Source: https://cbaclelegalconnection.com/2015/05/14/
Timestamp: 2019-06-26 05:48:08
Document Index: 36482853

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 24', '§ 5', '§ 5', '§ 5', '§ 6', '§ 5', '§ 5', '§ 5', '§ 42', '§ 13', '§ 13', '§ 13', '§ 13', '§ 2', '§ 38', '§ 38', '§ 38', '§ 6', 'art 18', '§ 39']

May 14, 2015 Archives - CBA CLE Legal Connection
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Colorado Court of Appeals: Secretary of State Breached Public Trust by Using Public Funds for Private Purposes
The Colorado Court of Appeals issued its opinion in Gessler v. Grossman on Thursday, May 7, 2015.
Breach of the Public Trust—Discretionary Fund Statute.
In August 2012, Colorado Secretary of StateGessler traveled to Florida to attend and present at a two-day program sponsored by the Republican National Lawyers Association (RNLA). The RNLA seminar ended during the day on August 25, and Gessler stayed an additional night at an increased hotel rate and at the state of Colorado’s expense. The next day, he traveled to a different Florida city to attend the Republican National Convention (RNC).
Gessler used his statutorily provided discretionary fund to pay the $1,278.90 in documented travel and meal expenses incurred at the RNLA seminar. In addition, he requested reimbursement of “any remaining discretionary funds” in his discretionary account. He did not provide any documentation, but ultimately received $117.99 as the result of the request.
Colorado Ethics Watch filed a complaint with the Independent Ethics Commission (IEC). It alleged that Gessler had made false statements on travel expense reimbursement requests and misappropriated funds for personal or political uses. The IEC found that Gessler spent $1,278.90 of his discretionary account primarily for partisan—and therefore personal—purposes, in violation of the discretionary fund statute’s requirement that the fund be used in pursuit of official business. Gessler similarly violated the statute by requesting and receiving the balance in his discretionary fund without any documentation. Together, these constituted a breach of the public trust for private gain, in violation of the public trust statute, CRS § 24-18-103. Gessler sought judicial review of the IEC’s findings based on several assertions, each of which the district court rejected in a thorough written opinion.
On appeal, Gessler argued that Colo. Const. art. XXIX, § 5 applies only to gifts, influence peddling, and standards of conduct and reporting requirements that expressly delegate enforcement to the IEC. The Court of Appeals disagreed, noting that § 5 gives the IEC authority “under any other standards of conduct and reporting requirements as provided by law.”
Gessler also argued that the public trust statute does not fall within the ambit of § 5 because it is “hortatory” only and does not provide a specific standard of conduct. The Court disagreed. It found that the statute sets forth specific standards of conduct. It also noted that Colo. Const. art. XXIX, § 6 provides an express remedy for violations of the public trust for private gain.
Gessler contended that the discretionary fund statute does not fall within the ambit of § 5. The Court rejected Gessler’s premise that Article XXIX excludes standards of conduct related to compensation. It also noted that even if compensation were excluded from the IEC’s jurisdiction, the discretionary fund statute does not constitute compensation. Discretionary funds are not received in return for services rendered but may only be used “in pursuance of official business.” It also rejected Gessler’s argument that he had unfettered discretion over the use of discretionary funds as leading to an absurd result, as well as rejecting Gessler’s claim that there is no specific standard of conduct for expenditure of the funds. The Court pointed to the requirement that those funds be used “in pursuance of official business.”
Gessler also argued that the IEC had construed its jurisdiction so broadly as to render § 5 vague and overbroad. The Court rejected this contention by noting it had construed § 5 so as to recognize the applicable limits to the IEC’s jurisdiction.
Gessler contended that if the IEC had jurisdiction, then its decision was arbitrary or capricious. The Court disagreed, finding substantial evidence in the record to support the IEC’s determination that Gessler improperly used his discretionary fund to attend the RNLA seminar and the RNC.
Finally, the Court rejected Gessler’s argument that he was denied procedural due process because he was not given advance and adequate notice of the standards of conduct he was accused of having violated. The Court found that Gessler had received ample notice of the claims asserted against him and, in any event, there was no support for any claim of prejudice to Gessler as a result of the notice he received. The judgment was affirmed.
Filed Under: Case Law Tagged With: administrative law, Colorado Court of Appeals, ethics, public office, secretary of state
Colorado Court of Appeals: No Abuse of Discretion to Admit Video Deposition of Adverse Witness
The Colorado Court of Appeals issued its opinion in Winkler v. Shaffer on Thursday, May 7, 2015.
Motion to Strike Video Deposition—Negligence Per Se Jury Instruction.
Plaintiffs were injured in a multi-vehicle accident during a snowstorm on an icy highway. Defendant lost control of a semitrailer after he was struck by two vehicles and came to a stop blocking the highway. Plaintiffs’ vehicle hit defendant’s truck in the ensuing pileup. Plaintiffs sued defendant and a number of other co-defendants not parties to this appeal.
At trial, defendants submitted a video deposition of Sergeant Gates, who, as the first law enforcement officer to respond to the accident, had witnessed part of it. Gates concluded that defendant drove reasonably, given the weather and road conditions.
