Colorado Supreme Court Decisions 2016
Date: December 5, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 75
Docket Number: 14SA303
Justia Opinion Summary: The City of Aurora was the sole owner of the capital stock of Busk-Ivanhoe, Inc., which owned a one-half interest in water rights decreed in 1928 to the Busk-Ivanhoe System for supplemental irrigation in the Arkansas…
Date: December 5, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 76
Docket Number: 16SA163
Justia Opinion Summary: The State filed an interlocutory appeal of a district court's suppression order. The court suppressed a firearm that Denver Police seized from a car in which defendant Randiray Delacruz was a passenger. After review, the…
Date: December 5, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 77
Docket Number: 16SA38
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue this matter presented for the Supreme Court's review centered on a discovery dispute between plaintiff Stephen Rumnock and defendant American Family Mutual Insurance Company. After being ordered to produce…
Date: November 21, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 74
Docket Number: 14SC94
Justia Opinion Summary: Respondent Curtis Adams was found guilty by jury of assaulting a correctional officer. The presumptive sentencing range for that offense was two to six years, but because Adams committed the assault while serving a…
Date: November 21, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 73
Docket Number: 16SA231
Justia Opinion Summary: Alamosa County police officers applied for and received a warrant to search Lonnie Cooper’s residence and vehicles on his property for illegal drugs and other items associated with the sale of illegal drugs. The Colorado…
Date: November 7, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 72
Docket Number: 14SC494
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Arnold Calderon was injured in a vehicle accident with an uninsured motorist. At the time, petitioner was insured with respondent American Family Mutual Insurance. American Family paid the policy limit to…
Date: October 24, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 71
Docket Number: 16SA2
Justia Opinion Summary: Police responded to a domestic disturbance involving then 16-year-old A.L.-C., who was feuding with he mother and stepfather on the first floor of the family home. B.O., his sister, told an aunt who was in the house,…
Date: October 17, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 70
Docket Number: 13SC873
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Fritz Schneider appealed when the court of appeals affirmed his convictions for two counts of sexual assault: one for sexual assault of a physically helpless victim and another for "sexual assault by causing…
Date: October 17, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 60M
Docket Number: 16SA114
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff Christine Griffith filed a complaint against eleven entities and two individuals alleging they injured her father, who was a resident of a nursing home operated by defendant SSC Pueblo Belmont Operating Company…
Date: October 3, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 68
Docket Number: 16SA94
Justia Opinion Summary: Similar to "Colorado v. Johnson," (2016 CO 69 (2016)), at issue in this case were questions involving what a trial court could order when a juvenile seeks a reverse-transfer of her criminal case from trial court to…
Date: October 3, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 69
Docket Number: 16SA96
Justia Opinion Summary: At issue in this case were questions involving what a trial court could order when a juvenile seeks a reverse-transfer of her criminal case from trial court to juvenile court. The district attorney directly filed a…
Date: September 26, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 65
Docket Number: 14SC431
Justia Opinion Summary: Ryan Ranch was a residential common interest community. The homeowners association filed a complaint against several low owners abutting Ryan Ranch, seeking past-due assessments, penalties and fees for maintenance and…
Date: September 26, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 67
Docket Number: 14SC756
Justia Opinion Summary: This case centered on whether a father could use the doctrine of laches to defend against a mother's claim for interest on his child support debt. In the precedential case "Hauck v. Schuck," (353 P.3d 79 (1960)), the…
Date: September 26, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 64
Docket Number: 14SC77
Justia Opinion Summary: The Countryside Townhome Subdivision was a residential common interest community. The homeowners association for the Subdivision filed a complaint against the developer, seeking over $400,000 in past-due assessments for…
Date: September 26, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 63
Docket Number: 15SC136
Justia Opinion Summary: The Colorado State Patrol gave petitioner Gregory Hoskin a speeding ticket. Hoskin pled not guilty, and the matter went to a bench trial, which ultimately ended against Hoskin. He appealed, and the district court…
Date: September 26, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 60
Docket Number: 16SA114
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff Christine Griffith sued nine entities and two individuals, alleging that they injured her father, who was a resident of a nursing home in Colorado. She alleged her father's injuries eventually caused his death.…
Date: September 26, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 61
