Justia Colorado Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

A landscaping company, owned by an individual, contracted with a homeowner to install Christmas lights on a tree located near a high voltage power line operated by a utility company. Neither the company nor its owner provided advance notice to the utility about the work, as required when working near high voltage lines. While performing the work, the owner came into contact with the electrified tree, fell, and suffered severe, permanent injuries. The owner sued the utility for negligence, claiming it failed to maintain the power lines and tree safely. The utility moved to dismiss the claim, relying on a tariff limiting its liability and arguing that statutory notice requirements had not been met. The utility also sought indemnity from the landscaping company for any liability it incurred due to the incident.The District Court for the City and County of Denver granted summary judgment to the utility, holding that the tariff barred the owner's claims, but denied summary judgment based on the statutory notice requirement, finding it only applied to the contracting party, not the individual employee. The court also found the landscaping company liable to indemnify the utility for any liability arising from the owner's claim, since it had failed to provide required notice under the High Voltage Safety Act (HVSA). The Colorado Court of Appeals affirmed in part and reversed in part, holding that the tariff did not bar the owner's claim because it could not limit liability to non-customers, and upheld that the statutory notice requirement applied only to the contracting party.The Supreme Court of Colorado affirmed in part and vacated in part the appellate court’s judgment. The court held that the Public Utilities Commission lacked authority to approve a tariff limiting the utility’s liability to non-customers, that the owner was not subject to the HVSA’s notification requirement as he was not the contracting party, and that the HVSA’s indemnification provision did not require a separate causation analysis. View "Public Service Company of Colorado v. Outdoor Design Landscaping LLC" on Justia Law

During Winter Storm Uri in February 2021, Black Hills Colorado Electric LLC incurred extraordinary natural gas costs to ensure continuous electric service to its customers. Holcim U.S. Inc., a large retail electric customer, argued that the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) set an unjust and unreasonable charge for electricity over a five-day period, disproportionately allocating utility costs to Holcim. Holcim also claimed that the PUC's charge constituted a taking in violation of the Fifth Amendment.The District Court for the City and County of Denver upheld the PUC's decision, finding that the rate was just and reasonable and did not violate Holcim's constitutional rights. The court noted that the PUC's rate structure was based on total customer usage forecasts and was applied uniformly to all customers.The Supreme Court of Colorado reviewed the case and affirmed the district court's judgment. The court held that the PUC's rate was just and reasonable, as it accurately reflected the cost of service, distributed costs among customers fairly, and maintained the utility's financial integrity. The court also found that Holcim's actual electricity usage during the storm did not impact the costs incurred by Black Hills, which were based on forecasted needs.Additionally, the court rejected Holcim's constitutional claims. It concluded that Holcim did not adequately develop its takings claim and that the PUC's decision did not violate Holcim's due process rights, as the PUC provided a fair hearing, considered competent evidence, and made its determination based on evidence rather than arbitrarily. View "Holcim U.S. Inc. v. Colo. Pub. Utils. Comm'n" on Justia Law

In 2010, Carestream Health, Inc. began purchasing gas transportation services from Public Service Company of Colorado. In 2013, Public Service discovered that it had undercharged Carestream by approximately $1.26 million for those services. When Public Service sought to recover a portion of that amount, Carestream refused to pay. Carestream filed a complaint with the Colorado Public Utilities Commission, claiming that Public Service had violated its tariff by failing to use “all reasonable means” to prevent billing errors, as required by the tariff. The Commission disagreed, and the district court affirmed the Commission’s decision. Carestream appealed, arguing that the Commission in effect, improperly added language to the tariff, thereby exceeding the Commission’s constitutionally and statutorily granted authority. Specifically, Carestream contended that the Commission added a requirement that billing errors be foreseeable before Public Service was required to take means to prevent them. Carestream also argued that the district court erred when it held that Carestream lacked standing to pursue a separate claim that Public Service violated its tariff by recovering from its general customer base that portion of the undercharge it was unable to recover from Carestream. The Colorado Supreme Court affirmed the district court, finding : (1) the Commission properly interpreted the tariff and acted pursuant to its authority; and (2) Carestream lacked standing to challenge Public Service’s recovery of the undercharge from its general customer base because Carestream suffered no injury from the action. View "Carestream Health, Inc. v. Colo. Pub. Utils. Comm'n" on Justia Law

Qwest Corporation and the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) appealed a district court's judgment in favor of the Colorado Office of Consumer Counsel (OCC) that reversed the PUC's decision setting the maximum rate for certain telephone services. Upon review, the Supreme Court concluded that the PUC regularly pursued its authority because it considered all of the statutorily-mandated factors and its decision is supported by substantial evidence. The Court therefore reversed the judgment of the district court. View "Ofc. of Consumer Counsel v. Pub. Utils. Comm'n" on Justia Law