RULE 3

• Jurisdiction: Colorado

Rule 3. Commencement of Action

(a) How Commenced.A civil action is commenced (1) by filing a complaint with the court, or (2) by service of a summons and complaint. If the action is commenced by the service of a summons and complaint, the complaint must be filed within 14 days after service. If the complaint is not filed within 14 days, the service of summons shall be deemed to be ineffective and void without notice. In such case the court may, in its discretion, tax a reasonable sum in favor of the defendant to compensate the defendant for expense and inconvenience, including attorney's fees, to be paid by the plaintiff or his attorney. The 14 day filing requirement may be expressly waived by a defendant and shall be deemed waived upon the filing of a responsive pleading or motion to the complaint without reserving the issue.

(b) Time of Jurisdiction. The court shall have jurisdiction from (1) the filing of the complaint, or (2) the service of the summons and complaint; provided, however, if more than 14 days elapses after service upon any defendant before the filing of the complaint, jurisdiction as to that defendant shall not attach by virtue of the service.

Source: Entire rule amended and adopted December 14, 2011, effective January 1, 2012, for all cases pending on or filed on or after January 1, 2012, pursuant to C.R.C.P. 1(b).

Cross references: For issuance of summons by attorney or clerk, see C.R.C.P. 4(b).

ANNOTATION

I. General Consideration.

II. How Commenced.

A. Complaint or Summons.

B. Dismissal.

III. Time of Jurisdiction.

I. GENERAL CONSIDERATION.

Law reviews. For article, "One Year Review of Civil Procedure and Appeals", see 40 Den. L. Ctr. J. 66 (1963). For article, "Civil Procedure", which discusses Tenth Circuit decisions dealing with jurisdiction, see 65 Den. U. L. Rev. 405 (1988). For article, "A Modest Proposal: The Rule 3(a) Waiver Agreement", see 46 Colo. Law. 23 (Mar. 2017).

Annotator's note. Since this rule is similar to § 34 of the former Code of Civil Procedure, which was supplanted by the Rules of Civil Procedure in 1941, relevant cases construing that section have been included in the annotations to this rule.

Applied in Havens v. Hardesty, 43 Colo. App. 162, 600 P.2d 116 (1979); DiChellis v. Peterson Chiropractic Clinic, 630 P.2d 103 (Colo. App. 1981); Styers v. Mara, 631 P.2d 1138 (Colo. App. 1981); Johnson v. McCaughan, Carter & Scharrer, 672 P.2d 221 (Colo. App. 1983).

II. HOW COMMENCED. A. Complaint or Summons.

An action is...