Docket Number: 16SA124
Justia Opinion Summary: The facts of this case were similar to those in "Griffith v. SSC Pueblo Belmont Operating Co.," (2016 CO 60 (2016)). The Supreme Court remanded this case back to the trial court for reconsideration under the test it…
Date: September 26, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 66
Docket Number: 16SA133
Justia Opinion Summary: In this case's first appeal, the Supreme Court reversed a suppression order by the trial court, concluding that the police lawfully stopped defendant Amadeo Chavez-Barragan for failing to drive within a single lane…
Date: September 26, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 62
Docket Number: 16SA75
Justia Opinion Summary: The Department of Transportation petitioned to acquire property owned by Amerco Real Estate Co. and occupied by U-Haul Co. by eminent domain, asserting that the property in question was necessary for a highway expansion…
Date: September 12, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 58
Docket Number: 14SC346
Justia Opinion Summary: Upon obtaining information that Steven Bleck was suicidal and possibly armed, officers with the Alamosa Police Department, including petitioner Jeffrey Martinez, entered Bleck’s hotel room. Bleck did not respond to the…
Date: September 12, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 57
Docket Number: 15SA332
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue this case presented for the Colorado Supreme Court's review centered on whether the trial court erred in concluding that defendant Ford Motor Company was subject to general personal jurisdiction in Colorado,…
Date: September 12, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 59
Docket Number: 15SC83
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Donald Johnson was convicted of careless driving-no injury, and the county court ordered him to pay $23,435.20 in restitution for pecuniary losses suffered by, among others: (1) a woman whose vehicle he struck…
Date: July 18, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 47M
Docket Number: 13SC722
Justia Opinion Summary: This case started out of a business dispute between respondent-cross-petitioner Just In Case Business Lighthouse, LLC (JIC) and petitioner-cross-respondent Patrick Murray. To prepare for the litigation, JIC hired Preston…
Date: July 5, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 55
Docket Number: 16SA153
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Donna Johnson challenged the Ballot Title Board's decision to set the title, ballot title and submission clause for Initiatives 2015-2016 #132 and 133, contending that the titles did not satisfy the clear…
Date: July 5, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 56
Docket Number: 16SA157
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner John Robinson challenged the Ballot Title Board's decision to set the title, ballot title and submission clause for Initiative 2015-2016 #156, contending that the title did not satisfy the clear title…
Date: July 5, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 54
Docket Number: 16SA8
Justia Opinion Summary: The State brought a civil law enforcement action against the foreclosure law firm The Castle Law Group, LLC and its principles, as well as some of Castle's affiliated vendors. Among other things, the State alleged that…
Date: June 27, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 50
Docket Number: 14SC176
Justia Opinion Summary: Menda Warne appealed the court of appeals' judgment reversing dismissal of Bill Hall's complaint, which asserted a claim of intentional interference with contract. The trial court dismissed the case for failure to state…
Date: June 27, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 51
Docket Number: 14SC66
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner John Van Rees, Sr. contracted with respondent Unleaded Software, Inc. to perform web-related services and to design additional websites. After Unleaded missed deadlines and failed to deliver the promised…
Date: June 27, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 37M
Docket Number: 14SC787
Justia Opinion Summary: Jesse Lipschuetz lived next door to Open Door Ministries. Lipschuetz filed claims against the City of Denver and Open Door looking to revoke a rooming and boarding permit the City granted to Open Door. The trial court…
Date: June 27, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 53
Docket Number: 15SC87
Justia Opinion Summary: Norma Hoff owned a home she rented through a property management agency. The roof sustained hail damage, and she contracted with Alliance Construction & Restoration, Inc. (Alliance) to make the repairs. Alliance…
Date: June 27, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 52
Docket Number: 16SA92
Justia Opinion Summary: A Colorado State Trooper stopped the vehicle in which Victor Zuniga was riding as a passenger. The vehicle was carrying over a pound of raw marijuana and marijuana concentrate. Zuniga was ultimately charged with two…
Date: June 20, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 47
Docket Number: 13SC722
Justia Opinion Summary: Just in Case Business Lighthouse (JIC) , owned and operated by Joseph Mahoney, entered into an agreement with Pearl Development Company, whereby Pearl agreed to pay JIC a specified commission if it found a buyer for…
Date: June 20, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 45
Docket Number: 13SC768
