DENVER, Colo., April 13, 2015—The representative association for Colorado’s small-business owners applauded today’s decision by the Colorado Supreme Court in a slip-and-fall case that, had it gone the other way, would have made the state a quick-buck haven for hyper-imaginative lawyers and litigants.
In a friend-of-the-court brief, the Legal Center of the National Federation of Independent Business, America’s largest and leading small-business association, and the Colorado Defense Attorney Association asked the state’s highest court to uphold a Court of Appeals ruling in Jordan v. Panorama Orthopedics & Spine Center, PC.
Plaintiff Barbara Jordan slipped on a sidewalk outside of the Panorama Orthopedics’ office in Golden, Colorado. The landlord of the sidewalk had settled, but Jordan has continued her lawsuit against Panorama Orthopedics, a commercial tenant on the premises.
The Supreme Court agreed with NFIB and CDAA, ruling this morning that “the clinic was not in possession of the sidewalk because it had only a right of non-exclusive use and the landlord retained responsibility for maintaining that area. Second, the court concludes that, under the terms of the lease and the facts of this case, the clinic was not legally responsible for the condition of the sidewalk or for the activities conducted or circumstances existing there. It therefore holds that the clinic is not a landowner within the meaning of the Premises Liability Act.”
“Had the plaintiff prevailed, it would have made all commercial tenants liable for accidents occurring in communal areas that they are not even responsible for,” said Karen Harned, executive director of NFIB’s Small Business Legal Center. “We are pleased the Court understood and took seriously small business concerns in this case.”
Tony Gagliardi, NFIB’s Colorado state director, added, “The Supreme Court should have also issued an order that the plaintiff reimburse Panorama for all legal fees for filing such a blatant frivolous lawsuit. Small businesses have enough daily worries in remaining solvent. They don’t need a new reason to be sued for something that is not their responsibility. So we applaud today’s decision, because it protects the rights of commercial tenants.”
The Supreme Court’s decision can be read here, and NFIB’s friend-of-the-court brief here.
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The NFIB Small Business Legal Center is a 501(c)(3) organization created to protect the rights of America’s small business owners by providing advisory material on legal issues and by ensuring that the voice of small business is heard in the nation’s courts. The National Federation of Independent Business is the nation’s leading small business association, with offices in Washington, D.C. and all 50 state capitals. For more than 70 years, the National Federation of Independent Business has been the Voice of Small Business, taking the message from Main Street to the halls of Congress and all 50 state legislatures. NFIB annually surveys its members on state and federal issues vital to their survival as America’s economic engine and biggest creator of jobs. NFIB’s educational mission is to remind policymakers that small businesses are not smaller versions of bigger businesses; they have very different challenges and priorities.
National Federation of Independent Business/Colorado
1580 Logan St. Suite 520
Denver, CO 80203
303-325-6243
