Justia Colorado Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

In December 2020, an individual was injured at a ski resort owned by a corporation when he collided with a snowmobile operated by an employee. After the incident, he filed several claims against both the corporation and the employee. While the litigation was ongoing, he purchased a ski pass for the 2022-23 season, during which he electronically signed an online waiver releasing any and all claims, including those arising from past events, against the corporation and its employees.The District Court for Summit County, Colorado, concluded that the online waiver signed during the purchase of the 2022-23 pass operated as a release of all existing claims, not merely as a pre-injury exculpatory agreement. The court dismissed the plaintiff’s remaining claims with prejudice, including his claims for willful and wanton conduct and his request for exemplary damages. On appeal, the Colorado Court of Appeals affirmed that the waiver was a valid release, enforceable under general contract principles, and rejected arguments that it was unconscionable or lacked mutual assent. The appellate court also held that claims for willful and wanton conduct and exemplary damages were not independent, cognizable causes of action.The Supreme Court of Colorado, reviewing the case, affirmed the appellate court’s decision. It held that the 2022 online waiver was a post-injury release, not an exculpatory agreement, and was enforceable under traditional contract principles. The Court further held that claims for willful and wanton conduct and exemplary damages were properly dismissed, as they are not independent causes of action. Additionally, it found that its prior decision in Miller v. Crested Butte, LLC, which concerned pre-injury waivers, was not applicable to this post-injury release. View "Litterer v. Vail Summit Resorts, Inc." on Justia Law

A pump manufacturer faced numerous lawsuits alleging bodily injury from asbestos exposure in its products. To address these liabilities, it maintained a layered insurance structure: primary coverage by several insurers, including Reliance Insurance Company, and umbrella/excess coverage by Federal Insurance Company. Over time, the limits of one primary insurer were exhausted, and Reliance became insolvent, making its coverage uncollectible. The manufacturer sought indemnity and defense from Federal for claims that otherwise would have been covered by Reliance.After Federal denied coverage, the manufacturer sued in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado, seeking declaratory relief and damages. Federal responded with a counterclaim and moved for judgment on the pleadings, arguing its policies only require it to defend or indemnify for occurrences not covered by scheduled underlying insurance, not for occurrences where the coverage is uncollectible due to insolvency. The district court agreed with Federal, holding that insolvency does not trigger the umbrella/excess policy and that Federal has no obligation to provide defense or indemnity until underlying limits are exhausted or paid by the insured. The court noted its ruling was consistent with most authorities but certified the question to the Supreme Court of Colorado, given a potentially conflicting state appellate decision.The Supreme Court of Colorado reviewed the certified question de novo. It held that, under the unambiguous language of the umbrella/excess policies, “not covered” refers to occurrences outside the scope of coverage, not to collectibility due to insolvency. The court concluded that the umbrella/excess insurer is not obligated to step into the shoes of an insolvent scheduled underlying carrier and provide first-dollar coverage. The certified question was answered in the negative, and the case was returned to the federal district court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. View "A.R. Wilfley & Sons v. Nat'l Union Fire Ins. Co. of Pittsburgh, PA" on Justia Law

Several companies owning and operating commercial properties in Denver’s River North Art District filed a lawsuit against a cement company, alleging that cement dust emitted from the defendant’s terminal was damaging their properties and business operations. Their initial complaint included claims for trespass, nuisance, and negligence, and sought both injunctive relief and monetary damages. The cement company responded by denying liability, and neither party initially requested a jury trial or paid the required jury fee, so the case was scheduled for a bench trial.Almost a year later, and two months before the scheduled bench trial, the plaintiffs sought permission to amend their complaint. The amended complaint added clarifying factual details and included new claims for continuing trespass, continuing nuisance, and exemplary damages, along with a demand for a jury trial for the first time. The defendant opposed this amendment, arguing that it was untimely and did not raise any new triable issues, thus not reviving the right to a jury trial. The District Court for the City and County of Denver granted both the motion to amend and the jury demand, relying on its interpretation of the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision in Mason v. Farm Credit of Southern Colorado, ACA.The Supreme Court of Colorado reviewed the case in an original proceeding under C.A.R. 21. It held that, under C.R.C.P. 38, a party who previously waived its right to a jury trial cannot revive that right by amending its complaint unless the amendment raises new triable issues not previously asserted. The court found that the plaintiffs’ amended complaint merely presented new legal theories and clarifying details based on the same basic facts and did not raise new triable issues. Therefore, the jury demand was untimely and ineffective. The Supreme Court made its order to show cause absolute and remanded the case for further proceedings consistent with this ruling. View "In re SCP 3330 Brighton OPCO, LLC" on Justia Law

