The Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that a Douglas County judge incorrectly believed he lacked the authority to allow a property owner to pursue evidence challenging a government entity’s legal right to take its property through eminent domain.
In a June 23 opinion, Justice Susan Blanco wrote that the law does not explicitly provide for the discovery of evidence, but the procedural rules clearly allow judges to grant such a request before property changes hands.
“Applying these Rules and definitions, a trial court may limit or otherwise manage the parties’ participation in pretrial discovery based on its own finding of good cause,” she wrote.
The principle of eminent domain empowers governments to take possession of private property for public use, so long as they provide proper compensation. There are two phases to such proceedings in Colorado: a ruling on the government entity’s ability to possess the property, and a trial to determine the amount of compensation…