Jefferson County v. Dozier.

2025 CO 36. No. 23SC483. Governmental Immunity—Dangerous Condition—Waiver of Immunity—Burden of Proof—Pretrial Procedure—Municipal, County, and Local Government—Unintended or Unreasonable Results; Absurdity.

June 9, 2025

The supreme court held that when a public entity asserts immunity under the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act (CGIA), CRS §§ 24-10-101 to -120, and the disputed jurisdictional facts are inextricably intertwined with the merits of the plaintiff’s claim, the plaintiff must demonstrate a likelihood of the existence of the facts necessary to establish a waiver of CGIA immunity. The court also held that the plaintiff must show that the public entity’s negligent act or omission proximately caused the condition in question for the dangerous condition exception to apply. And here, because the district court found that the public entity’s response to the alleged dangerous condition was reasonable, it correctly concluded that Dozier had failed to establish a likelihood of the facts necessary to establish that the dangerous-condition exception applied and that it lacked jurisdiction over her claims. Accordingly, the court reversed the judgment of the court of appeals and reinstated the district court’s order dismissing Dozier’s complaint.