Most recently, a couple of decisions from the Colorado Court of Appeals have been issued that impact general liability claims in Colorado.  Here is a brief summary of these decisions:  

LOSS OF CONSORTIUM

The first comes from a Colorado Appellate Court decision in  

Draper v. DeFrenchi-Gordineer.   

The Plaintiff (Husband) filed a loss of consortium claim after his wife, who was seriously injured in a car accident settled with the underlying tortfeasor. He alleged claims of loss of consortium, negligent infliction of emotional distress, and negligent entrustment. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of Defendant on all of husband's claims primarily because his wife signed the settlement agreement, and he too signed the agreement.  Unfortunately for the carrier and the Defendant, the appellate court found that a loss of consortium claim was a separate claim that creates a distinct cause of action.

The court focused on the language of the settlement agreement resolving wife's claims against defendants, which was very narrow and only addressed the wife's claims. Thus, the appellate court found that an agreement settling the claims of an injured party does not necessarily bar the spouse's claim for loss of consortium or negligent infliction of emotional distress.  

This is a significant change in the law as loss of consortium claims were believed to be only derivative claims and were extinguished if the underlying injured spouse released the claims.  Ultimately, this issue should have been addressed by including much broader release language in the settlement agreement and this agreement should have included a standard indemnity clause so that if the husband brought such a suit, the defense and indemnification would have been the responsibility of the wife, as opposed to the Defendant or the carrier.

LIQUOR LIABILITY

One issue that has arisen only affects those folks who deal with liquor sales.  A state court recently ruled that the one year limitation on Dram Shop Act (C.R.S. 12-47-801) claims is a "non-claim" statute; which means the one year limitation in which to bring a claim is an element of the cause of action and without it, divests the court of jurisdiction. Thus, it is not a statute of limitations that can be tolled for any reason because the court cannot consider tolling issues if it lacks jurisdiction.  Now, this was in Boulder County and is not precedent, but it will surely be tested on future cases.     

It is often difficult for working people to successfully balance the demands of a job with personal and family needs. In response to this much-discussed problem, Congress passed the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The FMLA requires certain employers to allow their employees to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave per year to care for a seriously ill family member, to recuperate from their own serious illness, or to take care of a newborn or newly adopted child. In most cases, the employer must reinstate employees when they return from leave.

The FMLA applies to employees if three conditions are met:

• The employer has 50 or more employees who work within a 75-mile radius, including those who work part time and those on leave.
• The employee seeking leave has worked for at least 12 months.
• The employee has worked for at least 1,250 hours (about 25 hours per week) during the 12 months immediately preceding the leave.

An employee is entitled to take FMLA leave only for specified reasons. Not every personal or family emergency qualifies for FMLA leave. The employee must be seeking leave for:

• Birth, adoption, or foster care. A new parent or foster parent may take FMLA leave within one year after the child is born or placed in the parent's home. Leave may begin before the child arrives, if necessary for prenatal care or preparations for the child.
• The employee's serious health condition. Generally, an employee who requires inpatient treatment, has a chronic health problem, or is unable to perform normal activities for at least three days while under the treatment of a doctor has a serious health condition.
• A family member's serious health condition. You must grant leave to an employee who needs to care for an ill family member. Under the FMLA, only parents, spouses, and children are considered family members. Grandparents, same-sex partners, in-laws, and siblings are not included.
• Military family leave. Employees may take leave to care for a family member who was seriously injured on active military duty or to handle specific issues arising out of a family member's deployment.

Under the FMLA, an eligible employee is entitled to take 12 weeks of unpaid leave in any 12-month period for the reasons listed above. However, an employee who needs leave to care for an injured service member can take up to 26 weeks of leave in a single 12-month period. Generally, when the employee's leave is over, the employee must be reinstated to the same position he or she held prior to taking leave.  

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