Chapter 9 - § 9.3 DETERMINATION OF A QUESTION OF LAW

• Jurisdiction: Colorado

§ 9.3 Determination of a Question of Law

Under C.R.C.P. 56(h), either party can move to have the court determine a question of law at any time after the "last required pleading," which is generally after the defending party has filed its answer, unless a counterclaim has been asserted in which case it is after the reply to the counterclaim.³⁰ A motion for the determination of a question of law is used when either: (1) the parties agree on the material facts; or (2) the court ascertains that there is no issue of any material fact that is necessary to be decided for the court to make a decision on the law, and the parties simply disagree on what the law means or how the law should be applied. This rule provides a method by which questions of law that will affect the remainder of the case can be determined during the pendency of the case, and it allows the parties to better focus the case for trial or summary judgment. Choice of law, existence of a fiduciary duty, and res judicata or collateral estoppel are some examples of issues that might be determined as a matter of law under C.R.C.P. 56(h).

§ 9.4 Declaratory Judgment

An action for issuance of a declaratory judgment may be brought under the Uniform Declaratory Judgments Law³¹ and the Colorado Rules of Civil Procedure.³² The action is employed when a person is unsure about how the law will affect certain of his or her rights, and is therefore unsure about whether he or she can take certain actions. Declaratory judgments generally are sought for the clarification of a person's rights under wills, deeds, contracts, statutes, or laws. The person seeking the declaratory judgment must be "interested" in the determination.³³ A person who is "interested" for these purposes is someone whose rights are presently being affected by the writing, statute, or other regulation at issue.³⁴ The court can issue a declaratory judgment for a number of reasons, such as: (1) clarifying the identity of creditors, heirs, or other devisees; (2) directing executors, trustees, or administrators to take or refrain from taking, certain actions; or (3) determining any other question relating to the administration of a trust or estate.³⁵

Actions for declaratory judgments can be decided in the same manner as any other types of actions in the court in which they are filed, i.e., by trial, motion, or hearing and by the court or a jury, if the right to a jury trial exists for the type of relief sought.³⁶

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^[30] C.R.C.P...