With the downturn in the economy over the last few years, and the fact that the homebuilding industry has been particularly hard hit, I have heard from clients and colleagues that more and more builders are discontinuing their annual renewable commercial general liability insurance programs, deciding instead to go bare. This absolutely scares the crap […]
Colorado Construction Litigation Blog
In Weitz Co., LLC v. Ohio Cas. Ins. Co., the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado was asked to rule on a motion to disqualify counsel in an insurance coverage action. 11-CV-00694-REB-BNB, 2011 WL 2535040 (D. Colo. June 27, 2011). Motions to disqualify counsel are viewed with suspicion, as courts “must guard against […]
Recently, in Caribou Ridge Homes, LLC v. Zero Energy, LLC, et al., Case No. 10CV1094, Boulder County District Court Judge Ingrid S. Bakke entered a ruling and order on the Plaintiff’s Motion for Determination of Question of Law Pursuant to C.R.C.P. 56(h) on Issue of Damages. The Order found that the Plaintiff was not a […]
In Dunn v. American Family Insurance, 09CA2173, 2010 WL 4791948 (Colo. App. Nov. 24, 2010), the Dunns reported a claim to American Family on their homeowners insurance policy after sewer and water backup caused sewage to flood their basement. American Family gave the Dunns contact information for a contractor (ICA) to remediate the flooding. However, […]
We have been following Senate Bill 11-068, which sought to eliminate the significant public impact component of claims under the Colorado Consumer Protection Act (the “CCPA”). That bill has now died in a House committee. The original version of the bill would have created a rebuttable presumption that a significant public impact occurred where a […]
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 […]
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] […]