Following trial, the jury concluded that some defendants were negligent and had caused 100% of plaintiffs’ injuries. It also concluded that defendant and several other co-defendants were not negligent and had not caused plaintiffs’ injuries.
On appeal, plaintiffs asserted that the trial court erred in denying their motion to strike Sergeant Gates’s deposition. Plaintiffs argued that Gates’s deposition exceeded the expert disclosure’s scope and that they did not have adequate time before trial to respond to the opinions expressed. The Court of Appeals disagreed. Plaintiffs failed to establish any prejudice or harm associated with this alleged error. They made no offer of proof of what they would have done or shown had they had additional time to respond to the deposition. They never requested a continuance after the deposition, which was taken ten days before trial. Moreover, their expert’s testimony provided rebuttal to the opinions expressed in the deposition, so any error was harmless.
Plaintiffs argued that the trial court erred in refusing to give a negligence per se instruction. The Court disagreed. The instructions given described the standard for common law negligence. Because the statutory standard under CRS §§ 42-4-1008 and -1101 codify common law negligence, any additional negligence per se standard would have been redundant. To find a statutory violation needed to establish negligence per se, a jury first has to find negligence, so giving the added instruction is not necessary. The judgment was affirmed.
Filed Under: Case Law Tagged With: Colorado Court of Appeals, depositions, litigation, negligence, personal injury law
Colorado Court of Appeals: Complaint Filed Two Years and One Day After Accrual Date Untimely
The Colorado Court of Appeals issued its opinion in Williams v. Crop Production Services, Inc. on Thursday, May 7, 2015.
Tort Statute of Limitations—CRCP 6(a)(1) Not Applicable to Statutory Time Periods—CRS § 13-80-102(1)(a).
The parties agreed that this wrongful discharge action sounded in tort, was subject to the two-year statute of limitations in CRS § 13-80-102(1)(a), and accrued on the date of termination by defendant. The parties disagreed on the manner of calculating the deadline for filing the complaint. Plaintiff claimed he had until October 8, 2013, or two years and one day after the accrual date. Defendant countered that the complaint had to be filed no later than the second anniversary of the accrual date, October 7, 2013. The Court of Appeals agreed with defendant.
Plaintiff relied on CRCP 6(a)(1) to calculate the accrual date, arguing that “the day of the act, event or default from which the designated period of time begins to run shall not be included.” Therefore, the date of defendant’s termination was not to be included and he had until two years after October 8, 2011 to file his complaint.
The Court rejected the application of the CRCP 6(a)(1) counting method for determining the deadline for filing an action under CRS § 13-80-102(a), instead looking to the Colorado statutes. CRS § 13-80-102(1) provides that tort actions “must be commenced within two years after the cause of action accrues, and not thereafter.” Pursuant to CRS § 2-4-107, the word “year” means a calendar year, so days need not be counted. Here, the cause of action accrued on the date of termination and therefore had to be filed no later than the second anniversary of that date—that is, by October 7, 2013. The district court was therefore correct in dismissing the action as untimely filed.
Filed Under: Case Law Tagged With: Colorado Court of Appeals, jurisdiction, litigation, statute of limitations, tort law
Colorado Court of Appeals: Homeowners’ Association’s Removal of Arbitration Provision Invalid Against Builders
The Colorado Court of Appeals issued its opinion in Vallagio at Inverness Residential Condominium Association, Inc. v. Metropolitan Homes, Inc. on Thursday, May 7, 2015.
Motion to Compel Arbitration—Construction Defect Action.
Plaintiff association (Vallagio) brought this action against defendants, alleging construction defects in the Vallagio residential development project (Project). The Project was organized as a common interest community under the Colorado Common Interest Ownership Act (CCIOA). Defendant Metro Inverness, LLC (Metro) was the Project’s developer and declarant. Defendant Metropolitan Homes, Inc. was Metro’s manager and the Project’s general contractor. Defendants Krause and Kudla were declarant-appointed members of Vallagio’s board before control of the Vallagio was transferred to unit owners.
The declaration contained a general provision allowing unit owners to amend the declaration by a 67% vote and a consenting vote of the declarant. The right of declarant consent expired after the last unit was sold to an owner other than declarant. There was a mandatory arbitration provision specifically for construction defect claims, which provided that it could never be amended without the written consent of declarant, without regard to whether declarant owned any portion of the Project at the time of the amendment.
In September 2013, after the declarant had turned over control of Vallagio and no longer owned any units, at least 67% of the unit owners voted to amend the declaration to remove the arbitration provision in its entirety. Metro’s consent was not obtained.
Vallagio then filed suit against defendants. Defendants moved to compel arbitration, relying on the original declaration provision, arguing that the amendment removing it was invalid because declarant had not consented. The district court denied the motion to compel arbitration, finding that the declaration had been effectively amended to remove the arbitration provision. This interlocutory appeal followed.
Defendants first argued that it was error to conclude that the declaration’s amendment provisions were ambiguous and to construe that ambiguity against declarant. The Court of Appeals agreed. Based on the plain language of the declaration, the Court held that amendments to the arbitration provision required Metro’s consent. Because that consent was not obtained, the motion to compel arbitration as to Metro should have been granted. The Court also agreed that it was error to conclude that the declarant consent requirement for amendments of the arbitration agreement violated CCIOA and was void and unenforceable.