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioners Scot Hutchins and John Casper petitioned for review of a court of appeals’ judgment affirming the district court’s ruling in favor of La Plata Mountain Resources, Inc. (La Plata) in an action brought by La…
Date: June 20, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 48
Docket Number: 14SC469
Justia Opinion Summary: Respondent Steve Taylor invested $3 million in several investment companies operated by Sean Mueller. Unbeknownst to Taylor, the companies were part of a multi-million dollar Ponzi scheme. The "Mueller Funds" received…
Date: June 20, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 46
Docket Number: 14SC99
Justia Opinion Summary: Respondent Jennifer Hansen was injured in a motor vehicle accident in late 2007. Four months later, she presented an underinsured motorist (“UIM”) claim to petitioner American Family Mutual Insurance Company (“American…
Date: June 20, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 44
Docket Number: 14SC998
Justia Opinion Summary: Jeffery Freeman was convicted of third degree assault on an at-risk adult. Later, when he applied for a motor vehicle salesperson’s license, the Colorado Motor Vehicle Dealer Board (the Board) denied his application…
Date: June 20, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 49
Docket Number: 15SC345
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue this case presented for the Colorado Supreme Court's review centered on whether a property titled in the name of a judgment debtor's co-settled revocable trust was subject to a judgment lien against the debtor.…
Date: May 31, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 43
Docket Number: 14SC1
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff’s initial attorneys were discharged for cause and replaced by successor counsel. Initial counsel had been hired on a contingency basis. When discharged, they asserted a lien against any settlement or judgment…
Date: May 31, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 41
Docket Number: 14SC224
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Salynda E. Fleury brought a negligence and wrongful death suit against respondent IntraWest Winter Park Operations Corporation (“Winter Park”) after her husband was killed in an in-bounds avalanche at its…
Date: May 31, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 42
Docket Number: 15SA26
Justia Opinion Summary: On July 4, 2004, the Upper Eagle Regional Water Authority (the “Authority”) diverted 0.716 cubic feet per second (“cfs”) of water at the Edwards Drinking Water Facility on the Eagle River and delivered that water to the…
Date: May 23, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 22M
Docket Number: 13SC815
Justia Opinion Summary: Travelers Property Casualty Company of America (Travelers) petitioned for review of a court of appeals judgment affirming the district court’s denial of its motion for directed verdict in a lawsuit brought by its…
Date: May 23, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 37
Docket Number: 14SC787
Justia Opinion Summary: In June 2010, the Denver City Council passed Ordinance 333, replacing the old zoning code but including an exception that allowed any person seeking to “erect or alter structures” to apply for a permit under the old…
Date: May 23, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 38
Docket Number: 15SA292
Justia Opinion Summary: On October 27, 2015,one week before the November 3 regular biennial school board election for Mesa County Valley School District 51, three registered electors of the school district, Kent Carson, James “Gil” Tisue, and…
Date: May 23, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 40
Docket Number: 15SC514
Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, E.S.V. (“mother”) challenged the termination of her parental rights with respect to C.E.M. and M.F.M. (“children”). Mother’s treatment plan included as one of its objectives that mother would “demonstrate…
Date: May 23, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 39
Docket Number: 15SC57
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury found that the environment of M.L.’s four children was injurious to their welfare, the trial court adjudicated the children dependent or neglected. The Colorado Supreme Court granted certiorari in this case…
Date: May 16, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 36
Docket Number: 13SA268
Justia Opinion Summary: The State challenged a district court order denying the probation department's complaint to revoke Bryan Roberson's sex offender intensive supervision probation (SOISP). The State sought to revoke probation because…
Date: May 16, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 33
Docket Number: 13SC216
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2001 when he was twenty-eight years old, respondent David Corson had a sexual relationship with "K.B.," a seventeen-year-old client of the residential treatment facility where Corson worked. Two years later, he pled…
Date: May 16, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 35
Docket Number: 13SC587
Justia Opinion Summary: As a condition of probation, the trial court ordered Carl Ruch to complete a sex offender polygraph and participate in sex offense specific treatment intervention. Ruch refused such treatment, contending that…
Date: May 16, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 31
Docket Number: 14SC586
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Branch Banking and Trust Company (BB&T) petitioned the Colorado Supreme Court for review of whether a deed of trust securing a promissory note was a negotiable instrument under Colorado's Uniform Commercial…
