Appellate

Clients turn to Holland & Hart's Appellate Practice Group when the stakes are high and first-rate briefing and argument are essential. Our appellate practitioners excel at appellate advocacy, both written and oral, and possess broad experience in complex appellate litigation. Our attorneys have handled appeals in all of the federal and state appellate courts in the Mountain West, numerous other federal circuit and state appellate courts, and the U.S. Supreme Court.

Appellate Experience Overview
Our appellate lawyers have substantial experience not only in appellate practice and procedure but also in a wide range of substantive legal issues including commercial litigation, constitutional law and civil rights, construction law, election law, employee benefits, employment and labor litigation, environmental litigation, family law, oil and gas law, products liability, real estate, tax, and torts and insurance litigation.

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Experience

Commercial Litigation
Purco Fleet Services, Inc. v. Koenig, 2010 WL 185415 (Colo. App. Jan 21, 2010). In this case of first impression, the court reinstated our client’s claim for breach of a rental contract, and it established the method and standard of proof for loss of use damages under a commercial rental contract. The court also upheld summary judgment for our client on plaintiff’s claim under the Colorado Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and awarded our client attorney fees, including appellate fees.
Relative Value Studies, Inc. v. McGraw-Hill Cos., 981 P.2d 687 (Colo. App. 1999). In this breach of contract case, the Court of Appeals affirmed the entry of summary judgment for our publisher client and rejected the author's claim for additional royalties.
LaPeter 1985 Living Trust v. Canada Life Ins. Co. of Am., 306 Fed. Appx. 401 (9th Cir. 2009). The Ninth Circuit affirmed the entry of summary judgment for our lender client in this lender liability case, holding that the borrower's undisputed misrepresentations justified our client's cancellation of its loan commitment; our client also recovered its appellate attorneys' fees.
L&R Exploration Venture v. Grynberg, --- P.3d ---, 2011 WL 32487 (Colo. App. 2011). The court rejected various arguments attempting to set aside our client’s $ 1.7 million judgment, which was domesticated in Colorado under the Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act.
Suncor Energy (USA), Inc. v. Aspen Petroleum Prods., Inc., 178 P.3d 1263 (Colo. App. 2007). The Colorado Court of Appeals relied on our statutory construction and policy arguments to affirm the district court's judgment imposing treble damages under Colorado's bad check statute. The court also upheld the district court's order awarding our client attorneys' fees and costs and remanded the case for an award of appellate fees and costs.
Canada Life Assur. Co. v. LaPeter, 563 F.3d 837 (9th Cir. 2009). The Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court's appointment of a receiver, with broad authority to protect our lender client's interest, after the borrower defaulted on a sizable loan secured by commercial real estate; the court also awarded our client its appellate attorneys' fees.
CITGO Petroleum Corp. v. Occidental Chem. Corp., 29 Fed. Appx. 525 (10th Cir. 2002). The Tenth Circuit affirmed summary judgment in favor of our client in a dispute over a complex transaction involving a Louisiana petrochemical plant.
Creative Computing v. Getloaded.com LLC, 386 F.3d 930 (9th Cir. 2004). The Ninth Circuit affirmed a jury verdict in favor of our client.The court accepted our construction of damages provisions in the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, and rejected all of the defendant's sundry additional arguments.
Blough v. Holland Realty, Inc., 2009 WL 2216783 (9th Cir. 2009). The Ninth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a putative plaintiff class's claims that our client had engaged in a tying arrangement in violation of state and federal antitrust laws.
Haynes Trane Serv. Agency, Inc. v. Am. Standard, Inc., 2009 WL 1913452 (10th Cir. 2009). In this dispute arising under the parties' franchise and distribution agreements, the Tenth Circuit reversed an approximately $4.7 million judgment against one of our clients and remanded for a new trial.
Isis Litig. L.L.C. v. Svensk Filmindustri, 170 P.3d 742 (Colo. App.), cert. denied (Colo. 2007), and 2005 WL 2327227 (Colo. App. 2005), cert. denied (Colo. 2006). In this complex commercial dispute, the Colorado Court of Appeals initially held that a foreign guarantor was bound to the terms of its guaranty, and the court affirmed a $6.7 million judgment for our client and awarded appellate attorneys' fees. In a second appeal, the Court of Appeals reversed the trial court's denial of our client's requests for post-judgment discovery.