The district court had found that CCIOA § 38-33.3-302(2) prohibited the consent requirement. This section prohibits restrictions on an association’s power that are “unique to the declarant.” Under this declaration, the unit owners have the power to amend the declaration, and under this section of CCIOA the declarant consent requirement does not impose any limitation on the “power of the association.”
The district court had also found that the declarant consent requirement violated CCIOA § 38-33.3-217 because it effectively required more than a 67% vote of unit owners to amend the declaration. The Court disagreed, finding nothing in that statutory provision prohibiting declarant consent for an amendment, but merely requirements for unit owners’ voting percentages. The Court also found that the consent requirement did not allow control of unit owners’ votes, because 67% of the unit owners had to vote favorably to amend the declaration and that requirement was not altered by the declarant consent provision. The Court also rejected Vallagio’s argument that the consent requirement violated CCIOA § 38-33.3-303(5) by allowing Metro Inverness to control Vallagio after the declarant control period expired. CCIOA provisions regarding declarant consent to an association’s actions were not relevant to the issue here presented.
Vallagio argued that even if Metro could enforce the arbitration provision, the other defendants lacked standing to do so because they were not parties to the declaration. The district court did not address this argument, so the Court remanded for resolution of these issues, in particular, whether the other defendants were third-party beneficiaries to the declaration’s arbitration provision.
Defendants argued that they could rely on the arbitration provisions in individual unit owners’ purchase agreements. Because this issue might arise on remand if the district court finds that the other defendants lack standing to enforce the declaration’s arbitration provision, the Court addressed it. The Court agreed with the ruling that Vallagio was not bound by those individual purchase agreements.
The Court rejected Vallagio’s claims that its Colorado Consumer Protection Act (CCPA) claims are non-arbitrable. The right to a civil action under CCPA § 6-1-113 was not made non-waivable under the statute.
The order was reversed in part and affirmed in part. The case was remanded for an order compelling arbitration of Vallagio’s claims against Metro, and for further proceedings to determine whether the claims against the other defendants must be arbitrated.
Filed Under: Case Law Tagged With: CCIOA, Colorado Court of Appeals, construction defect, construction law, HOA law, homeowners association, real estate law
Tenth Circuit: Unpublished Opinions, 5/14/2015
On Thursday, May 14, 2015, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals issued no published opinion and four unpublished opinions.
8865 North Cove v. American Family Mutual Insurance Co.
Helfferich v. Marcantel
Lankford v. Colvin
United States v. Gutierrez-Carranza
The Future of Law (Part 18): How Long Before the Future Gets Here? Cont’d.
May 14, 2015 By Kevin Rhodes 1 Comment
On Wednesday, May 13, 2015, the Colorado State Judicial Branch announced the Colorado Supreme Court Nominating Commission’s selection of three candidates for the forthcoming vacancy on the Colorado Court of Appeals. The vacancy will occur with the retirement of Hon. James S. Casebolt, effective July 1, 2015.
The three candidates for the vacancy are Robert T. Fishman, Elizabeth L. Harris and Ted C. Tow, III. Robert T. Fishman is Of Counsel with Ridley McGreevey & Winocur P.C. in Denver, where his practice focuses on appellate representation and litigation. Elizabeth L. Harris is a solo practitioner focusing on business litigation and appellate law. Ted C. Tow, III, is currently a district court judge in the Seventeenth Judicial District, where he presides over a predominantly domestic relations docket.
Under the Colorado Constitution, Governor Hickenlooper has 15 days from May 13 in which to select one of the nominees for appointment. Comments regarding any of the nominees may be sent to the governor at gov_judicialappointments@state.co.us. For more information, click here.
Colorado Court of Appeals: District Court Action Not Final Where Amount of Taxes Owed Remains Undetermined
The Colorado Court of Appeals issued its opinion in Atherton v. Brohl, Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Revenue on Thursday, May 7, 2015.
Conservation Easement—Tax Credit—Damages—Jurisdiction.
In 2002 and 2005, the Athertons recorded conservation easement deeds regarding two parcels they own in Jefferson County. Thereafter, they filed income tax returns claiming conservation easement tax credits pursuant to CRS § 39-22-522, which were later disallowed by the Department of Revenue (Department). The district court found in favor of the Department and held that the tax credits were invalid, but refused to fix the dollar amount that the Athertons owed the Department, stating that any such dollar amount would have to be determined at a later phase in the proceedings.
On appeal, the Athertons argued that the district court erred in finding the tax credits invalid. The Department, on the other hand, argued that the district court’s judgment may not be final because it establishes the Athertons’ liability but failed to fix the dollar amount they owe. Because the district court’s order did not end the action in which it was entered, leaving the issue of damages to be determined, it is not a final judgment. Therefore, the Court of Appeals lacked jurisdiction to determine the merits of the appeal, and the case was dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.
Filed Under: Case Law Tagged With: appellate law, Colorado Court of Appeals, district court, jurisdiction, tax law