Dempsey v. Denver Police Department

2015 COA 67, 353 P.3d 928, 2015 Colo. App. LEXIS 762, 2015 WL 2437915
CourtColorado Court of Appeals
DecidedMay 21, 2015
DocketCourt of Appeals No. 13CA1614
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 2015 COA 67 (Dempsey v. Denver Police Department) 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
Dempsey v. Denver Police Department, 2015 COA 67, 353 P.3d 928, 2015 Colo. App. LEXIS 762, 2015 WL 2437915 (Colo. Ct. App. 2015).

Opinion

Opinion by

JUDGE BOORAS

T1 In this personal injury action, defendants, the Denver Police Department and the City and County of Denver (collectively Denver), bring this interlocutory appeal, pursuant to section 24-10108, C.R.S. 2014. Denver seeks review of the trial court's denial of its motion to dismiss the complaint of plaintiffs, Ilea Dempsey and Ashkan Zand, for lack of subject matter jurisdiction under the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act (CGIA), sections 24-10-101 to ~120, C.R.S. 2014. We vacate and remand for further findings.

I. Factual Background

T2 On January 21, 2012, at approximately dusk, plaintiffs were travelling northbound on Santa Fe Drive in Denver near the intersection with Mississippi Avenue shortly before it passes under I-25. At that time, major road construction was taking place on Santa Fe, and numerous signs were posted apprising drivers of the activity.

8 While plaintiffs were travelling northbound on Santa Fe, Officer Heather Jossi of the Denver Police Department received a call about a possible robbery. She activated her lights and siren, headed west on Mississippi, and then turned north on Santa Fe, reaching speeds as high as fifty-six miles per hour as indicated on the Crash Data Retrieval (CDR) device in Officer Jossi's patrol car. Officer Jossi alternatively accelerated and decelerated in an attempt to get around traffic on Santa Fe.

[930]*930[ 4 Plaintiffs saw Officer Jossi approaching their car from behind.1 They observed Officer Jossi driving much faster than the flow of traffic, rapidly weaving through traffic, cutting vehicles off, and causing vehicles to pull over to both the right and left. When the car behind them pulled over, plaintiffs saw Officer Jossi accelerate and then hit the rear of their car.

II. Procedural Background

15 Plaintiffs brought this action against Denver and Officer Jossi seeking compensation for the injuries they sustained in the accident. Dempsey also sought compensation for damages to her car, which was towed from the accident scene.

T6 Denver moved to dismiss the claims against it on the basis that the trial court lacked subject matter jurisdiction under the CGIA because its immunity from suit was not waived under section 24-10-106(1)(a), C.R.8.2014, for the operation of a motor vehicle. Denver asserted that Officer Jossi's actions in driving the police vehicle fell within an exception for emergency vehicles operating within the provisions of section 42-4-108(2) and (8),

T7 As pertinent here, section 42-4-108(2)(c) allows the driver of an authorized emergency vehicle, while using audible or visual signals, to exceed the lawful speed limits so long as the driver does not endanger life or property.

T8 Denver asserted that Officer Jossi was not exceeding the speed limit at the time of the accident, and did not endanger life or property when she exceeded the maximum allowed speed limits earlier in the incident. In response, plaintiffs argued that Officer Jossi's actions did not fall within the cireum-stances outlined in section 42-4-108(2) and (3) because her actions in driving the police car endangered life and property while she was speeding.

T9 The trial court conducted a two-day evidentiary hearing in accordance with the procedures set forth in Trinity Broadcasting of Denver, Inc. v. City of Westminster, 848 P.2d 916 (Colo.1993). At the conclusion of that hearing, the court ruled from the bench and denied Denver's motion. First, the court noted that there was conflicting information about whether Officer Jossi had exceeded the speed limit both shortly prior to and at the time of impact, depending on where the impact occurred. Then, relying on Corsentino v. Cordova, 4 P.3d 1082, 1093 (Colo.2000), the court examined the totality of the circumstances surrounding the collision and found that Officer Jossi's actions in driving her vehicle endangered life and property.

' 10 The trial court subsequently issued a written order adopting the findings it had made from the bench. Denver then brought this interlocutory appeal.

T 11 After the parties had filed their briefs, this court issued an order of clarification to Denver noting that a review of the notice of appeal, the file, and the briefs showed that Officer Jossi was not listed on the notice of appeal, but was listed on the briefs and the motion for oral argument filed by Denver. The order sought clarification regarding whether Officer Jossi should have been listed on the notice of appeal.

{12 The City Attorney then sought to amend the notice of appeal to include Officer Jossi as an appellant. Plaintiffs filed a response objecting to that request. After consideration of the parties' responses, resolution of this issue was deferred to the division determining the merits of the appeal.

III. Motion to Amend Notice of Appeal

118 We reject Denver's request to amend the notice of appeal to include Officer Jossi as an appellant.

114 C.AR. 3 provides that an appeal permitted by law shall be taken by filing a notice of appeal within the time allowed by C.A.R. 4. Under section 24-10-108, a trial court's ruling on a motion brought by a public entity that raises the issue of sovereign immunity is final and subject to interlocutory appeal. See Richland Dev. Co. v. E. Cherry Creek Valley Water & Sanitation Dist., 899 P.2d 371, 372-73 (Colo.App.1995).

[931]*931 The timely filing of a notice of appeal is jurisdictional. See Cline v. Farmers Ins. Exch., 792 P.2d 305, 306 (Colo.App.1990), overruling on other grounds recognized by Janssen v. Indus. Claim Appeals Office, 40 P.3d 1 (Colo.App.2001). However, a party need only substantially comply with the contents of the notice of appeal. See Widener v. Dist. Court, 200 Colo. 398, 401, 615 P.2d 33, 34 (1980) ("If the prevailing party could not be misled as to the intention to appeal or as to the judgment from which the appeal is to be taken, any technical defect in the notice of appeal is harmless."). Thus, the failure to include a party in, or on the caption of, a notice of appeal may be excused under certain circumstances. See Cruz v. Benine, 984 P.2d 1173, 1181 (Colo.1999) (holding that this court erred in dismissing appeal of attorney fees award against attorney which was entered jointly and severally against attorney and attorney's client where notice of appeal listed only client, not attorney); Turkey Creek, LLC v. Rosania, 953 P.2d 1306, 1308 (Colo.App.1998) (failure to list parties in caption of notice of appeal was harmless where parties were listed within the notice of appeal).

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Bluebook (online)
2015 COA 67, 353 P.3d 928, 2015 Colo. App. LEXIS 762, 2015 WL 2437915, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dempsey-v-denver-police-department-coloctapp-2015.