Environmental Litigation
N. Idaho Community Action Network v. U.S. Dep't of Transp., 545 F.3d 1147 (9th Cir. 2008). The Ninth Circuit lifted a stay of construction in the expansion of U.S. 95, rejecting a challenge to the adequacy of the federal and state agencies' evaluation of the potential environmental and historic resource impacts of the project.
Reno-Sparks Indian Colony v. EPA, 336 F.3d 899 (9th Cir. 2003). Accepting the arguments of our mining company client, an intervener in this administrative appeal, the Ninth Circuit upheld EPA's issuance of a clarifying rule under the Clean Air Act.
SWANCC v. U.S. Army Corps of Eng'rs, 531 U.S. 159 (U.S. 2001). We filed an amicus brief for three industry groups in a challenge to the validity of the "migratory bird rule," which extended the Corps of Engineers' permitting authority under the Clean Water Act to isolated bodies of water used by migratory birds. The Supreme Court adopted our clients' position and held that the rule exceeded the Corps' authority under the Act.
Davis Mountains Trans-Pecos Heritage Ass'n v. FAA, 116 Fed. Appx. 3 (5th Cir. 2004). Interpreting NEPA, the Fifth Circuit held inadequate the Air Force's and FAA's environmental impact statement for the Realistic Bomber Training Initiative in West Texas.
ARCO Envtl. Remediation, L.L.C. v. Dept. of Health and Envtl. Quality, 213 F.3d 1108 (9th Cir. 2000). In a dispute over a potentially responsible party's right to review documents exchanged by EPA and a state agency regarding CERCLA issues, the Ninth Circuit held that CERCLA does not preempt a state's "right to know" law, and remanded an improperly removed case to state court for decision under the broader state law.
Alaska Dep't of Envtl. Conservation v. EPA, 244 F.3d 748 (9th Cir. 2001). The Ninth Circuit rejected EPA's jurisdictional arguments and permitted our client's appeal of EPA enforcement orders to proceed to a decision on the merits. (Ultimately, the Ninth Circuit ruled against our client on the merits. The Supreme Court granted certiorari review, but affirmed in a 5-4 decision.)
Great Basin Mine Watch v. EPA, 401 F.3d 1094 (9th Cir. 2005). The Ninth Circuit held that EPA did not act arbitrarily or capriciously in allowing the State of Nevada to redesignate one of its clean air areas into two areas under the Clean Air Act, a ruling that will allow our mining company client, which intervened, to operate under less restrictive national air quality standards.
Oil and Gas Litigation
Miller v. EnCana Oil & Gas (USA) Inc., 2009 WL 1629949 (Colo. App. 2009). The court upheld a multi-million dollar class settlement in an oil and gas underpaid royalties case, rejecting an untimely challenge by an unhappy class member.
Marbob Energy Corp. v. N. M. Oil Conservation Comm'n, 206 P.3d 135 (N.M. 2009). The New Mexico Supreme Court struck down a regulation authorizing the state Oil Conservation Commission to directly cite, fine, prosecute, and penalize energy companies in intra-agency proceedings.
Washington County Bd. of Equalization v. Petron Dev. Co., 109 P.3d 146 (Colo. 2005). In a decision of importance to all Colorado oil and gas producers, the Colorado Supreme Court held that taxpayers may deduct post-wellhead production costs in valuing oil and gas leaseholds for state property tax assessments.
XTO Energy, Inc. v. Armenta, 185 P.3d 383 (N.M. 2008). The New Mexico Court of Appeals affirmed a decision permitting an energy client to relocate a road necessary to access natural gas wells on the surface owner's property.
Samson Res. Co. v. Abraxas Wamsutter L.P., 117 Fed. Appx. 641 (10th Cir. 2004). The Tenth Circuit affirmed the grant of summary judgment for our client, the buyer of Wyoming oil and gas properties, concluding that the parties' contract required the seller to pay ad valorem taxes on the oil and gas produced from the properties before the effective date of the contract.
BP Am. Prod. Co. v. Patterson, 185 P.3d 811 (Colo. 2008). In a decision that will significantly limit oil and gas royalty owners' rights, the Colorado Supreme Court, reversing the lower appellate court, held that the putative class's claim for allegedly underpaid natural gas royalty accrued on the date of the alleged breach of contract, not on the date of discovery of the alleged breach.
Grynberg v. Total, S.A., 538 F.3d 1336 (10th Cir. 2008), cert. denied, 129 S.Ct. 1585 (2009). Rejecting the plaintiffs' claimed multi-billion dollar interest in the Kasaghan oil field in the Caspian Sea, developed in part by our oil company client, the Tenth Circuit affirmed the entry of summary judgment for our client on statute of limitations grounds.
