DENVER — Colorado Civil Justice League has announced winners of its Common Sense in the Courtroom Awards, given to state legislators who have demonstrated a commitment to curtailing lawsuit abuse.

Awards will be presented at CCJL’s Legislative Awards Luncheon on Wednesday, Oct. 24, at the Denver Four Seasons.

CCJL is the only organization in Colorado exclusively dedicated to stopping lawsuit abuse while preserving a system of civil justice that fairly compensates legitimate victims.

“Common Sense in the Courtroom requires justice for those who have been wronged, balanced by fairness for those who may be wrongfully accused,” said CCJL executive director Mark Hillman.

The best news from the 2018 legislative session was the bills that didn’t pass.Late in the legislative session, two bills were introduced to discourage arbitration – an alternative to litigation that often saves time and money.  The alternative to arbitration?  Hiring a lawyer and filing a lawsuit, of course.

Other bills were introduced to address business practices that result in perceived greed or inequity.  The irony, however, is that in each of these bills the remedy to alleged “corporate greed” was to create new incentives for profiteering by personal injury lawyers.

“At CCJL, we are grateful for the bipartisan support of legislators who understand the importance of an efficient and balanced court system to our state’s economy,” Hillman said.

Common Sense in the Courtroom Award recipients include:

• Representatives Jon Becker (Fort Morgan), Susan Beckman (Littleton), Perry Buck (Greeley), Terri Carver (Colorado Springs), Marc Catlin (Montrose), Phil Covarrubias (Brighton), Justin Everett (Littleton), Matt Gray (Broomfield), Chris Hansen (Denver), Steve Humphrey (Eaton), Tracy Kraft-Tharp (Arvada), Lois Landgraf (Fountain), Polly Lawrence (Douglas County), Tim Leonard (Evergreen), Kimmi Lewis (Kim), Larry Liston (Colorado Springs), Paul Lundeen (Monument), Hugh McKean (Loveland), Patrick Neville (Franktown), Dan Pabon (Denver), Bob Rankin (Carbondale), Kim Ranson (Douglas County), Judy Reyher (La Junta), Lori Saine (Firestone), Shane Sandridge (Colorado Springs), Lang Sias (Arvada), Dan Thurlow (Grand Junction), Kevin Van Winkle (Highlands Ranch), Yeulin Willett (Grand Junction), David Williams (Colorado Springs), Jim Wilson (Salida), Alex “Skinny” Winkler (Northglenn) and Cole Wist (Centennial).
• Senators Rachel Zenzinger (Arvada), Angela Williams (Denver), Jack Tate (Centennial), Jerry Sonnenberg (Sterling), Jim Smallwood (Castle Rock), Ray Scott (Grand Junction), Kevin Priola (Brighton), Tim Neville (Littleton), Beth Martinez Humenik (Thornton), Vicki Marble (Fort Collins), Kevin Lundberg (Berthoud), Kent Lambert (Colorado Springs), Cheri Jahn (Wheat Ridge), Chris Holbert (Parker), Owen Hill (Colorado Springs), Kevin Grantham (Canon City), Bob Gardner (Colorado Springs), Larry Crowder (Alamosa), Don Coram (Montrose), John Cooke (Greeley) and Randy Baumgardner (Hot Sulphur Springs).This year’s luncheon is sponsored by American Furniture Warehouse, Colorado Association of Mechanical and Plumbing Contractors, State Farm, HuschBlackwell, Wheeler Trigg O’Donnell and COPIC.