The case involves a father who was the primary caregiver of his minor child in Colorado. After expressing difficulty parenting alone and requesting assistance from the county department, the father set a deadline for the department to locate the child's mother. Following a concerning home visit, where the department observed possible neglect and suspected substance use, the department sought and received a verbal removal order. The child was placed in the temporary custody of the department and later moved to Kansas to live with her mother, after a magistrate granted the department's request. The father objected and sought review of the temporary custody order.While the father’s request for review was pending, the Arapahoe County Department of Human Services moved to dismiss the dependency and neglect petition, asserting the child was now with a safe caregiver and no longer at risk. The District Court for Arapahoe County granted the dismissal, terminated its jurisdiction over the child, and found the father’s request for review moot. The father appealed to the Colorado Court of Appeals, which dismissed his appeal for lack of jurisdiction, holding that the dismissal was not a final, appealable order since it did not determine the merits of the petition and the department was the sole authority to prosecute such cases.The Supreme Court of Colorado reviewed the case and held that, under these circumstances, the dismissal order was a final, appealable order. The dismissal and the termination of jurisdiction effectively made the temporary custody order permanent, depriving the father of parental rights and preventing further proceedings regarding the child’s placement. Because the dismissal adversely affected the father's fundamental rights and locked in the change of custody, the court concluded it was appealable. The Supreme Court reversed the order of the Court of Appeals and remanded the case for further proceedings. View "T.L.P. v. People" on Justia Law

In this case, the defendant was charged with several offenses relating to alcohol-impaired driving, as well as leaving the scene of an accident and failing to report an accident, after police observed him exiting a damaged vehicle and behaving in a manner consistent with intoxication. At trial, the court instructed the jury using the 2023 Colorado model jury instruction, which defines proof beyond a reasonable doubt as “proof that leaves you firmly convinced of the defendant’s guilt,” and adds that if the jury thinks there is a “real possibility that the defendant is not guilty,” then the prosecution has failed to meet its burden. The defendant objected, arguing that this language impermissibly lowered the prosecution’s burden of proof and shifted it to the defense.The Adams County District Court affirmed the convictions, finding that the 2023 instruction accurately stated the law and did not lower the burden of proof or shift it to the defendant. The district court distinguished the case from Tibbels v. People, where the trial judge had improperly analogized reasonable doubt to a visible “crack in the foundation,” thus going beyond the model instruction. Here, the trial court used the instruction verbatim and repeatedly emphasized the prosecution’s burden and the presumption of innocence.The Supreme Court of Colorado granted certiorari and held that the 2023 instruction is constitutional, does not lower the prosecution’s burden, and does not shift any burden to the defendant. The court found no reasonable likelihood that the jury understood the instructions or any statements by the trial court or prosecution as permitting conviction on a lower standard than proof beyond a reasonable doubt. The court also held that the additional statements cited by the defendant did not affect the burden of proof. Accordingly, the Supreme Court of Colorado affirmed the district court’s judgment. View "Sanchez v. People" on Justia Law