Elliott Indus. Ltd. P'ship v. BP Am. Prod. Co., 407 F.3d 1091 (10th Cir. 2005). The Tenth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of all claims against our energy company clients in this natural gas royalty class action; the court also reversed the district court's order certifying a statewide class of plaintiffs.
Real Estate Litigation
Yacht Club II Homeowners Ass'n, Inc. v. A.C. Excavating, Inc., 94 P.3d 1177 (Colo. App. 2003), aff'd, 114 P.3d 862 (Colo. 2005). The Court of Appeals held that our client homeowners association had standing under Colorado's version of the Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act to pursue claims for construction defects, and also rejected defendants' reliance on the economic loss rule as a bar to the association's negligence claims.
Skyland Metro. Dist. v. Mountain West Enter., L.L.C., 184 P.3d 106 (Colo. App. 2007). In this case of first impression, the Colorado Court of Appeals concluded that special districts had violated several statutory restrictions on the assessment of fees on our clients' undeveloped property; among other relief, the court set aside the judgment and decree of foreclosure and vacated the award of attorneys' fees.
Sarkisian v. City and County of Denver, 2003 WL 22863118 (Colo. App. Dec. 4, 2003). The Colorado Court of Appeals agreed with our client that plaintiff's attack on the City's designation of a local historic district was without merit.
Fire House Car Wash, Inc. v. Bd. of Adjustment for Zoning Appeals,30 P.3d 762 (Colo. App.), cert. denied (Colo. 2001). The Colorado Court of Appeals affirmed our client's position that a controversial neighborhood business had violated restrictions on its nonconforming use status and was required to close.
Constitutional and Civil Rights Litigation
Roe #2 v. Ogden, 253 F.3d 1225 (10th Cir. 2001). This civil rights case challenged the treatment of Colorado bar applicants with a history of mental health problems. The Tenth Circuit reversed the dismissal of our clients' Americans with Disabilities Act and right of privacy claims, and remanded for trial.
KMST, L.L.C. v. County of Ada, 67 P.3d 56 (Idaho 2003). The Idaho Supreme Court affirmed a judgment in favor of our highway district client, which successfully defeated plaintiff's takings claim.
Mink v. Knox, 613 F.3d 995 (10th Cir. 2010). The Tenth Circuit reversed the entry of judgement against our client, holding that the district court's ruling on qualified immunity was wrong as a matter of law.
Marshall v. Montana, 975 P.2d 325 (Mont. 1999). Ruling in favor of public interest groups, including our amicus curiae client, the Montana Supreme Court declared unconstitutional an initiative that stripped the taxing power from Montana's legislature.
Tattered Cover, Inc. v. City of Thornton, 44 P.3d 1044 (Colo. 2002). The Colorado Supreme Court agreed with our amicus curiae client that an innocent, third-party bookstore must be afforded an opportunity for a hearing before the execution of a search warrant seeking to obtain customers' book-purchasing records.
Wilkie v. Robbins, 551 U.S. 537 (U.S. 2007). We filed an amicus brief addressing an individual's ability to sue government officials who retaliate for the exercise of the Fifth Amendment right to exclude others from one's property.
Coplan v. Hobbs No. 03SA114 (Colo. May 16, 2003). In an original proceeding, the Colorado Supreme Court accepted in full our arguments that the state Title Board properly fixed a title for our client's initiative to amend the Colorado Constitution.
DeLew v. Adamson, 293 Fed. Appx. 504 (9th Cir. 2008). In this Section 1983 action, we persuaded the Ninth Circuit to reverse the district court's grant of summary judgment for the defendant officers. The court accepted our argument that a genuine issue of material fact existed as to whether the officers falsified reports to cover up the true facts surrounding the death or our clients' decedent after an automobile accident.
Evans v. Fogarty, 241 Fed. Appx. 542 (10th Cir. 2007), cert. denied, 128 S.Ct. 2081 (2008). In this complex Section 1983 suit, which involved two trials before appeal, the Tenth Circuit reinstated the first jury's verdict that two defendants had retaliated against our clients for exercising their First Amendment rights, remanded for remittitur of the damages awarded to the individual plaintiffs and a new trial on damages for the corporate plaintiffs, and reinstated the first jury's punitive damages awards.
