RQ Law Blog

In Calderon v. American Family Mutual Insurance Company, 2016 CO 72,  Nov. 7, 2016 the Colorado Supreme Court reached a surprising conclusion, reversing the Colorado Court of Appeals and trial court’s plain language interpretation of Section 10-4609, C.R.S. and a standard UM/UIM insurance provision. The insured, Calderon, sustained injuries in an automobile accident with an uninsured driver. His insurance carrier, American Family, paid out $5,000 under MedPay coverage. Calderon also...

The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit certified a question to the Wyoming Supreme Court concerning the enforceability of an insurance policy notice provision under Wyoming law. In Century Surety Company v. Hipner, (Wyo. 08/17/16), the Wyoming Court provided the answer to that question, holding that, under Wyoming law, an insurer must be prejudiced before being entitled to deny coverage when the insured has failed to give...

Rucker v. Federal National Mortgage Association – ‘For Sale’ sign alone does not change prospective buyer’s status. (CA 07/28/16). Ellyn and David Rucker decided to purchase a house that their daughter, Kristin, would rent from them. David placed an offer on a house for which Kristin had had a showing with a Heter & Co. listing agent, but Ellyn had not seen the property, so Kristin took Ellyn to the...

AVALANCHES ARE AN INHERENT RISK TO SKIERS UNDER STATUTE Fleury v. IntraWest Winter Park Operations Corp. (SC 05/31/10). The Colorado Supreme Court held that an avalanche that occurs within the bounds of a ski resort qualifies as an “inherent danger and risk of skiing” under the Ski Safety Act and thus the ski area is not liable to a skier killed in an avalanche. The Court held that the definition...

The 120-day legislative session came to a close the middle of May.  Local headlines touted it as one of the most unproductive sessions in recent history.  Indeed, a number of bills we had anticipated were never introduced and few of the bills we had been monitoring made it to the Governor’s desk. This session resulted in a big change to Colorado liquor law with the passage of SB16-197 which phases...