Phillips Legal Blog
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Court of Appeals Explores Anti-SLAPP Statute
May 11, 2023
View PostCourt of Appeals Explores Anti-SLAPP Statute. The Colorado Court of Appeals in Creekside Endodontics, LLC v. Sullivan (2022COA145) examined Colorado’s Anti-SLAPP statute to strike down a defamation claim. The defendant was a patient at the plaintiff’s endodontics practice. Following a procedure at the plaintiff’s clinic,…
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Unilateral Addition of Arbitration Clause Enforceable
May 10, 2023
View PostUnilateral Addition of Arbitration Clause Enforceable. The Colorado Court of Appeals in Macasero v. ENT Credit Union (2023COA40) addressed a party’s ability to add an arbitration clause to a contract through constructive electronic notice. The plaintiff took out an auto loan. The terms of the…
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Accrual of Debt Action Upon Borrower Bankruptcy Discharge
May 09, 2023
View PostThe Colorado Supreme Court (2023CO17) in the case of US Bank NA v. Silvernagel addressed when the statute of limitations accrues on a debt where a borrower with a mortgage loan secured by a deed of trust on the borrower’s property is discharged in bankruptcy.…
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Arbitrator Lacks Authority to Sanction Attorney
September 20, 2022
View PostThe Colorado Court of Appeals in Herrera v. Santangelo Law Offices, P.C., 2022COA93, recently held that a lawyer could not be sanctioned by an arbitrator. The lawyer represented a client in an arbitration proceeding. The case had been submitted to arbitration pursuant to an agreement…
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Unjust Enrichment Remedy Recognized Where Express Contract Exists
May 17, 2022
View PostThe Colorado Court of Appeals (2022COA50) recognized an equitable principle that allows for recovery under a theory of unjust enrichment despite there being an express contract between the parties. The case involved a contract for the installation of siding on a home. The siding company…
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Houser v. CenturyLink – Court dismisses securities claims
April 07, 2022
View PostDismissal of Securities Claims against CenturyLink – 2022COA37 The plaintiff brought a class action complaint under the federal securities laws for material misstatements in a registration statement and a prospectus. The alleged misstatements related to the merger between CenturyLink and Level 3 Communications. The district…
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Contractual Liability Limitation Enforcement
October 05, 2021
View PostContractual Liability Limitation Enforcement. The Colorado Court of Appeals has ruled that an ambiguous limitation of liability clause in a contract between sophisticated commercial entities is enforceable. The case deciding this issue was Johnson Nathan Strohe, P.C. v. MEP Engineering, Inc., Case No. 20CA0950 (Colo.…
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Lines of Credit Are Not Negotiable Instruments
September 15, 2021
View PostLines of Credit Are Not Negotiable Instruments. The Colorado Court of Appeals in a unanimous opinion held that a line of credit is not a negotiable instrument and therefore that UCC Article 3 does not apply to agreements for a line of credit. CadleRock Joint…
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Anti-gay Slurs Land Attorney Robert Abrams in Hot Water
July 01, 2021
View PostAnti-gay slurs land attorney Robert Abrams in hot water. The Colorado Supreme Court issued a ruling earlier this month in Case No. 20SA81, In the Matter of Robert E. Abrams, upholding the discipline against a Colorado attorney for using anti-gay slurs against a sitting judge.…
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Federal District Court Grants Phillips Legal’s Motion to Dismiss Civil Theft and 42 U.S.C. § 1983 Claims
June 03, 2016
View PostOn May 26, 2016, the Honorable William J. Martinez of the United States District Court for the District of Colorado in Welch et al. v. Saunders et al., Case No. 1:15-cv-02286-WJM-CBS, granted the Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim that Phillips Legal…
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Use Marijuana at Your Own Peril Says Colo. Supreme Court
December 21, 2015
View PostEarlier this year, the Colorado Supreme Court issued its decision in Coats v. Dish Network, LLC, 350 P.3d 849 (Colo. 2015), and should put a scare into Colorado’s burgeoning population of marijuana users. The case involved an employee who had a medical marijuana license and…
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Guidance on Attorney Flat-Fee Agreements
December 20, 2015
View PostIn re Gilbert, 346 P.3d 1018 (Colo. 2015), the Colorado Supreme Court clarified how lawyers should proceed with flat-fee agreements, specifically related to benchmarks in those agreements. The Court said that attorneys should include benchmarks in flat-fee agreements to help delineate when portions of the…
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Extension of Economic Loss Rule
December 19, 2015
View PostIn a rather muddled opinion, the Colorado Supreme Court has extended the reach of the economic loss rule in its case S K Peightal Engineers, LTD v. Mid Valley Real Estate Sols. V, LLC, 342 P.3d 868 (Colo. 2015), which was decided earlier this year.…