Date: May 16, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 32
Docket Number: 14SC951
Justia Opinion Summary: Brian Penn was convicted by jury of unlawful sexual contact. On appeal, he argued that the county court erred in allowing an investigating officer to testify that he "had reason to arrest the defendant for a crime that…
Date: May 16, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 34
Docket Number: 16SA51
Justia Opinion Summary: Initiative #63 would establish a right to a healthy environment in Colorado by amending the state Constitution. Petitioners argued the text of the Initiative filed a motion to the Title Board, arguing the Initiative as…
Date: May 10, 2016
Docket Number: 13SC582
Date: May 2, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 25
Docket Number: 12SC871
Justia Opinion Summary: Littleton firefighter Jeffrey Christ was diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme (“GBM,” a type of brain cancer). After undergoing surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation, he returned to work, but ultimately died as a result…
Date: May 2, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 26
Docket Number: 13SC560
Justia Opinion Summary: Castle Rock firefighter Mike Zukowski was diagnosed with melanoma. He had three surgeries to remove the melanoma and was then released to return to work on full duty. He sought both medical benefits and temporary total…
Date: May 2, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 27
Docket Number: 14SC123
Justia Opinion Summary: The Colorado Supreme Court accepted this case from the court of appeals because it had granted certiorari in two other cases involving similar issues ("City of Littleton v. Industrial Claim Appeals Office," 2016 CO 25,…
Date: May 2, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 29
Docket Number: 15SC667
Justia Opinion Summary: The citizens of home-rule City of Longmont voted in favor of a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing and the storage of its waste products within city limits. Thereafter, the Colorado Oil and Gas Association (the…
Date: May 2, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 28
Docket Number: 15SC668
Justia Opinion Summary: The citizens of home-rule city Fort Collins voted in favor of a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing and the storage of its waste products within city limits. The Colorado Oil and Gas Association (the Association), an…
Date: April 25, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 22
Docket Number: 13SC815
Justia Opinion Summary: Stresscon Corporation, a subcontracting concrete company, filed suit against Travelers Property Casualty Company of America, alleging, among other things, that Travelers acted in bad faith, unreasonably delaying or…
Date: April 25, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 23
Docket Number: 13SC996
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue this case presented for the Supreme Court's review centered on whether 39-29-105(1)(a) permitted a deduction for the “cost of capital” associated with natural gas transportation and processing facilities. In…
Date: April 25, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 21
Docket Number: 15SA244
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2006, Colorado voters passed Amendment 41 and created Independent Ethics Commission (IEC), an independent commission tasked with investigating allegations of government officials’ misconduct. In an original…
Date: April 25, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 24
Docket Number: 16SA48
Justia Opinion Summary: Proponents Mike Spalding and David Ottke proposed Initiative #73, which would amend article XXI of the Colorado Constitution to change the procedures leading to and the conduct of recall elections for state and local…
Date: April 18, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 20
Docket Number: 15SA165
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Saul Chavez was charged with one count of sexual assault. The alleged victim lived in a home with other members of her family. The State alleged that Chavez, a family friend, had been allowed to stay the…
Date: April 18, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 19
Docket Number: 15SC298
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant E.G. was convicted of two counts of sexual assault on a child as part of a pattern of sexual abuse. Before trial, he filed a motion requesting court-ordered access to the scene of the crime, his grandmother’s…
Date: April 4, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 18
Docket Number: 14SC931
Justia Opinion Summary: The Cordells were the record owners of a tract of land in La Plata County (Tract1), and Mr. Cordell was also the record owner of an adjoining tract that had been deeded to him by his grandmother (Tract2). After the…
Date: March 21, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 17
Docket Number: 14SA348
Justia Opinion Summary: Boulder County chose to develop "the Bailey Farm" into a public open-space park which would feature several ponds formed from abandoned gravel pits filled with groundwater. The County had to replace out-of-priority…
Date: February 29, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 15
Docket Number: 12SC1005
Justia Opinion Summary: The Colorado Supreme Court granted the State's petition to review a district court's order that concluded that the "lewd fondling or caress" provision of the Colorado public indecency statute was unconstitutionally…
