Source: https://cbaclelegalconnection.com/2011/08/01/
Timestamp: 2019-04-19 08:22:01+00:00

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Editor’s Note: The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals issued its opinion in James River Ins. Co. v. Rapid Funding, LLC on Friday, July 29, 2011.
In James River Ins. Co. v. Rapid Funding (No. 10-1145), the court held that Colorado Rule of Evidence 701 does not allow landowners to provide expert testimony regarding valuation without first qualifying as an expert. Colorado Rule of Evidence 701 (which mirrors F.R.E. 701) includes a committee comment noting that the rule is not intended to foreclose an owner from giving an opinion as to the value of his or her real property. The Tenth Circuit held that under Colorado law “landowner valuation testimony, if not based on technical or specialized knowledge, may be admitted as lay opinion testimony” but that the rule did not allow lay landowners to avoid Rule 702 and give testimony based on technical or specialized knowledge without qualifying as experts.
Aaron Solomon is an associate at Hale Westfall who focuses his practice on both commercial litigation and public policy/appellate law. He contributes to the firm’s Rocky Mountain Appellate Blog, where this post originally appeared on August 1, 2011.
The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals issued its opinion in Kay Electric Cooperative v. City of Newkirk on Friday, July 29, 2011.
The Tenth Circuit reversed and remanded the district court’s decision. Petitioner and Respondent both provide electricity to Oklahoma consumers. Traditionally, Respondent has served customers inside its city limits while Petitioner, a rural electrical cooperative, has served nearby customers outside the city boundaries. When a new jail was to be built just outside Newkirk, Petitioner offered to provide electricity. “But unwilling to let so lucrative an opportunity slip away, [Respondent] responded by annexing the area and issuing its own service offer.” Petitioner’s lower price was ultimately rejected because Respondent refused to provide sewer services to the jail unless it also bought their electricity services; Respondent is the only sewer service provider in the area. Petitioner brought suit, alleging that Respondent had engaged in unlawful tying and attempted monopolization in violation of the Sherman Act. But the district court refused to allow the case to proceed after it found Respondent “immune” from liability as a matter of law.
The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals issued its opinion in United States v. Lente on Friday, July 29, 2011.
The Tenth Circuit reversed and remanded the district court’s sentence. Petitioner killed three young men and seriously injured a young woman in a car accident that occurred when she was driving while intoxicated. Petitioner entered a guilty plea to three counts of involuntary manslaughter and one count of assault resulting in serious bodily injury. She was originally sentenced to 216 months (18 years) in prison, which was a significant upward variance from her proposed Guidelines range of 46 to 57 months’ imprisonment. A divided panel of the Tenth Circuit vacated her sentence and remanded for resentencing; on resentencing, a different district court judge sentenced Petitioner to 192 months (16 years) in prison. She now appeals from her resentencing, alleging that it is procedurally and substantially unreasonable.
The Court agreed with Petitioner and concluded that the district court’s failure to address Petitioner’s argument about the need to avoid unwarranted sentencing disparities constitutes reversible procedural error. Both Petitioner and the government devoted extensive briefing and oral argument to the unwarranted disparity issue. Whether or not the district court considered Petitioner’s arguments, its opinion’s avoidance of a response to them left the Court “without understanding the role of a critical sentencing factor in shaping the sentence in this case. . . . “The need to avoid unwarranted disparities is a critical sentencing factor. Equal justice is a core goal of our constitutional system. We require courts to justify sentences to meet that goal. When justification is not forthcoming, the credibility of the sentence suffers. Whether the sentence is five years, ten years, or sixteen years, we insist on the procedural safeguard of explanation to assure us that justice has been done.” The Court made no judgment about the proper length of Petitioner’s sentence, but reversed and remanded.
On Saturday, July 23, nearly 900 seniors, adult children, and caregivers attended the Thirteenth Annual Senior Law Day at the Merchandise Mart in Denver. Senior Law Day offers the public the opportunity to hear from experienced elder law attorneys and other professionals involved in elder care issues. This year, there were twenty-eight different short, informative workshops to choose from that helped seniors learn how to better manage family and financial issues and prepare for retirement.
The tremendous number of resources and educational workshops available not only benefit seniors in our community, but also adult children and caregivers who are helping aging parents, relatives, and friends.
In addition the informative seminars, there were nearly 50 organizations and companies in the Exhibitor area that provided information and resources relevant to seniors.
