Legro v. Robinson

2012 COA 182, 328 P.3d 238, 2012 WL 5266059, 2012 Colo. App. LEXIS 1735
CourtColorado Court of Appeals
DecidedOctober 25, 2012
DocketNo. 11CA1403
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 2012 COA 182 (Legro v. Robinson) 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
Legro v. Robinson, 2012 COA 182, 328 P.3d 238, 2012 WL 5266059, 2012 Colo. App. LEXIS 1735 (Colo. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinion

Opinion by

Judge RICHMAN.

{1 Plaintiffs, Renee and Stephen Legro, appeal the district court's entry of summary judgment in favor of defendants, Samuel and Cheri Robinson. The Legros also appeal the court's denial of their motions to amend their complaint and to enforce an alleged settlement agreement. We affirm the summary judgment in part and reverse it in part; decline to address the motion to amend; affirm the order denying enforcement of a settlement agreement; and remand the case with directions.

I. Background

T2 The following facts are either undisputed or accepted as true for purposes of this appeal. On July 9, 2008, Renee Legro was participating in a bicycle race sponsored by the Vail Recreation District when she was attacked by two of the Robinsons' predator control dogs and sustained significant injuries. The attack occurred on a public road in the White River National Forest. The Rob-insons held a permit, issued by the United States Forest Service, to graze sheep in an area encompassing the site of the attack. The Vail Recreation District also held a per[240]*240mit to hold the race on the road where Renee Legro was riding.

T3 The Legros filed a complaint alleging negligence, negligence per se, loss of consortium, and strict lability pursuant to the civil dog bite statute, § 18-21-124, C.R.S.2012.

T4 The Robinsons filed a motion for summary judgment, asserting that all the Leg-ros' common law claims were barred by the premises liability act (PLA), which provides in relevant part:

In any civil action brought against a landowner by a person who alleges injury occurring while on the real property of another and by reason of the condition of such property, or activities conducted or cireumstances existing on such property, the landowner shall be liable only as provided in subsection (8) of this section.

§ 18-21-1152), C.R.S.2012 (emphasis added). The Robinsons also argued that they could not be held liable under the dog bite statute because of the predator control dog exelusion, which provides as follows:

A dog owner shall not be liable to a person who suffers bodily injury ... from being bitten by the dog ... [wlhile the dog is working as a ... predator control dog on the property of or under the control of the dog's owner.

§ 18-21-124(5)(F), C.R.S.2012.

15 On May 25, 2011, the district court granted the Robinsons' motion, concluding as follows: (1) the Robinsons indisputably were "landowners" for purposes of the PLA, and therefore the Legros' common law claims were abrogated by that statute; (2) the Leg-ros had not pled any claim under the PLA; and (8) assuming the PLA did not bar the Legrog statutory dog bite claim, the Robin-sons were immune from liability based on the predator control dog exclusion of that statute.

T6 On the day the court issued its ruling, the Legros filed a motion to reconsider the summary judgment order containing a request that the case proceed to trial as a PLA case and a separate motion to file an amended complaint stating a PLA claim. The district court never ruled on the Legros' motions, and therefore they were denied as a matter of law. See C.R.C.P. 59G).

17 Twelve days after the summary judgment order, the Legros filed a motion to enforce a settlement agreement purportedly accepted by the Legros less than two hours after the court granted summary judgment. Initially, that motion was not decided by the district court. However, after a remand by this court for the express purpose of deciding that motion, the district court denied it on January 80, 2012. This appeal followed.

II. Issues on Appeal

18 The Legros appeal the district court's grant of summary judgment, its denial of their motion to amend, and its denial of their motion to enforce the alleged settlement agreement.

A. Summary Judgment

1. Standard of Review

19 We review de novo a district court's grant of summary judgment based on a determination of a question of law. Hopp & Flesch, LLC v. Backstreet, 123 P.3d 1176, 1180-81 (Colo.2005). "Summary judgment is appropriate when the pleadings and supporting documentation demonstrate that no genuine issue of material fact exists and that the moving party is entitled to summary judgment as a matter of law." West Elk Ranch, L.L.C. v. U.S., 65 P.3d 479, 481 (Colo.2002). "The party opposing summary judgment is entitled to the benefit of all favorable inferences that may be drawn from the facts contained in the record." Brawner-Ahlstrom v. Husson, 969 P.2d 738, 741 (Colo.App.1998).

110 We also review de novo questions of statutory interpretation. Klinger v. Adams County Sch. Dist. No. 50, 130 P.3d 1027, 1031 (Colo.2006). "Our primary duty in construing statutes is to give effect to the intent of the General Assembly, looking first to the statute's plain language." Vigil v. Franklin, 103 P.3d 322, 327 (Colo.2004). We construe statutory provisions as a whole and, whenever possible, give effect to every word and term contained therein. Board of County [241]*241Commis. v. Vail Associates, Inc., 19 P.3d 1263, 1273 (Colo.2001).

2. Application of PLA and Dog Bite Statute

[ 11 Application of the PLA here depends on whether the Robinsons qualify as landowners under the statute. If so, we must also decide whether the PLA abrogates the claims under the dog bite statute, or whether, as a more recent and specific statute, the dog bite statute prevails over the PLA. See § 2-4-205, C.R.S8.2012.

a. The Robinsons Are PLA Landowners

112 The Legros argue that the district court erred in concluding that the Robinsons were PLA landowners and, as a result, dismissing their common law negligence claims under section 18-21-115(2). We are not persuaded.

113 The term "landowner" is broadly defined in the PLA:

For purposes of this section, "landowner" includes, without limitation, an authorized agent or person in possession of real property and a person legally responsible for the condition of real property or for the activities conducted or cireumstances existing on real property.

§ 18-21-115(1), C.R.8.2012.

14 In Pierson v. Black Canyon Aggregates, Inc., 48 P.3d 1215, 1220 (Colo.2002), our supreme court held that a landowner is any person in possession of real property and that such possession need not be to the exclusion of all others. The court also held that under the second clause of the definition, a landowner includes "someone who is legally entitled to be on the real property and ... is responsible for creating a condition on real property or conducting an activity on real property that injures an entrant." Id. at 1221.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2012 COA 182, 328 P.3d 238, 2012 WL 5266059, 2012 Colo. App. LEXIS 1735, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/legro-v-robinson-coloctapp-2012.