says appeals court in green-lighting lawsuit
Although Jefferson County insisted its parking garage was not a “public building” and, therefore, the county could not be sued under Colorado law for a woman’s injuries, the state’s second-highest court rejected those claims on Thursday. The Colorado Governmental Immunity Act generally shields public entities from civil liability in order to prevent taxpayer dollars from…
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‘There’s stuff that has kept me up at night’: Judges speak candidly to Denver students
Three members of the state’s Court of Appeals fielded questions from curious high school students on Tuesday, one of the most common subjects being how they could separate their emotions about cases from the impartial legal decisions they are expected to render. The judges conceded that it takes practice. “Sometimes I see myself getting mad…