§ 6-2-111.5 — Civil discovery requests

Colorado § 6-2-111.5

• Jurisdiction: Colorado
• Title 06: Consumer
• Art.: Unfair Practices Act

Text

(1) When the attorney general has
reasonable cause to believe that any person, partnership, firm, corporation, joint
stock company, or other association has engaged in or is engaging in a violation of
any provision of this article, the attorney general may:

(a) Request such person to file a statement or report in writing, under oath or
otherwise, on forms prescribed by the attorney general, or to answer in writing,
under oath or otherwise, any questions propounded by the attorney general as to all
facts and circumstances reasonably related to the alleged violation, and to provide
any other data and information the attorney general reasonably deems to be
necessary;

(b) Issue subpoenas to require the attendance of witnesses or the production
of relevant documents, administer oaths, conduct hearings in aid of an investigation
or inquiry, and prescribe such forms and promulgate such rules as may reasonably
be deemed to be necessary to administer the provisions of this article; and

(c) Make true copies, at the expense of the attorney general, of any
documents examined pursuant to paragraph (b) of this subsection (1), which copies
may be offered into evidence in lieu of the originals thereof in any civil action
brought pursuant to this article. The person producing the documents may require
that the attorney general make copies of the documents. If the attorney general
determines the use of originals is necessary, the attorney general shall pay to have
copies of those documents made for use by the person producing the documents.

(2) Service of any request or subpoena shall be made in the manner
prescribed by law.

(3) Any written response, testimony, or documents obtained by the attorney
general pursuant to this section or any information derived directly or indirectly
from such written response, testimony, or documents shall not be admissible in
evidence in any criminal prosecution against the person providing the written
response, testimony, or documents. The provisions of this subsection (3) shall not
be construed to prevent any law enforcement officer having an independent basis
therefor from producing or obtaining the same or similar facts, information, or
evidence for use in any criminal prosecution.

(4) Nothing in this section shall prohibit the attorney general from disclosing
information obtained pursuant to this section to any other law enforcement agency
or department of any governmental or public entity of this or any other state or to
the federal government if such other law enforcement agency or department
executes an agreement that such information will remain confidential and will not
be used in any criminal prosecution against the person providing the written
response, testimony, or documents.

(5) If any person fails to appear or fails to cooperate with any investigation or
inquiry pursuant to a request or subpoena issued pursuant to this section, the
attorney general may apply to any district court for an appropriate order to effect
the purposes of this section. The application shall state that there is reasonable
cause to believe that the order applied for is necessary to investigate, prosecute, or
terminate a violation of this article. If the court is satisfied that reasonable cause
exists, the court may:

(a) Require the attendance of or the production of documents by such
person, or both;

(b) Assess a civil penalty of up to five thousand dollars for such failure to
appear and answer questions, written or otherwise, or such failure to produce
documents unless the court finds that the failure to appear, to answer questions, or
to produce documents was substantially justified or that other circumstances make
an assessment of a civil penalty unjust;

(c) Award the attorney general reasonable costs and attorney fees in making
this application unless the court finds that the failure to appear, to answer
questions, or to produce documents was substantially justified or that other
circumstances make an award of costs and attorney fees unjust;

(d) Enter any protective order as provided for in the Colorado rules of civil
procedure;

(e) Grant such other or further relief as may be necessary to obtain
compliance by such person.

Legislative History

Source: L. 93: Entire section added, p. 1273, � 2, effective July 1.