Chapter 14 - § 14.2 • ENTRY OF JUDGMENT

• Jurisdiction: Colorado

§ 14.2 • ENTRY OF JUDGMENT

Under Colorado law, it is unclear whether the commission's certificate of ascertainment and assessment constitutes a final judgment in a condemnation case. Because of this ambiguity, following receipt of a certificate of ascertainment, it may be prudent for the parties to ask the trial court to enter the certificate as a final judgment for purposes of determining the appropriate time period for filing any necessary appeals.⁵ In the absence of a final judgment being entered on a certificate of ascertainment, practitioners may wish to consider the date of the certificate as the final judgment for purposes of calculating appeal timelines.

In situations involving a jury verdict, however, the case law is clear. Under City of Aurora v. Powell, the Colorado Supreme Court held that a jury verdict in a condemnation proceeding is neither a judgment nor a judicial determination.⁶ Rather, it is a "finding of fact" that the trial court may accept or reject and use in formulating a judgment. Therefore, to constitute a judgment, it must be entered as such by the court just like any other judgment before it is ripe for appeal.⁷

The foregoing situations involve entry of final judgments following a valuation trial. In situations where the trial court has previously entered an order dismissing the condemnation case altogether, those orders would be considered final judgments for purposes of appeal.⁸ The issue of whether in limine orders of the trial court in condemnation cases may be certified as final judgments for purposes of immediate appeal under C.R.C.P. 54(b) was indirectly addressed in the case of Linnebur v. Public Service Co.⁹

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Notes:

^[5] Note that C.R.S. § 38-1-116 requires the commissioner's certificate "to be entered upon the records of the court."

^[6] City of Aurora v. Powell, 383 P.2d 798 (Colo. 1963).

^[7] C.R.S. § 38-1-113 provides that the "court shall cause the verdict of the jury and the judgment of said court to be entered upon the records of said court."

^[8] See Denver Power & Irrigation Co. v. Denver & R.G.R. Co., 30 Colo. 204, 220, 69 P. 568, 573 (1902) (order dismissing condemnation action was a final judgment...