Federated Publications, Inc. v. Idaho Business Review, 192 P.3d 1031 (Idaho 2008). In this dispute involving the validity of legislation establishing requirements for publication of legal notice, the Idaho Supreme Court agreed with us that the title of the legislation violated, in relevant part, the subject-in-title provision of the Idaho constitution. The court therefore reversed the district court's judgment against our client.
Election Law
Coplan v. Hobbs No. 03SA114 (Colo. May 16, 2003). In an original proceeding, the Colorado Supreme Court accepted in full our arguments that the state Title Board properly fixed a title for our client's initiative to amend the Colorado Constitution.
Electric, Gas & Telecommunications Utility Litigation
PacificCorp v. Public Serv. Comm'n of Wyo., 103 P.3d 862 (Wyo. 2004). The Wyoming Supreme Court accepted in full the position of our clients, a group of industrial electric power consumers, and affirmed a Public Service Commission decision that rejected a utility's requested rate increase of over $91 million.
Mont. Power Co. v. Mont. Public Serv. Comm'n, 26 P.3d 91 (Mont. 2001). In a multi-million dollar electricity deregulation dispute, the Montana Supreme Court reversed and held in favor of our client that the Public Service Commission has the authority to define transition costs as a one-time occurrence, and did not engage in an unconstitutional taking by declining to allow a 25-year future "tracker" of such costs.
City & County of Denver v. Qwest Corp., 18 P.3d 748 (Colo. 2001). We successfully challenged Denver's attempt to impose large annual user fees on telecommunications companies with facilities in the city's streets.
Employee Benefits Litigation
Moffett v. Halliburton Energy Servs., Inc., 291 F.3d 1227(10th Cir. 2002). The Tenth Circuit held that ERISA preempts claims for bad faith breach of an insurance contract under Wyoming law.
Kidneigh v. UNUM Life Ins. Co. of Am., 345 F.3d 1182 (10th Cir. 2003), cert. denied, 540 U.S. 1184 (2004). The Tenth Circuit held that ERISA preempts claims for bad faith breach of an insurance contract under Colorado law.
DeGrado v. Jefferson Pilot Fin. Ins. Co., 451 F.3d 1161(10th Cir. 2006). The Tenth Circuit reversed the entry of summary judgment for the claimant in this ERISA case and remanded to allow our client, the plan administrator, to reconsider the claim and make additional fact findings.
Hall v. UNUM Life Ins. Co. of Am., 300 F.3d 1197 (10th Cir. 2002). In appeals from denials of benefits under ERISA, the Tenth Circuit narrowed the circumstances when district courts may admit evidence beyond that considered by the plan administrator.
Jewell v. Life Ins. Co. of N. Am.,508 F.3d 1303 (10th Cir. 2007), cert. denied, 128 S.Ct. 2872 (2008). Expanding upon its administrator-favorable holdings in Hall v. UNUM Life Ins. Co. of Am.,summarized below, the Tenth Circuit reversed the entry of judgment for the claimant in this ERISA case because the district court improperly considered evidence outside the plan administrator's record.
Employment Litigation
Nguyen v. Indus. Claim Appeals Office, 174 P.3d 847 (Colo. App. 2007). The Colorado Court of Appeals affirmed a hearing officer's decision that the claimant was not entitled to unemployment benefits because he lacked good cause for filing an untimely administrative appeal.
Somoza v. Univ, of Denver, 513 F.3d 1206 (10th Cir. 2008). The Tenth Circuit affirmed the entry of summary judgment in favor of our client, concluding that the plaintiff's complaints of retaliation were not actionable under Title VII.
Atmel Corp. v. Vitesse Semiconductor Corp., 30 P.3d 789 (Colo. App.), cert. denied (Colo. 2001). In this case of first impression involving non-solicitation and non-disclosure clauses in employment contracts, the Court of Appeals vacated an injunction entered against our clients and awarded our clients damages and attorneys' fees.
Dillon v. Mountain Coal Co., L.L.C.,569 F.3d 1215 (10th Cir. 2009). The Tenth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of ADA claims against our client, concluding that the plaintiff had not proven he was "disabled" under the statute.
Doe v. Community Med. Center, Inc., 221 P.3d 651 (Mont. 2009). The Montana Supreme Court affirmed the entry of a preliminary injunction in favor of our physician client. The court held that our client's former employer could not report his suspension to state and federal agencies prior to a resolution of the merits of our client's claim that the suspension was wrongly imposed.