The case centers on a fatal incident involving a stolen Jeep in Denver. After police attempted to stop the vehicle, it fled, eventually running a red light and colliding with another car, resulting in two deaths. The driver fled on foot, but evidence inside the Jeep and DNA recovered from the airbag and windshield linked Jeffrey Sloan to the vehicle. Sloan was arrested and charged with vehicular eluding, with a sentence enhancer for causing death. At trial, Sloan argued mistaken identity, asserting he was not the driver during the chase or collision. He did not dispute that the vehicular eluding resulted in death, nor did he object to the jury instruction regarding the sentence enhancer.After conviction for class 3 felony vehicular eluding, Sloan appealed to the Colorado Court of Appeals, challenging the jury instruction for the sentence enhancer. He contended that the instruction erroneously asked whether the “accident” resulted in death, rather than whether the “vehicular eluding” resulted in death, as required by statute. The Court of Appeals agreed, found the error to be both clear and substantial, and reversed the conviction, holding that the instructional error constituted plain error because the evidence of the enhancer was not overwhelming.The Supreme Court of Colorado reviewed the case. It held that although the jury instruction was plainly erroneous, Sloan’s substantial rights were not affected because he did not contest the issue of whether vehicular eluding resulted in death at trial. The Court clarified that plain error review does not require reversal for uncontested issues unless the evidence disproves the element, which was not the case here. The Court reversed the judgment of the Court of Appeals and remanded for further proceedings consistent with its opinion. View "People v. Sloan" on Justia Law

In June 2017, the defendant drove his truck into an alley and ran over two individuals sleeping under a blanket, resulting in one fatality and one serious injury. After being told by a witness that he had run over people, he denied it and drove away from the scene. Law enforcement, acting on witness information, located the defendant at his home, where he exhibited signs of alcohol use. Subsequently, the defendant was charged with leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death and with leaving the scene of an accident resulting in serious bodily injury. The prosecution later added habitual criminal counts based on prior felony convictions.At trial in the district court, the jury was instructed on the elements of the leaving-the-scene offenses without any requirement that the defendant acted with a culpable mental state, such as “knowingly.” The jury convicted the defendant on both charges. The judge, not a jury, adjudicated the defendant as a habitual offender and imposed a sixty-year sentence. The defendant appealed, arguing the trial court erred by not requiring proof of a mental state for the leaving-the-scene offenses and challenging the constitutionality of the habitual offender statute for permitting a judge, rather than a jury, to make factual findings that increased his sentence.The Colorado Court of Appeals affirmed both the convictions and the habitual offender adjudication, finding itself bound by existing precedent and concluding any error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. On review, the Supreme Court of Colorado held that its prior decision in People v. Manzo remains controlling, so the trial court did not err in omitting a culpable mental state from the jury instructions for the leaving-the-scene convictions. The court further held that the habitual offender statute was not unconstitutional and that any error in the judge’s factual findings, rather than a jury’s, was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. The court affirmed the lower court’s judgment. View "Brown v. People" on Justia Law

E.B., an adult with cognitive and physical disabilities, regularly used a taxi service operated by MKBS, LLC, with Jesus Manuel Ortiz as her driver for several months. E.B. alleged that Ortiz sexually assaulted her during one of these rides. J.B., E.B.'s legal guardian, filed suit against both Ortiz and MKBS, asserting various claims including intentional torts against Ortiz and negligence and respondeat superior liability against MKBS. MKBS timely denied the allegations, but Ortiz failed to respond, resulting in a clerk’s entry of default against him.After Ortiz’s default, the district court stayed the civil action pending resolution of Ortiz’s related criminal trial, which ended in his acquittal. During the subsequent civil trial against MKBS, Ortiz was called by MKBS to testify and denied the alleged assault. J.B. unsuccessfully sought to prevent Ortiz from testifying contrary to the facts deemed admitted by his default. The jury found for MKBS, concluding that Ortiz did not assault E.B. and that E.B. suffered no damages. J.B. later moved for default judgment against Ortiz, which the court initially granted. Ortiz, acting pro se, moved to set aside the default judgment, and the court found excusable neglect and vacated the default. After further proceedings, the district court entered judgment in Ortiz’s favor, relying on the jury verdict from MKBS’s trial.The Supreme Court of Colorado reviewed the case and affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals. The Court held that a defaulting defendant may testify at a non-defaulting codefendant’s trial, even contrary to facts admitted by default, if not prohibited by other law. The Court also held that the district court did not abuse its discretion in setting aside the default judgment against Ortiz for excusable neglect and in entering judgment in his favor to avoid inconsistent judgments. View "J.B. v. MKBS, LLC" on Justia Law

