13 results found

Colorado developers, builders, and contractors should take notice of a recently published Colorado Court of Appeals decision that increases the financial exposure created by prevailing party attorneys' fee clauses.

In AECOM Tech. Servs., Inc. v. Flatiron | AECOM, LLC, 2024 WL 22640 (D. Colo. 2024), the United States District Court for the District of Colorado addressed when expert testimony is not subject to be limited...

The Colorado Supreme Court has reversed a significant Court of Appeals decision regarding verified statements of claim under the Public Works Act, fundamentally changing what contractors...

On June 2, 2026, Governor Jared Polis vetoed H.B. 26-1236, Arbitration Reform, bringing an end to the Colorado General Assembly’s latest attempt to impose additional restrictions on arbitration. Although the bill was not directed specifically at construction defect litigation, its proposed changes to the Colorado Uniform Arbitration Act would have affected arbitration proceedings generally, including those involving builders, developers, contractors, and homeowners.

Colorado’s General Assembly has once again changed the rules governing retainage on private construction projects. With the passage of House Bill 26-1311, effective August 12, 2026, contractors and subcontractors now have a statutory mechanism to substitute a qualifying surety bond for cash retainage.

On April 6, 2026, the same day that the Colorado Supreme Court issued its decision in Ralph L. Wadsworth Construction Company, LLC v. Regional Rail Partners, Governor Jared Polis signed Senate Bill 26-074 into law. The legislation, which took effect on August 12, 2026, clarifies the amounts that may be included in mechanic’s liens and public construction payment claims, as well as the circumstances under which those claims may be considered excessive.

Colorado law has long distinguished between the duty to defend and the duty to indemnify in litigation, but the state's construction anti-indemnity statute creates an unresolved tension with this traditional framework. When construction agreements are governed by statutory limits on risk transfer tied to proportional fault, how does a present duty to defend operate before that fault has been determined? This intersection of established legal principles awaits definitive appellate guidance.

Construction projects often involve verbal directives that deviate from plans and specifications, creating significant liability risks for subcontractors when defects emerge years later. Without written documentation of field instructions and approvals, subcontractors may find themselves defending claims for work they performed exactly as directed, facing disputes where memory and credibility become the only evidence.

Colorado's construction defect laws have evolved significantly, with recent amendments to CCIOA and a notable Douglas County case highlighting critical questions for HOA boards: When a builder offers appropriate repairs, should associations pursue immediate remediation or years of litigation?

When multiple insurers potentially owe coverage for the same construction defect claim, can one insurer force another to participate in the defense or indemnification of their common insured? If the other insurer refuses, what remedies are available?

Colorado’s new right-of-access statute may help address one of the unintended consequences of individually owned townhome developments, but it does not solve every problem associated with repairing interconnected building systems.