Colorado Civil Justice League, the state’s leading advocate of “common sense in the courtroom,” today applauded the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision in Ferrellgas vs. Yeiser.
In an en banc ruling, the Court found that Ellen Yeiser, originally the plaintiff in a breach of contract claim, may not collect twice — from both her insurer and from a defendant — for property damage expenses. She also sought damages for loss of use of her home and loss of rental income from defendant Ferrellgas Inc., which supplied propane to the house in Silverthorne.
Yeiser collected property damage and repair expenses from her insurer, which then reached a reimbursement settlement with Ferrellgas. The defendant then offered Yeiser $197,000 to settle her remaining claims, but that offer was rejected.
Ultimately, a jury awarded Yeiser $314,323, but a key question was whether the property damage expenses that Ferrellgas paid to Yeiser’s insurer should be deducted from that amount. The Supreme Court ruled that Yeiser wasn’t entitled to a double recovery and that Ferrellgas could deduct $212,071 in expenses that it had previously settled with Yeiser’s insurer.
Under Colorado’s offer of settlement statute, when a plaintiff rejects a pre-trial settlement but receives a lesser amount at trial, the defendant can seek to recover legal costs incurred after the offer was made.
In a brief written by Christopher L. Ottele and Christopher Brady, CCJL supported the trial court’s decision to award costs to Ferrellgas. They argued that the Court of Appeals ruling, which overturned the trial court’s award, was contrary to the law’s stated purpose of encouraging reasonable offers of settlement and to avoid costs to all parties.
“The trial court should reinstate Ferrellgas’s . . . cost award if its settlement offer of $197,000 is greater than” Yeiser’s remaining damages of $102,525 plus interest, Justice Nancy Rice wrote in the opinion.