A group led by Madani Ceus, who asserted herself as a divine figure, lived communally and traveled across the United States before settling on a remote farm in Colorado. During their stay, Ceus declared two young girls, M.R. and H.M., to be spiritually tainted and exiled them to a car on the property in the heat of summer, forbidding any group member from providing them with food or water. The girls died after weeks of isolation, and their bodies were found in a severely decomposed state. Ceus, along with other adult members of the group, was arrested and charged with multiple offenses, including child abuse resulting in death.Following a jury trial in the District Court, Ceus was convicted of two counts of child abuse resulting in death, based on the jury's verdicts on the lesser included offenses of the original murder charges. The trial court rejected Ceus’s requests for specialized jury instructions and interrogatories that would have required the jury to make explicit findings on whether the abuse resulted in the girls’ deaths. The Colorado Court of Appeals determined that the trial court erred by not requiring the jury to make distinct findings on the result element (death) and held the error was not constitutionally harmless, remanding for the prosecution to elect between retrial or misdemeanor convictions.The Supreme Court of Colorado reviewed the case and agreed that the trial court erred in failing to require specific jury findings on whether the child abuse resulted in death. However, the court held that the error was constitutionally harmless because (1) the fact that the abuse resulted in the girls’ deaths was not meaningfully disputed at trial, (2) the jury instructions and verdict forms made clear the charges required child abuse resulting in death, and (3) the evidence connecting the abuse to the deaths was overwhelming. The court also found the evidence sufficient to sustain the convictions and reversed the judgment of the Court of Appeals, remanding for consideration of Ceus’s remaining claims. View "People v. Ceus" on Justia Law

During the 2020 election cycle, an organization formed with the stated mission of advocating for certain economic and governmental policies in Colorado. The group, overseen by a sole board member and a contractor, spent over $17 million that year, with around $4 million (about 23.4% of its expenditures) directed at supporting or opposing three statewide ballot initiatives. Its activities included funding signature-gathering efforts and contributing to other issue committees involved in those propositions. Members of the public filed a complaint alleging the organization was required to register and disclose as an “issue committee” under Colorado’s campaign finance laws, which apply to groups with a major purpose of supporting or opposing ballot issues.The Elections Division initially dismissed the complaint, interpreting the law to require a major purpose focused on a specific ballot measure, not ballot initiatives generally. The Deputy Secretary of State disagreed, reinstated the proceedings, and, after an administrative hearing, the Administrative Law Judge found the organization had a major purpose of ballot issue advocacy. A Final Agency Order imposed a fine and mandated disclosure. On appeal, the district court reversed, finding the law did not support aggregating the organization’s activities across multiple initiatives. The Colorado Court of Appeals then reversed again, holding that the law permitted aggregation and that the organization’s activities met the major purpose standard, also rejecting the organization’s First Amendment arguments.The Supreme Court of Colorado reviewed the case, interpreting the constitutional definition of “issue committee.” The court held that determining whether an organization has a major purpose of ballot issue advocacy requires a holistic, fact-specific evaluation of its creation, spending, and activities, considering aggregate activity across multiple ballot issues. Applying this standard, the court found that, although the organization was active in ballot issue advocacy, its spending on such activities (less than a quarter of its overall expenditures) did not rise to the level of a major purpose. The Supreme Court of Colorado reversed the judgment of the Court of Appeals. View "Unite for Colo. v. Colo. Dep't of State" on Justia Law