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Colorado Civil Access Pilot Project: Second Update

Back in February, we ran an update regarding the Colorado Supreme Court’s proposed new set of civil procedure rules under the name Civil Access Pilot Project (CAPP). The previous update related how the first round of public hearings went and what was going to be the next step. The present entry comes on the heals of the decision by the Colorado Supreme Court to implement CAPP.

After all of the rounds of public hearings and feedback, the Colorado Supreme Court approved CAPP, which will go into effect on January 1, 2012. As a pilot project CAPP will last two years and apply to the Denver metro area, including the 1st (Jefferson and Gilpin Counties), 2nd (Denver County), 17th (Adams County), 18th (Arapahoe and Douglas Counties), and 20th (Boulder County) Judicial Districts.

Originally, CAPP’s rule changes were meant to apply to medical malpractice cases alleging breaches of standard of care and business actions, which included many different types of actions. The final version of CAPP, according to the Colorado Supreme Court, will not apply to medical or professional malpractice cases, employment cases, construction defect actions, cases where the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act may provide a defense, and cases involving wages and forcible entry. It is important to note that while CAPP will not be applicable to construction defect actions, it may well affect other construction related cases.

A final version of the pilot project rules will be published in the Colorado Lawyer and also sent to interested bar associations and/or specialty bar websites.

For additional information regarding Colorado construction litigation, please contact David M. McLain at (303) 987-9813 or by e-mail at mclain@hhmrlaw.com.