RQ Law Blog

On November 17, the Colorado Supreme Court issued its ruling in Oasis Legal Financing v. Coffman. The Supreme Court unanimously held that agreements in which companies advance money to tort plaintiffs in exchange for future litigation proceeds are “loans”, which loans are subject to the Uniform Consumer Credit Code [UCCC] as adopted in Colorado. Litigation financing has grown nationwide in recent years as a way to assist people and companies...

Colorado Supreme Court takes sensible position that lawsuit lending creates debt, so it's subject to Colorado law governing debt. Unanimous decision (8-0 with J. Gabriel abstaining). Kudos to Jeff Ruebel and Casey Quillen who authored the CCJL/CDLA/PCIAA amicus brief.   You can access the full opinion here . 

You likely heard of the new budget deal agreed to by Congress a week ago. This Federal Budget Agreement, which was worked out behind closed doors, includes surprise provisions authorizing the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to increase penalties for the first time since 1990. The Agreement requires OSHA to make a one-time “catch-up” increase to compensate for more than two decades of no increases. The catch-up increase can't...

WHEREAS, existing Colorado law concerning construction defects needs a major overhaul to reduce litigations risks to developers while maintaining consumer protections … So begins the pre-amble to Littleton’s ordinance attempting local construction defect litigation reform. Many cities along the Front Range are suffering from a lack of owner-occupied multifamily development, particularly near regional transportation hubs.  The unwillingness to develop multifamily projects is largely blamed on the toxic climate spawned from...

It is hard to believe that it has already been four years since we opened Ruebel & Quillen, with the hope of being a different kind of law firm.  Unintentionally, I marked our four year anniversary the same way I marked the first official day R&Q opened its doors – out of town.  Away from our busy practice, I had some time to reflect on how some things have changed,...