Ackerman v. City and County of Denver

2015 COA 96, 2015 COA 96M, 373 P.3d 665, 2015 Colo. App. LEXIS 1054
CourtColorado Court of Appeals
DecidedJuly 16, 2015
DocketCourt of Appeals 13CA1561
StatusPublished
Cited by180 cases

This text of 2015 COA 96 (Ackerman v. City and County of Denver) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Colorado Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ackerman v. City and County of Denver, 2015 COA 96, 2015 COA 96M, 373 P.3d 665, 2015 Colo. App. LEXIS 1054 (Colo. Ct. App. 2015).

Opinion

Opinion by

JUDGE NAVARRO

{1 In this personal injury action, defendant, the City and County of Denver (Denver), brings this interlocutory appeal seeking review of the trial court's order denying its motion to dismiss the consolidated tort actions brought by plaintiffs, Jennifer Acker-man, Forrest Hudspeth, Adam Kinnard, and David Scheuermann. The trial court denied Denver's motion seeking dismissal for lack of subject matter jurisdiction under the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act (CGIA), see-tions 24-10-1011 to ~120, C.R.S. 2014. We conclude that our supreme court's decision in Burnett v. State Department of Natural Resources, 2015 CO 19, 346 P.3d 1005 (Burnet II), requires the reversal of the court's decision. Therefore, we reverse and remand with directions.

I. Factual and Procedural Background

2 While attending a concert in the amphitheater at Denver's Red Rocks Park, plaintiffs were struck and injured by rocks that fell from "Creation Rock," a rock formation that abuts one side of the amphitheater. *667 Plaintiffs filed separate actions against Denver and others alleging, as pertinent here, that Denver negligently allowed trespassers to cause the rock fall, Denver negligently maintained the amphitheater such that rocks could be kicked loose by trespassers or otherwise fall into the amphitheater, and Denver knew or should have known of the risk of such rock fall.

18 Denver moved to dismiss plaintiffs' complaints pursuant to C.R.C.P. 12(b)(1) for lack of subject matter jurisdiction under the CGIA. Denver argued that natural conditions such as rocks were not "public facilities" for which its immunity under the CGIA had been waived. Consequently, Denver argued that Creation Rock was a "natural condition of ... unimproved property" for which there was no waiver of immunity under section 24-10-106(1)(e), C.R.8.2014.

[ 4 Plaintiffs argued that their injuries resulted from a dangerous condition of the amphitheater, a public facility and a public building, which was caused by improper maintenance of the facility, Plaintiffs argued that the amphitheater was "improved property" and that its physical location in the park caused their injuries.

T5 After the parties had engaged in substantial discovery, Denver submitted as supplemental authority a recent decision by a division of this court in Burnett v. State Department of Natural Resources, 2013 COA 42 (Burnett I), aff'd, Burnett II. In Burnett I, T 2, the plaintiff was injured when she was struck by a tree branch while sleeping in her tent in a designated campsite at a state park. The tree branch fell from a tree that was adjacent to the campsite and was located on unimproved property. Id. at ¶¶ 2, 11. The division held that the tree was not a "public facility" and that trees were not integral to the use and enjoyment of the campsite. Id. at ¶¶ 9, 17. The division noted that, while the campsite where the plaintiff was injured was within the improved area of the park, the trees adjacent to the campsite were in an unimproved area. Id. at § 11. After observing that the General Assembly had expressly retained immunity for natural conditions in unimproved areas, the division ultimately concluded that the State retained immunity for injuries from branches falling from trees in unimproved parts of a state park. Id. at ¶¶ 11, 25.

T6 The trial court held an evidentiary hearing as contemplated by the decision in Trinity Broadcasting of Denver, Inc. v. City of Westminster, 848 P.2d 916, 924-25 (Colo.1993) See also Medina v. State, 35 P.3d 443, 452 (Colo.2001) (trial court must resolve any factual dispute upon which the existence of its jurisdiction under the CGIA may turn). The court then issued a written decision finding that Denver's immunity had been waived.

17 As pertinent here, the trial court found that Creation Rock and other large rock formations surrounding the amphitheater were an integral component of the public facility and were essential for the intended use of the facility. The court also found that a contractor hired by Denver to inspect and maintain the large rock formations had altered the conditions of the formations by taking actions to stabilize or remove any loose rocks.

T8 Applying the rationale of Rosales v. City & County of Denver, 89 P.3d 507 (Colo.App.2004), overruled by Burnett II, the trial court concluded that Creation Rock was an integral and essential component of the amphitheater. 1 The court also concluded that Creation Rock, despite maintaining a natural appearance, was "improved" property for purposes of section 24-10-106(1)(e) due to the contractor's actions in stabilizing and removing loose rocks. Based on such improvement and the integration of Creation Rock as an essential component of the amphitheater, the court distinguished the decision in Bur-mett I and decided that Creation Rock was not a "natural condition of unimproved property." 2

*668 19 Consequently, the trial court determined that Denver's immunity from suit had been waived under section 24-10-106(1)(e) and that the court had jurisdiction to hear the case,

¶ 10 Denver now brings this interlocutory appeal pursuant to section 24-10-1108, C.R.S, 2014.

II, Legal Standards

1 11 Section 24-10-106(1)(e) waives a pub-lie entity's immunity in an action for injuries resulting from:

A dangerous condition of any ... public facility located in any park or recreation area maintained by a public entity.... Nothing in this paragraph (e) ... of this subsection (1) shall be construed to prevent a public entity from asserting sovereign immunity for an injury caused by the natural condition of any unimproved property, whether or not such property is located in a park or recreation area or on a highway, road, or street right-of-way.

112 Whether immunity has been waived under the CGIA is an issue of subject matter jurisdiction that is resolved in accordance with C.R.C.P. 12(b)(1). Springer v. City & Cnty. of Denver, 13 P.3d 794, 798 (Colo.2000). The burden of proving jurisdiction is on the plaintiff, and the trial court's findings of fact supporting a determination under the CGIA will not be reversed unless clearly erroneous. Trinity, 848 P.2d at 924-25 (the trial.court is the fact finder regarding jurisdictional - determinations under - the CGIA, and appellate review is highly deferential). The interpretation of a statutory waiver provision is a question of law that is subject to de novo review. See Daniel v. City of Colorado Springs, 2014 CO 34, ¶¶ 9-10, 327 P.3d 891. Because the CGIA derogates the common law, we strictly construe its grants of immunity and, in turn, broadly construe its waivers of immunity, Burnett AI, § 11 (plurality opinion).

III, Burnett II Decision and Supplemental Briefs

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Bluebook (online)
2015 COA 96, 2015 COA 96M, 373 P.3d 665, 2015 Colo. App. LEXIS 1054, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ackerman-v-city-and-county-of-denver-coloctapp-2015.