Family Law Litigation
People in the Interest of F.J.M., 2010 WL 3260033 (Colo. App. Aug. 19, 2010). The court reversed the district court's adoption placement and remanded for proceedings to determine whether the toddler child should be placed with the foster parents, whom we represent.
Schwankl v. Davis, 85 P.3d 512 (Colo. 2004). The Colorado Supreme Court adopted the position of our amici curiae client that Colorado's Good Samaritan statute should protect individuals who in good faith report recurrent crimes such as domestic violence.
In re Marriage of Francis, 919 P.2d 776 (Colo. 1996). In this seminal family law case, the Colorado Supreme Court set the standard for determining whether a custodial parent may remove children from the State of Colorado.
In re Petition of J.N.H., 209 P.3d 1221 (Colo. App. 2009). The Colorado Court of Appeals reversed the district court's order requiring our client to use a confidential intermediary to gain access to his adoption records, adopting our arguments that for adoptions finalized between 1951 and 1967, an adoptee may have access to all records regarding the adoption.
Procedural & Jurisdictional Issues
Leaffer v. Zarlengo, 44 P.3d 1072 (Colo. 2002). The court exercised original jurisdiction to intervene in our clients' favor on various discovery-related issues.
City of Sandpoint v. Sandpoint Indep. Highway Dist., 72 P.3d 905 (Idaho 2003). The Idaho Supreme Court affirmed the entry of summary judgment in favor of our client, adopting our client's interpretation of ambiguous Idaho statutes pertaining to the procedure by which a city may exercise jurisdiction over streets and highways within the boundaries of a highway district.
Beavers v. Archstone Communities L.P. II, 64 P.3d 855 (Colo. 2003). Reinstating the jury verdict in our client's favor, the Colorado Supreme Court exercised its original jurisdiction to reverse the trial court's order granting a new trial.
Hoffman v. Brookfield Republic, Inc., 87 P.3d 858 (Colo. 2004). The Colorado Supreme Court exercised its original jurisdiction to reverse the trial court's order requiring our client to produce sensitive medical records.
Jackson v. Unocal Corp., 2009 WL 2182603 (Colo. App. 2009). On an interlocutory appeal brought by our defendant clients, the Colorado Court of Appeals exercised its discretionary jurisdiction to review and reverse an order certifying a class of plaintiffs allegedly harmed by asbestos from a removed underground pipe. The court remanded for further proceedings on class certification consistent with the heightened burden of proof and other new law announced in the decision.
Garcia v. Berkshire Life Ins. Co. of Am., 569 F.3d 1174 (10th Cir. 2009). The Tenth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of the plaintiff's suit as a sanction for the fabrication of documents produced during discovery.
Products Liability Litigation
Loughridge v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., 431 F.3d 1268 (10th Cir. 2005); Malek v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., 160 Fed. Appx. 702 (10th Cir. 2005). In these companion product liability cases, the Tenth Circuit upheld prejudgment interest awards from the date of the defective product's installation, which added $5.7 million and $4.9 million to the judgments in our clients' favor.
Forma Scientific, Inc. v. BioSera, Inc., 960 P.2d 108 (Colo. 1998). The Colorado Supreme Court held that the ban on evidence of subsequent remedial measures under the Colorado Rules of Evidence does not apply to strict product liability actions.
Tax Litigation
Salman Ranch Ltd v. United States, 2009 WL 225602, (Fed. Cir. July 30, 2009). In a closely-watched case, the Federal Circuit held that an alleged overstatement of tax basis does not constitute an omission of gross income that would lengthen the statute of limitations for IRS assessment of taxes from three to six years.
Waste Mgmt. of Colo., Inc. v. City of Commerce City, --- P.3d ---, 2010 WL 1491648 (Colo. App. 2010). The court ruled in favor of our client, who contested the city’s assessment of nearly $900,000 in sales and use tax on two types of transactions. We also successfully resisted the city’s petition for certiorari review in the Colorado Supreme Court.
Washington County Bd. of Equalization v. Petron Dev. Co., 109 P.3d 146 (Colo. 2005). In a decision of importance to all Colorado oil and gas producers, the Colorado Supreme Court held that taxpayers may deduct post-wellhead production costs in valuing oil and gas leaseholds for state property tax assessments.
Bd. of County Comm'rs v. Shell W. E&P, Inc., 12 P.3d 1219 (Colo. App. 2000). The Court of Appeals upheld a ruling by a district court that a county was not entitled to post-judgment interest against our client with respect to delinquent interest paid on underpaid property taxes.
