143 results for 'court:"Colorado Court Of Appeals"'.
J. Lum finds that the trial court properly dismissed a personal injury complaint as untimely since law does not extend the three-year statute of limitations to the next day the court is open if the limitations period expires on a Saturday, Sunday or holiday. But it was error to award defendant attorney fees since the trial court construed his motion to dismiss under the incorrect rule of civil procedure. Vacated in part.
Court: Colorado Court Of Appeals, Judge: Lum, Filed On: July 13, 2023, Case #: 22CA0463, Categories: Civil Procedure, Negligence, Attorney Fees
J. Lum finds that the trial court properly declined to grant immunity to a sheriff's deputy in a car collision action. The waiver of immunity for car collisions under the Governmental Immunity Act applies because a sheriff's office is a public entity and it can face liability under the doctrine of respondeat superior for its deputies' actions. Affirmed.
Court: Colorado Court Of Appeals, Judge: Lum, Filed On: July 13, 2023, Case #: 22CA0857, Categories: Immunity, Negligence
J. Gomez finds that the trial court properly denied attorney fees to a lessee that prevailed in stopping the condemnation of property it leases. Property owners are entitled to fee and cost recovery, not lessees. On remand, the trial court must make explicit findings before denying the lessee's other request for attorney fees that was based on its claim that the condemnation action was frivolous, groundless or vexatious. Reversed in part.
Court: Colorado Court Of Appeals, Judge: Gomez, Filed On: July 13, 2023, Case #: 22CA0680, Categories: Property, Attorney Fees
J. Fox finds that sufficient evidence supported the trial court's determination that a strip of land in a property line dispute had been ceded under the doctrine of boundary by acquiescence. However, it failed to make findings to support its permanent injunction order and attorney fee award. Reversed in part.
Court: Colorado Court Of Appeals, Judge: Fox, Filed On: July 13, 2023, Case #: 22CA1075, Categories: Property, Attorney Fees
J. Tow finds that the district court properly denied attorney fees to a father who prevailed on a mother's motion to modify a parenting plan. An attorney fee award is available if a de novo hearing upholds a parenting plan created by the court-appointed decisionmaker. The magistrate court relied on the briefs to affirm the plan but a proceeding is not considered de novo unless it includes an evidentiary hearing. Affirmed.
Court: Colorado Court Of Appeals, Judge: Tow, Filed On: July 6, 2023, Case #: 22CA0441, Categories: Family Law, Attorney Fees
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J. Schutz finds that the lower courts properly held that a workers' compensation claimant failed to timely file for a division-sponsored independent medical examination to challenge a final admission of liability. A final admission of liability is valid even if the permanent partial impairment rating of zero was arrived at without an in-person examination. An in-person examination is better, but relying solely on the medical record affects the final determination's persuasiveness, not its validity. Affirmed.
Court: Colorado Court Of Appeals, Judge: Schutz, Filed On: June 29, 2023, Case #: 22CA1663, Categories: Administrative Law, Workers' Compensation
J. Richman finds that the trial court properly dismissed a student's breach of contract claim over a university's Covid-19 campus closures. The university had the statutory authority to void its obligation for in-person instruction. But her unjust enrichment claims should be allowed to proceed because the university's authority to invoke statute to void the contract does not deprive her of the right to seek reimbursement of the tuition and fees she paid under the contract. Reversed in part.
Court: Colorado Court Of Appeals, Judge: Richman, Filed On: June 29, 2023, Case #: 22CA1140, Categories: Covid-19, Class Action, Contract
J. Graham finds that the trial court properly dismissed a quiet title that sought to recover land that Denver condemned in 1988 to build a new airport. The city acquired the land free and clear of all liens and encumbrances, which means it has title in fee simple, a fact that is unchanged by the fact that the city did not pay the full market value for the land. And condemnation under eminent domain did not bar the city from using some of the land for non-airport purposes. Affirmed.
Court: Colorado Court Of Appeals, Judge: Graham, Filed On: June 29, 2023, Case #: 22CA0956, Categories: Civil Procedure, Property
J. Furman finds that that the Motor Vehicle Division failed to support its revocation of a driver's license with sufficient evidence. The evidence does not show that police gave the driver an express consent affidavit or that the driver refused chemical testing. Reversed.
Court: Colorado Court Of Appeals, Judge: Furman, Filed On: June 29, 2023, Case #: 22CA0761, Categories: Licensing, Vehicle
J. Fox finds that defendant waived his right to a public trial when he failed to object to a livestream video feed of jury selection that was part of a Covid-19 protocol. He also waived his claim that his right to be tried for the charged forgery offense was violated when the trial court allowed a constructive amendment. The amendment was not a structural error and he did not object at the time it was made. Affirmed.
Court: Colorado Court Of Appeals, Judge: Fox, Filed On: June 29, 2023, Case #: 21CA0834, Categories: Burglary, Due Process, Forgery
J. Kuhn finds that the trial court properly designated defendant a sexually violent predator. The fictional victim created by police to whom he sent sexually explicit online messages satisfies the victim prong of the designation. The term "victim" can mean the intended victim and it focuses on defendant's intent and conduct. Also, the designation can be applied for attempted crimes. Affirmed.