Date: February 29, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 14
Docket Number: 12SC585
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Charles Dean was convicted by jury of second degree murder, the sentence for which carried a maximum presumptive sentencing range of twenty-four years. The trial court adjudicated him a habitual criminal and…
Date: February 29, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 12
Docket Number: 13SC465
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant-respondent Eduardo Perez was convicted of identity theft and criminal impersonation for using another person's Social Security Number in order to get a job. The issue his case presented for the Colorado Supreme…
Date: February 29, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 13
Docket Number: 13SC902
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Fabian Sebastian filed a 42 U.S.C. 1983 (2014) action against Douglas County, the Douglas County Sheriff's Office, the Douglas County Sheriff David Weaver, and Deputy Greg Black. Petitioner alleged his Fourth…
Date: February 29, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 16
Docket Number: 15SA286
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant-appellee Amadeo Chavez-Barragan was charged with possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute. After the trial court granted defendant's motion to suppress certain evidence, the State appealed. The…
Date: February 22, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 10
Docket Number: 12SC826
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue for the Colorado Supreme Court's review in this case required an interpretation of the statute that provided for challenges for cause to potential jurors in criminal cases. Specifically, the issue involved the…
Date: February 22, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 11
Docket Number: 13SC58
Justia Opinion Summary: The Colorado Supreme Court granted certiorari review of this matter to determine whether the trial court erred by denying a challenge for cause to a potential juror who was an employee of a privately owned and operated…
Date: February 8, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 9
Docket Number: 13SC339
Justia Opinion Summary: During jury selection in this civil case, plaintiff challenged a juror for cause. The trial court denied the challenge, and in response, plaintiff exercised one of his peremptory challenges to excuse the juror. The Court…
Date: January 25, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 7
Docket Number: 13SC904
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Salvador Esquivel-Castillo appealed the court of appeals decision to affirm his conviction for felony murder. A jury acquitted him of a separate count of kidnapping, but convicted him of felony murder for a…
Date: January 25, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 8
Docket Number: 14SA84
Justia Opinion Summary: The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit certified a question of Colorado law to the Colorado Supreme Court. The issue centered on whether the City of Englewood's Ordinance 34 (effectively barring sex…
Date: January 25, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 6
Docket Number: 15SA151
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue this case presented for the Colorado Supreme Court's review stemmed from a medical malpractice action, and whether, as a matter of law, a known suicidal patient admitted to the secure mental health unit of a…
Date: January 19, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 5
Docket Number: 13SC554
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue this case presented for the Colorado Supreme Court's review centered on whether dissatisfied beneficiaries of a testator’s estate have standing to bring legal malpractice or claims against the attorney who…
Date: January 19, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 4
Docket Number: 14SC437
Justia Opinion Summary: Respondent Larry Marquardt was committed to the Colorado Mental Health Institute at Pueblo (CMHIP) in 2013 after having been found not guilty by reason of insanity on charges of criminal attempt to commit first degree…
Date: January 11, 2016
Citation: 2015 CO 65M
Docket Number: 12SC820
Justia Opinion Summary: The State appealed a court of appeals' judgment that vacated Kenneth Childress' conviction of vehicular assault while operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Though it was undisputed that…
Date: January 11, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 3
Docket Number: 12SC916
Justia Opinion Summary: A jury found petitioner John Doubleday guilty of felony murder despite finding him not guilty (based on the affirmative defense of duress) of the charged predicate offense. The court of appeals affirmed the conviction…
Date: January 11, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 1
Docket Number: 13SC499
Justia Opinion Summary: Police arrested Levent Kutlak after he had a fight with his in-laws. A detective interviewed Kutlak at the police station. Kutlak was read his Miranda rights, after which he asked whether he could "get [his laywer] down…
Date: January 11, 2016
Citation: 2016 CO 2
Docket Number: 14SC152
Justia Opinion Summary: After a two-day permanent orders hearing, the trial court felt it lacked insufficient information to allocate attorney's fees in this divorce action. Therefore, the court chose to issue the decree dissolving the…
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