Much of the content presented at Senior Law Day also can be found in the comprehensive 2011 Senior Law Handbook, distributed to all who attend the event. The handbook is written by Colorado attorneys and professionals who donate their time to provide this valuable resource, published by the Colorado Bar Association Continuing Legal Education (CBA-CLE).
Senior Law Day couldn’t happen without the incredible number of volunteers who not only helped during the day of the event, but also with organizing, planning, setup, and clean up. There were more than 70 volunteers from the legal community who dedicated their time to the event – thanks so much for helping to make the day so successful!
The event continues to grow each year and Boulder County and Larimer County are each holding a Senior Law Day in their communities on August 13. Jefferson County held their event in June and other counties around the state will be holding events in the fall. Click here to view information about the upcoming Senior Law Day events around the state.
Senior Law Day is co-sponsored by the Elder Law Section and the Trust & Estate Section of the Colorado Bar Association, and CBA-CLE. A $10 contribution is suggested but not required to attend the event.
We look forward to seeing you in Denver again next year!
The Plain Language Jury Instruction Committee, a subcommittee of the Colorado Supreme Court’s Jury Committee, is seeking comment from the legal community regarding rewrites to some of the criminal jury instructions. The committee is reviewing Chapter 3 of the Colorado Criminal Jury Instructions and Chapter 1:04 in an effort to draft them in more understandable language.
The redrafted instructions are available to review here.
Does the new wording convey the point of the instructions and would it make sense to a lay person?
Does the instruction make sense with just one reading?
Does any of the language strike you as inaccurate, incomplete, or ambiguous?
Are these drafts an improvement over the existing instructions?
Please also provide any other impressions or comments you might like to mention.
If at all possible, responses should be sent to jury.instructions@judicial.state.co.us by August 15, 2011 at 5:00 pm.
On Friday, July 29, 2011, Governor John Hickenlooper announced eight appointments to the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.
The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission promotes the responsible development of Colorado’s oil and gas natural resources by balancing the efficient exploration and production of oil and gas resources, the prevention of waste and the protection of the public health, environment, and mineral owners’ rights.
The new commission members replace those members whose terms expired July 1, 2011. They must be confirmed by the State Legislature and will serve terms of four years, expiring July 1, 2015.
Holton will serve as a local government official and as a Republican. He has extensive land use experience and once served as Chairman of the Weld County Planning Commission.
Benton will serve as a member with substantial experience in the oil and gas industry and with a college degree in petroleum geology or petroleum engineering and as a Republican. He is vice president and general manager for the Rockies Division of Rex Energy Corp. in Denver.
Pearce will serve as a member with substantial experience in the oil and gas industry and as a Democrat. He is manager of state government affairs for ConocoPhillips/Burlington Resources.
Spielman will serve as a member with formal or substantial experience in environmental or wildlife protection and as a Democrat. He is an attorney at Hogan Lovells in Denver and has federal, state, and local government experience with natural resources, land use, and Western public lands law to assist energy developers, ski areas, water suppliers, ranchers, tribes, and others with obtaining regulatory approvals and permits from governments across the United States. Spielman currently serves as Chairman of Colorado’s Regional Air Quality Council.
Compton will serve as a member actively engaged in agricultural production and also a royalty owner, west of the Continental Divide, and as a Republican. He is the owner and manager of Compton Cattle Co., a commercial beef cattle enterprise.
Alward will to serve as a member with formal training or substantial experience in soil conservation or reclamation, west of the Continental Divide, and as a Democrat. He is a principal ecologist and environmental scientist at Aridlands Natural Resource Consulting in Grand Junction and works as an adjunct instructor of environmental science at Mesa State College.
The governor also appointed Mike King, Executive Director of the Department of Natural Resources, and Dr. Chris Urbina, Executive Director of the Department of Public Health and Environment, to the commission.
A ninth member of the commission, Dolly Ann “DeAnn” Craig, of Denver, serves as a member with substantial experience in the oil and gas industry and a college degree in petroleum geology or petroleum engineering and as a Republican. Her term expires July 1, 2012.
The full press release from the Governor’s Office concerning these commission appointments can be found here.
The Colorado Supreme Court issued no opinions for the week of July 31, 2011.
On Friday, July 29, 2011, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals issued three published opinions and three unpublished opinions.
ICE Corp. v. Hamilton Sundstrand Corp.
Boston v. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas, Inc.

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