(1) No person shall commence or
maintain an action for the recovery of the title or possession or to enforce or
establish any right or interest of or to real property or make an entry thereon unless
commenced within eighteen years after the right to bring such action or make such
entry has first accrued or within eighteen years after he or those from, by, or under
whom he claims have been seized or possessed of the premises. Eighteen years'
adverse possession of any land shall be conclusive evidence of absolute ownership.
(2) The limitation provided for in subsection (1) of this section shall not apply
against the state, county, city and county, city, irrigation district, public, municipal,
or quasi-municipal corporation, or any department or agency thereof. No possession
by any person, firm, or corporation, no matter how long continued, of any land,
water, water right, easement, or other property whatsoever dedicated to or owned
by the state of Colorado, or any county, city and county, city, irrigation district,
public, municipal, or quasi-municipal corporation, or any department or agency
thereof shall ever ripen into any title, interest, or right against the state of Colorado,
or such county, city and county, city, public, municipal, or quasi-municipal
corporation, irrigation district, or any department or agency thereof.
(3) (a) In order to prevail on a claim asserting fee simple title to real property
by adverse possession in any civil action filed on or after July 1, 2008, the person
asserting the claim shall prove each element of the claim by clear and convincing
evidence.
(b) In addition to any other requirements specified in this part 1, in any action
for a claim for fee simple title to real property by adverse possession for which fee
simple title vests on or after July 1, 2008, in favor of the adverse possessor and
against the owner of record of the real property under subsection (1) of this section,
a person may acquire fee simple title to real property by adverse possession only
upon satisfaction of each of the following conditions:
(I) The person presents evidence to satisfy all of the elements of a claim for
adverse possession required under common law in Colorado; and
(II) Either the person claiming by adverse possession or a predecessor in
interest of such person had a good faith belief that the person in possession of the
property of the owner of record was the actual owner of the property and the belief
was reasonable under the particular circumstances.
(4) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the provisions of
subsections (3) and (5) of this section shall be limited to claims of adverse
possession for the purpose of establishing fee simple title to real property and shall
not apply to the creation, establishment, proof, or judicial confirmation or
delineation of easements by prescription, implication, prior use, estoppel, or
otherwise, nor shall the provisions of subsections (3) or (5) of this section apply to
claims or defenses for equitable relief under the common-law doctrine of relative
hardships, or claims or defenses governed by any other statute of limitations
specified in this article. Nothing in this section shall be construed to mean that any
elements of a claim for adverse possession that are not otherwise applicable to the
creation, establishment, proof, or judicial confirmation or delineation of easements
by prescription, implication, prior use, estoppel, or otherwise are made applicable
pursuant to the provisions of this section.
(5) (a) Where the person asserting a claim of fee simple title to real property
by adverse possession prevails on such claim, and if the court determines in its
discretion that an award of compensation is fair and equitable under the
circumstances, the court may, after an evidentiary hearing separately conducted
after entry of the order awarding title to the adverse possessor, award to the party
losing title to the adverse possessor:
(I) Damages to compensate the party losing title to the adverse possessor
for the loss of the property measured by the actual value of the property as
determined by the county assessor as of the most recent valuation for property tax
purposes. If the property lost has not been separately taxed or assessed from the
remainder of the property of the party losing title to the adverse possessor, the
court shall equitably apportion the actual value of the property to the portion of the
owner's property lost by adverse possession including, as appropriate, taking into
account the nature and character of the property lost and of the remainder.
(II) An amount to reimburse the party losing title to the adverse possessor
for all or a part of the property taxes and other assessments levied against and paid
by the party losing title to the adverse possessor for the period commencing
eighteen years prior to the commencement of the adverse possession action and
expiring on the date of the award or entry of final nonappealable judgment,
whichever is later. If the property lost has not been separately taxed or assessed
from the remainder of the property of the party losing title to the adverse
possessor, such reimbursement shall equitably apportion the amount of the
reimbursement to the portion of the owner's property lost by adverse possession,
including, as appropriate, taking into account the nature and character of the
property lost and of the remainder. The amount of the award shall bear interest at
the statutory rate from the dates on which the party losing title to the adverse
possessor made payment of the reimbursable taxes and assessments.
(b) At any hearing conducted under this subsection (5), or in the event that
adverse possession is claimed solely as a defense to an action for damages based
upon a claim for trespass, forcible entry, forcible detainer, or similar affirmative
claims by another against the adverse possessor, and not to seek an award of legal
title against the claimant, the burden of proof shall be by a preponderance of the
evidence. If the defendant is claiming adverse possession solely as a defense to an
action and not to seek an award of legal title, the defendant shall so state in a
pleading filed by the defendant within ninety days after filing an answer or within
such longer period as granted by the court in the court's discretion, and any such
statement shall bind the defendant in the action.