Date: November 21, 2024
Contact: Darren O’Connor, darreno@dolawllc.com; Andrew Lipscomb, andrew@lipscomb.law; Spencer Bailey, spencer.bailey@cedlaw.org
On October 21, 2024, the Supreme Court of Colorado, in In re Mercy Housing Group, Inc. v. Naomi Bermudez, No. 24SA163 2024 CO 68 (Colo. 2024), held that “guided by the case law, we discern that the FED statute itself confers the right to a jury trial regarding factual disputes in FED-possession cases.” One day later, Darren O’Connor of Darren O’Connor Law, LLC, filed an Answer in a Denver FED-possession case and requested a jury trial.
On November 5th and 6th, 2024, Andrew Lipscomb of Lipscomb Law, LLC, joined Mr. O’Connor to defend against the eviction action in Denver County Court by the manager for the landlord, management company Shockcor Inc., based, in part, on their client’s belief that the landlord was in fact attempting to evict the client in retaliation, because he had sought to get Shockcor Inc. to make repairs to his rental unit. The jury found for the defendant tenant’s claim of retaliation, but motions for judgment notwithstanding the verdict by plaintiff, and for entry of judgment by defendant, were subsequently submitted. Attorney Spencer Bailey of CED Law, who briefed and won the In Re Mercy Housing Group case then joined the defendant’s legal team to prepare for the possibility of an appeal.
On November 20th, the Denver County Court ruled in favor of the defendant and entered judgment upholding the jury’s verdict that the landlord could not take possession due to the defendant’s success arguing the retaliation affirmative defense.
The Denver County Court, in ruling for the defendant, wrote that “[jurors] are the designated arbiters of credibility,” and went on to conclude “[t]he six jurors in this case, listened to the testimony of eight witnesses, reviewed exhibits, answered three special interrogatories with seven separate findings and returned a verdict in favor of the Defendant. The Court must now enter judgment in favor of the Defendant as rendered by the jurors.”
The tenant will now pursue his retaliation counterclaim based on the jury’s findings and seek an award of triple damages and payment of attorney fees in this case. This first win at a jury trial sends a clear message to landlords across the state that evictions, which upend lives and cause challenges to tenants in finding future rentals, will not come without their own risks.
The trial and post-trial team would like to thank Judge Olympia Fay for a well-run and even-handed trial.
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