Court: Colorado Court Of Appeals, Judge: Kuhn, Filed On: June 22, 2023, Case #: 20CA1710, Categories: Sentencing, Sex Offender
J. Navarro finds that the trial court must revisit issues of material fact about whether a warranty of title applied to a car sold by a pawn broker that later turned out to be stolen. The sold "as is" language in the bill of sale did not exclude the warranty of sale required by statute. The pawn broker did not add specific language warning that the buyer was assuming all risks that the seller may not own the car it was selling, but ambiguity about how much the buyer knew about the title should have precluded summary judgment. Reversed in part.
Court: Colorado Court Of Appeals, Judge: Navarro, Filed On: June 22, 2023, Case #: 22CA0916, Categories: Insurance, Consumer Law, Warranty
J. Fox finds that a hearing officer properly held that a banquet service charge is not a tip since guests cannot avoid the charge or choose how much it is, so a banquet server is not entitled to the tipped employee minimum wage. The hearing office also properly held that a banquet server cannot be classified as a sales employee since the job is not to make sales, so banquet servers are entitled to overtime wages. But because the employer refused to pay back wages for a good faith reason, it is not required to pay a fine for failure to timely pay back wages. Reversed in part.
Court: Colorado Court Of Appeals, Judge: Fox, Filed On: June 15, 2023, Case #: 21CA2057 , Categories: Employment
J. Fox finds that the district court properly gave effect to a dying man's intent to give his adoptive daughter his Ford Bronco. His failure to transfer title did not deprive the adoptive daughter of ownership since his videotaped instructions from a Covid-19 isolation ward were clear and unambiguous and he directed his employee to give the keys to her. Affirmed.
Court: Colorado Court Of Appeals, Judge: Fox, Filed On: June 15, 2023, Case #: 22CA1076, Categories: Wills / Probate
J. Schock finds that the district court erred in awarding a landlord just five months of rent after its tenant quit paying rent on a lease with seven years left. The landlord did not have a duty to make reasonable efforts to sell the property to mitigate the loss of rent. Reversed.
Court: Colorado Court Of Appeals, Judge: Schock, Filed On: June 15, 2023, Case #: 22CA1009, Categories: Landlord Tenant
J. Tow finds that the trial court violated defendant's Sixth Amendment right to a public trial by removing all public, including members of her family, from the courtroom where she was tried for assault. The removal to an auxiliary courtroom where they watched her trial over video was nontrivial and the trial court did not support the order with required findings. Reversed.
Court: Colorado Court Of Appeals, Judge: Tow, Filed On: June 8, 2023, Case #: 21CA1645, Categories: Assault, Due Process
J. Furman finds that a husband's appeal of a magistrate's permanent orders in a dissolution proceeding is untimely. The magistrate was acting with the parties' consent, so the husband's motion for reconsideration did not toll the statutory 49-day deadline to file a notice of appeal.
Court: Colorado Court Of Appeals, Judge: Furman, Filed On: June 8, 2023, Case #: 22CA0232, Categories: Family Law
J. Yun finds, on first impression, that the public integrity statute does not bar a third party from intervening when the attorney general files a civil complaint against a government entity based on a reasonable belief that the government entity violated individual civil rights. The state sued to enjoin a city fire department from using ketamine or other chemical sedatives at the direction of police. The trial court erred in denying a request by a firefighter and EMT union for intervention in the case. The union may not intervene as of right, but a district court may grant a request for permissive intervention if the applicant shares a question of law or fact in common with the main action. Reversed in part.
Court: Colorado Court Of Appeals, Judge: Yun, Filed On: June 8, 2023, Case #: 22CA0988, Categories: Civil Procedure, Civil Rights
J. Tow finds that the trial court that sentenced defendant on a child abuse conviction did not lose jurisdiction to impose restitution after the statutory 91-day period for restitution orders had passed. The 91-day period creates a nonjurisdictional deadline that may be waived for good cause. Here, defendant requested that the restitution hearing be set outside the period, intentionally relinquishing his right. Affirmed.
Court: Colorado Court Of Appeals, Judge: Tow, Filed On: June 8, 2023, Case #: 20CA1678, Categories: Restitution, Jurisdiction, Child Victims
J. Schutz finds that the trial court properly denied defendant's claims that two jurors were stricken from his felony menacing trial due to race. Also, he was not entitled to have jurors questioned about their race and ethnicity or given an implicit bias instruction. Evidence that a victim of the menacing was a drug dealer was properly excluded as improper character evidence. Affirmed.
Court: Colorado Court Of Appeals, Judge: Schutz, Filed On: June 1, 2023, Case #: 20CA2145, Categories: Firearms, Jury Instructions
J. Dailey finds that the trial court properly dismissed a complaint by a condominium unit's former owner seeking to assert ownership rights over unused floor space in the former unit. The city's land use code is silent on whether the floor area ratio should be treated a common element, but that does not mean that unused floor space represents a severable interest. Affirmed.
Court: Colorado Court Of Appeals, Judge: Dailey, Filed On: June 1, 2023, Case #: 22CA0700, Categories: Real Estate, Zoning
J. Lipinsky finds that the trial court should have allowed the jury to hear defendant's instruction on the felony murder affirmative defense. He was not required to admit to the predicate robbery felony in order to assert the defense, which was supported by some credible evidence that he did not know a gun was present, did not intend to engage in a robbery and that he tried to disengage from the crime when he learned a gun was present. Unlike the affirmative defenses of entrapment or self-defense, the felony murder affirmative defense does not justify or excuse the predicate offense. Reversed in part.
Court: Colorado Court Of Appeals, Judge: Lipinsky, Filed On: June 1, 2023, Case #: 21CA0976, Categories: Murder, Robbery, Jury Instructions