The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit recently concluded that the “owned property exclusion” applied to bar coverage for claims of property damage. See Panico v. State Farm Fire and Cas. Co., 2011 WL 322830 (10th Cir. 2011). In Panico, the plaintiffs sold property in Aspen, Colorado to the Taylors, who sued the […]
Colorado Construction Litigation Blog
In a prior Colorado Construction Litigation blog entry, we presented concerns with Senate Bill 11-068, which seeks to eliminate the significant public impact component of claims under the Colorado Consumer Protection Act (the “CCPA”). On February 22, 2011, the Senate passed the bill in a 19 to 15 vote. As the bill made its way […]
Sen. Morgan Carroll (D-Arapahoe) and Rep. Judy Solano (D-Adams) introduced SB 11-68, titled “Concerning an Increase in Consumer Protection under the ‘Colorado Consumer Protection Act (“CCPA”).’” However, enacting SB 11-068 would offer no real additional protections to consumers in legitimate deceptive practice cases, cloud existing law, and make defending against baseless CCPA claims more onerous […]
In Hubbell v. Carney Bros. Const., the Hubbells sought to build a home on land they had previously purchased. 05-CV-00026-CMA-KLM, 2010 WL 5147567 (D. Colo. Dec. 13, 2010). In order to finance the construction of the home, the Hubbells borrowed from Alpine Bank. Unsatisfied with the builders and design professionals midway through construction, the Hubbells […]
The Colorado Court of Appeals in Hildebrand v. New Vista Homes II, LLC, 08CA2645, 2010 WL 4492356 (Colo. App. Nov. 10, 2010) held that part-time resident/owners of a home can receive inconvenience damages arising from the negligently built home. This case, which is an excellent example of how to prove many issues in construction litigation,[1] […]
I recently returned to Colorado from a two week trip to South Africa. The main purpose of the trip was to attend the Entrepreneurs’ Organization’s Cape Town University, which was a phenomenal experience. I was able to listen to exceptional speakers such as Lee Berger, Denis Goldberg, Gayton McKenzie, and Ian Thomas. After spending a […]
In that there is no appellate law at this point interpreting or applying the recently enacted HB 10-1394, I find even district court orders on the topic to be very interesting. In Colorado Pool Systems, Inc., et al. v. Scottsdale Insurance Company, et al., The Honorable Christopher C. Cross set forth the pertinent facts as […]
I am honored to have been asked again this year to present at the Colorado Association of Home Builders’ Rocky Mountain Builder Conference, to be held October 6 – 9 at the Park Hyatt Resort & Spa in Beaver Creek. Each year, the RMBC provides an amazing and fun opportunity for builders and those in […]
The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, interpreting Wyoming law, recently held that a reservation-of-rights letter from an insurance company to its insured was not sufficient to allow the insurer to recoup the costs of defending the insured in construction litigation. Rather than relying on a reservation-of-rights letter to seek recoupment of defense costs, an […]
I recently had the opportunity to represent a general contractor in a trial, defending against claims both of construction defects and of delay related damages. Ultimately the case settled during the trial and we were able to achieve a favorable result. Looking back on the trial, what stayed with me was the troublesome evidence introduced by the […]
