§ 13-6-407 — Parties - representation

Colorado § 13-6-407

• Jurisdiction: Colorado
• Title 13: Courts
• Art.: County Courts

Text

(1) Any natural person, corporation,
partnership, association, or other organization may commence or defend an action
in the small claims court, but no assignee or other person not a real party to the
transaction which is the subject of the action may commence an action therein,
except as a court-appointed personal representative, conservator, or guardian of
the real party in interest.

(2) (a) (I) Notwithstanding the provisions of article 93 of this title 13, in the
small claims court, an individual shall represent himself or herself; a partnership
shall be represented by an active general partner or an authorized full-time
employee; a union shall be represented by an authorized active union member or
full-time employee; a for-profit corporation shall be represented by one of its full-time officers or full-time employees; an association shall be represented by one of
its active members or by a full-time employee of the association; and any other kind
of organization or entity shall be represented by one of its active members or full-time employees or, in the case of a nonprofit corporation, a duly elected
nonattorney officer or an employee.

(II) It is the intent of this section that no attorney, except pro se or as an
authorized full-time employee or active general partner of a partnership, an
authorized active member or full-time employee of a union, a full-time officer or
full-time employee of a for-profit corporation, or a full-time employee or active
member of an association, which partnership, union, corporation, or association is a
party, shall appear or take any part in the filing or prosecution or defense of any
matter in the small claims court, except as permitted by supreme court rule.

(b) In actions arising under part 1 of article 12 of title 38, C.R.S., including, but
not limited to, actions involving claims for the recovery of a security deposit or for
damage to property arising from a landlord-tenant relationship, a property manager
who has received security deposits, rents, or both, or who has signed a lease
agreement on behalf of the owner of the real property that is the subject of the
small claims action, shall be permitted to represent the owner of the property in
such action.

(3) In any action to which the federal Soldiers' and Sailors' Civil Relief Act of
1940, as amended, 50 App. U.S.C. sec. 521, is applicable, the court may enter a
default against a defendant who is in the military without entering judgment, and
the court shall appoint an attorney to represent the interests of the defendant prior
to the entry of judgment against the defendant.

(4) If an attorney appears, as permitted in subsection (2) or (3) of this section,
the other party or parties in the case may be represented by counsel, if such party
or parties so choose.

(5) Nothing contained in this section is intended to limit or otherwise
interfere with a party's right to assign, or to employ counsel to pursue that party's
rights and remedies subsequent to the entry of judgment by a small claims court.

(6) Any small claims court action in which an attorney appears shall be
processed and tried pursuant to the statutes and court rules governing small claims
court actions.

Legislative History

Source: L. 76: Entire part added, p. 519, � 1, effective October 1. L. 88: (2) amended, pp. 602, 1438, �� 3, 43, effective July 1. L. 2001: Entire section amended, p. 1514, � 4, effective September 1. L. 2007: (3) amended, p. 2024, � 23, effective June 1. L. 2017: (2)(a)(I) amended, (SB 17-227), ch. 192, p. 704, � 5, effective August 9.