Alden H. Harken, M.D., and John Whitesel, M.D., Defendants-Appellants. The claims arose from the University s decision not to reappoint plaintiff to his faculty position. Contending that they were employees of the state of Colorado or of an arm of the state for purposes of the CGIA and that plaintiff had failed properly to serve notice of his claim upon the attorney general, defendants requested dismissal. Concluding that notice was proper under the CGIA, the trial court denied the motion. They assert, therefore, that plaintiff was required to give notice to the attorney general and his failure to do so bars his claims against them.
Statutory construction involves a question of law.
Accordingly, we are not bound by the trial court s conclusion. In interpreting a statute, we must give effect to the intent of the General Assembly. To discern that intent, we look to the language employed in the statute. If the words used are plain and unambiguous, our task is accomplished by giving effect to the commonly accepted meaning of the words used. A strained or forced construction of a statutory term is to be avoided, and we must look to the context in which a statutory term is employed.