Colorado Supreme Court Conforms Pleading Standard to Federal Practices

By Dean Shaffer The Colorado Supreme Court today, in Warne v. Hall, Case No. 14SC176, adopted the stricter civil pleading standard first applied by the U.S. Supreme Court in Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544 (2007). Under the new standard, Colorado courts may dismiss claims that are not “plausible,” meaning that plaintiffs must support their claims with factual allegations sufficient …

Underground Utility Contractor Awarded Damages For Unpaid Construction Costs

Following a four-day jury trial, Chipman Glasser, LLC secured a verdict in favor of an underground utility contractor. Our to installed the sewer and water system for a private developer. But upon completion of the project, the developer refused to pay the final invoice, raising various complaints about the quality of the work. The case involved conflicting expert testimony regarding alleged …

Assessing CAPP, Part I: Impact on the Motion to Dismiss Strategy

By E. Job Seese The following is the first in a forthcoming series of blog posts looking at the CAPP Rules and their practical impact on litigation strategy. CAPP’S INTRODUCTION  Effective January 2012, the Colorado Supreme Court authorized a pilot program to test a new set of pretrial procedures for civil business cases.  The pilot program—known as CAPP (Colorado Civil …

A Survey Of State Law Regarding Forum-Selection Clauses

Introduction Often companies that contract with parties in various states are faced with litigation across various forums.  Being sued in federal and state courts across the United States can be expensive, time consuming and disruptive.  To help minimize this problem, businesses sometimes include in their contracts forum-selection clauses, which mandate that any litigation or arbitration be brought in a specific …