George H. Bradfield

This case involved a workers' compensation claim by Herbert Taylor, an employee of J.W. Metz Lumber Company, who alleged a back injury from lifting lumber on May 12, 1955, which led to a ruptured disc requiring surgery. The Industrial Commission awarded compensation after finding the injury compensable, the district court affirmed the award, and the employer appealed on grounds that there was no evidence of an accidental injury or that it caused the disability. The Colorado Supreme Court affirmed the judgment, holding that an unexpected injury arising from ordinary work exertion qualifies as an accident under the Workmen’s Compensation Act, even without a slip or fall, and that the Commission's findings supported by competent evidence are binding on the courts.

labor & employmentprocedure

This case arose from an automobile accident in which two moving cars collided, causing one to strike a parked vehicle and injure its occupant, plaintiff Iva Morris; the plaintiffs sued the owners and drivers of both moving cars jointly and severally for negligence. After settling with one pair of defendants (the Shulls) for $500 cash plus a $250 promissory note and stipulating to dismiss the action with prejudice as to them only, the remaining defendants (the Diers) moved to dismiss on the ground that the release of one joint tortfeasor released all. The trial court granted the motion and dismissed the claims against the Diers with prejudice. The Colorado Supreme Court affirmed, holding that under longstanding state precedent the release of one joint tortfeasor for consideration discharges all others sued for the same injury, regardless of any stated intent to preserve claims against the rest.

torts & liabilityprocedure

The case involved a county clerk and recorder convicted by a jury of converting public funds to his own use in violation of C.R.S. 1953, 40-19-3 and sentenced to five to seven years in the state penitentiary. The Colorado Supreme Court reversed the conviction and ordered a new trial based on three errors. A prospective juror was improperly excused for cause after the prosecution exhausted its peremptory challenges, effectively granting an extra challenge that could have affected the defendant's substantial rights. After the defendant rested, the court allowed the prosecution to recall him for further cross-examination and admit an audit report without proper foundation or identification by its preparer. The penitentiary sentence was also unlawful because the statute did not expressly authorize such imprisonment.

criminal lawprocedure

This case is a quiet title action in which plaintiffs sought to establish ownership of certain placer mining claims and land tracts in Colorado's Hope Mining District based on chains of title derived from declarations of trust, wills, quitclaim deeds from heirs and beneficiaries of Frank Zaitz Sr. and Jr., and a sheriff's deed against defendant Ada D. Balkwill's interest. The trial court declined to quiet title in the plaintiffs for most of the property, finding insufficient color of title, bad faith due to knowledge of the trusts, and inadequate proof of possession under Colorado statutes. The Colorado Supreme Court reversed, holding that the quitclaim deeds validly conveyed the grantors' existing interests without evidence of bad faith, that plaintiffs held record title to substantial portions, and that their constructive possession (with no adverse claims) was sufficient to support the action under C.R.S. 1953, 118-7-9. The court remanded for a new trial, allowing amended pleadings, while noting issues like tax payments were unresolved. The only appearing defendant claimed a fractional interest but offered no proof and sought no affirmative relief.

propertyprocedure

This case involved claims filed against the estate of Clarence P. Haas for the wrongful deaths of two sheriff's deputies killed by Haas in 1952, one brought by the surviving wife of James L. Jackson and the other assigned to the Colorado Industrial Commission from the widow of Wesley A. McDonald. The county court dismissed both claims (plus an amended version) as untimely under the six-month non-claim statute, C.R.S.1953, 152-12-12, and the Supreme Court affirmed. The court held that the non-claim period began running on April 15, 1953, when the administrator was appointed, took the oath, and posted bond, rather than on the later date when the letters of administration were physically signed and filed; it also ruled that the Compensation Fund, as assignee of a private claim, stood in the same position as any other creditor and received no exemption from the statute. The opinion interpreted the relevant probate notice provisions, including C.R.S.1953, 152-12-4, to require claims to be filed within the fixed deadline or be barred.

proceduretorts & liabilityproperty

This case concerned a workers' compensation claim filed by the guardian of two minor children seeking death benefits after their father, Oscar Hamilton, was killed by rolling logs while on the premises of his former employer, J. Stanley Weideman, Inc., six days after being laid off. The Industrial Commission denied the claim, finding insufficient evidence that Hamilton was on the property to collect wages or that his death arose out of and in the course of employment, and the district court affirmed that denial. The Colorado Supreme Court affirmed the judgment, concluding that the Commission had properly resolved conflicts in the evidence and inferences about Hamilton's purpose for being on the premises, and that courts must defer to the Commission's factual findings when they are supported by the record.

labor & employment