The Colorado Litigation Review
Construction, business & property litigation across Colorado. Written by Donovan T. Estrada, civil litigator, Denver. Call (303) 555-0147.
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Practice areas covered
Construction defect · HOA & common interest communities · Commercial & business litigation · Insurance coverage · Real property · Employment defense · AI & technology regulation · Contract disputes
Recent articles
Insurance Coverage · Bad Faith
Colorado gives policyholders something most states do not: a statutory claim that pays two times the benefit plus attorney fees when a carrier unreasonably delays or denies. Here is how § 10-3-1115 actually works, and what it takes to win.
August 17, 2026 — filed under Insurance Coverage, Contract Disputes
Employment · Restrictive Covenants
Colorado voids most non-competes outright and attaches a $5,000-per-worker penalty to the ones that violate the statute. A narrow band of agreements remains enforceable — and getting inside it depends as much on notice procedure as on substance.
August 4, 2026 — filed under Employment Defense, Contract Disputes
HOA Governance · Assessments
Associations in Colorado still hold a lien and still have a foreclosure remedy — but since 2022 they must clear a six-month debt threshold, offer an extended payment plan, and take a recorded board vote on each individual owner before they can start.
July 21, 2026 — filed under HOA & Common Interest, Real Property
Real Property · Easements
Most Colorado access fights come down to one question — where did the right to cross this land come from? Express grant, prior use, necessity, and eighteen years of adverse use each carry a different burden and a different set of proof.
July 7, 2026 — filed under Real Property, Contract Disputes
Contracts · Construction Indemnity
Colorado voids construction-contract provisions that require one party to indemnify another for that other party's own negligence. Nearly twenty years on, the clause is still in circulation — and the exception for insurance requirements is still the part that matters most.
June 23, 2026 — filed under Contract Disputes, Construction Defect, Insurance Coverage
Business Litigation · LLC Disputes
When a Colorado LLC breaks down, the operating agreement usually controls and the statute fills the gaps. The remedies available — books-and-records demands, derivative claims, breach of fiduciary duty, and dissolution — differ sharply in cost and consequence.
June 9, 2026 — filed under Commercial & Business Litigation, Contract Disputes
Colorado AI Act · Federal Preemption
SB24-205 has been law for less than four months and the federal preemption arguments are already being drafted. Here is the constitutional architecture of the coming fight — and why Colorado practitioners should be paying attention.
May 21, 2026 — filed under AI & Technology Regulation, Commercial & Business Litigation
Insurance Coverage · Construction Defect
In nearly every Colorado construction-defect case, the first real battle is not over the defects — it is over which carrier owes a defense to whom, and on what terms. The answer increasingly turns on the precise edition year printed in the corner of the endorsement.
May 5, 2026 — filed under Insurance Coverage, Construction Defect, Contract Disputes
HOA Governance · Short-Term Rentals
A growing number of Colorado homeowners’ associations are amending their declarations to prohibit Airbnb-style rentals — sometimes years after owners bought in reliance on the original covenants. Here is what Colorado law actually says about whether those bans bind you.
April 27, 2026 — filed under HOA & Common Interest, Real Property
Construction Defect · HOA Litigation
If your HOA is considering — or has filed — a construction-defect lawsuit against the builder, you have more rights, and more decisions to make, than you may realize. Here is how Colorado law works in plain English.
April 26, 2026 — filed under Construction Defect, HOA & Common Interest
Construction Defect · CDARA
Colorado’s Construction Defect Action Reform Act requires a pre-suit notice and a right to inspect. In practice, counsel on both sides routinely treat the statute as a formality — which is a mistake.
January 19, 2026 — filed under Construction Defect, Contract Disputes
Construction Defect · Repose
C.R.S. § 13-80-104 sets a hard outer limit on construction-defect claims in Colorado. The statute’s interaction with the two-year statute of limitations is subtle — and routinely misread.
December 15, 2025 — filed under Construction Defect, Insurance Coverage
Colorado AI Act
SB24-205 takes effect February 1, 2026, making Colorado the first state in the nation to regulate “high-risk” artificial-intelligence systems across the economy. Here is what it does — in plain English.
November 16, 2025 — filed under AI & Technology Regulation, Employment Defense
Free tools
Construction Defect Deadline Calculator (C.R.S. § 13-80-104) · Statute Explainers (CDARA, CCIOA, Colorado AI Act) · Colorado Authority Timeline · Guided Claim Assessment
General information about Colorado and federal law. Not legal advice; no attorney-client relationship is created. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.