EchoStar Satellite, L.L.C. v. Arapahoe County Bd. of Equalization, 171 P.3d 633 (Colo. App. 2007). The Colorado Court of Appeals affirmed a ruling by the Colorado Board of Assessment Appeals that certain equipment owned by our client qualified for an exemption from personal property tax.
Torts & Insurance Litigation
Trimble v. Engleking,939 P.2d 1379 (Idaho 1997). In a case of first impression involving the nullity doctrine, the Idaho Supreme Court reversed the dismissal of our client's personal injury claim.
West Coast Life Ins. Co. v. Hoar, 558 F.3d 1151 (10th Cir. 2009). The Tenth Circuit upheld summary judgment and affirmed our client's right to rescind a $3 million life insurance policy. Addressing an issue of first impression in Colorado, the court accepted our view of when an insurer becomes "chargeable with knowledge" of a fact concealed by the insured.
BRW, Inc. v. Dufficy & Sons, Inc., 99 P.3d 66 (Colo. 2004). The Colorado Supreme Court adopted our client's position that the economic loss rule barred a subcontractor's tort claims against the owner's design professional.
Aviation Methods, Inc. v. United Parcel Serv., 1999 WL 197169 (9th Cir. 1999). Reversing, in part, a summary judgment against our client, the Ninth Circuit established the right of a defendant in multidistrict air crash litigation to seek contribution from co-tortfeasors to multimillion dollar settlements reached with crash victims' families.
Abromats v. Wood, 213 P.3d 966 (Wyo. 2009). In a case of first impression, the Wyoming Supreme Court held that crime victims are entitled to absolute immunity for victim impact statements published to the trial court and the dismissal of defamation claims against our client was affirmed.
Bennett v. Greeley Gas Co., 969 P.2d 754 (Colo. App. 1998), cert. denied (Colo. 1999). In this case arising from a natural gas explosion, the Colorado Court of Appeals reversed a judgment of about $6 million (including punitive damages) against our client and granted a new trial on all issues.
Hansen v. State Farm Mut. Aut. Ins. Co., 957 P.2d 1380 (Colo. 1998). Clarifying the scope of the respective obligations of counsel and the trial court in crafting jury instructions, the Colorado Supreme Court reversed a Court of Appeals decision that had vacated a substantial verdict in favor of our client on her claim for bad faith breach of an insurance policy.
Estate of Amos v. Vanderbilt Univ.,62 S.W.3d 133 (Tenn. 2001). The Tennessee Supreme Court reinstated a nearly $6 million tort judgment for our clients, holding that the hospital defendant had a duty to warn our client that she had received a blood transfusion and was at risk for contracting HIV, and that the special proof requirements for negligent infliction of emotional distress claims did not apply to our client's duty-to-warn claim.
Amicus Briefs
Marshall v. Montana, 975 P.2d 325 (Mont. 1999). Ruling in favor of public interest groups, including our amicus curiae client, the Montana Supreme Court declared unconstitutional an initiative that stripped the taxing power from Montana's legislature.
Wilkie v. Robbins,551 U.S. 537 (U.S. 2007). We filed an amicus brief addressing an individual's ability to sue government officials who retaliate for the exercise of the Fifth Amendment right to exclude others from one's property.
Tattered Cover, Inc. v. City of Thornton, 44 P.3d 1044 (Colo. 2002). The Colorado Supreme agreed with our amicus curiae client that an innocent, third-party bookstore must be afforded an opportunity for a hearing before the execution of a search warrant seeking to obtain customers' book-purchasing records.
Schwankl v. Davis, 85 P.3d 512 (Colo. 2004). The Colorado Supreme Court adopted the position of our amici curiae client that Colorado's Good Samaritan statute should protect individuals who in good faith report recurrent crimes such as domestic violence.
SWANCC v. U.S. Army Corps of Eng'rs, 531 U.S. 159 (U.S. 2001). We drafted an amicus brief on behalf of three industry groups in a challenge to the validity of the "migratory bird rule," a regulation that extended the Army Corps of Engineers' permitting authority under the Clean Water Act to isolated bodies of water used by migratory birds. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of our clients' position and held that in adopting the rule, the Corps exceed its authority under the Act.
Stewart v. Kempthorne, 554 F.3d 1245 (10th Cir. 2009). We drafted an amicus brief on behalf of a coalition of New Mexico counties in a challenge to the validity of grazing permits issued by the Bureau of Land Management.