Colorado Utility Easement Law

Utility easements are incredibly common in Colorado. At Newland Legal, we regularly see issues with our clients in Evergreen, Colorado, concerning how utility easements can work in practice. What are Colorado utility easements and what do you do when there is a dispute about them?

 Contact the experienced attorneys at Newland Legal today at (303) 948-1489 to speak to a lawyer about your utility easement case.

Utility Easement Law In Colorado

The Colorado Court of Appeals addressed a utility easement issue in its October 31, 2022, decision in the case of Ute Water v. Fontanari, case no. 20CA2132 (Colo. Court. App. 2022). If you have a dispute involving a Colorado utility easement, then you should read below and contact Newland Legal today to see how we can help.

What Are Utility Easements?

What are utility easements? Utility easements are rights granted by landowners to utility companies such as water companies, electric companies, and telecommunication companies to place their transmission lines on private property situated between the utility company and their customers. See Wright v. Horse Creek Ranches, 697 P.2d 384, 387 (Colo. 1985). According to the Colorado Court of Appeals, “without utility easements, homes and businesses would lack access to critical services such as power…internet, and water.”

Ute Water Case Easement Dispute

In the Ute Water case, a typical utility easement was disputed. Ute Water is a large utility provider in western Colorado that provides water to approximately 80,000 customers. Ute Water’s main transmission pipeline delivers about 2/3rds of the total volume of water to those 80,000 customers. This is the pipeline that crossed the Fontanari’s land.

In the 1980s, the Fontanari’s granted a utility easement to Ute Water to construct and maintain a pipeline on their land. At the time, the pipeline was placed under what was then a small private dirt road on the Fonatanari’s property. Over time, the Fontanari’s improved their land and began improving the road. This included lots of dirt work, drainage, and other changes that made it difficult if not impossible for Ute Water to access the pipeline and conduct maintenance.

Ute Water was not consulted or notified about the changes in advance. Eventually, Ute Water learned of the changes  on the ground. The changes increased the likelihood of damage to the pipeline, and made the detection of leaks more difficult. Ute Water eventually filed a lawsuit against the Fontanari’s alleging, among other claims, breach of contract.

After failed attempts at settlement during the lawsuit, Ute Water constructed a new pipeline section that bypassed the Fontanari land. Ute Water then severed the Fontanari portion and plugged each end of the Fontanari portion with concrete. At trial, Ute Water only sought damages in the amount of costs it incurred in moving the pipeline away from the Fontanari land.

Ute Water won at trial. The court found that the Fontanari’s “unreasonably interfered with the easements” granted to Ute Water. Ute Water was granted a judgment of approximately $500,000 for its relocation expenses.

How do you determine what an easement includes?

The scope and extent of easements in Colorado is rooted in contract law. This means that courts look to the document creating an easement and interpret that document to discern the extent of a Colorado easement. The goal of a Colorado court interpreting a utility easement is to “effectuate the intent and reasonable expectations of the parties.” Copper Mountain, Inc. v. Indus. Sys., Inc., 208 P.3d 692, 697 (Colo. 2009).

What about damages in utility easement litigation?

When determining damages in a Colorado utility easement dispute, courts are going to use ordinary breach of contract damages formulas. This means that the “measure of damages is the amount it takes to place the plaintiff in the position it would have occupied had the breach not occurred.” Acoustic Mktg. Rsch., Inc. v. Technics, LLC, 198 P.3d 96, 98 (Colo. 2008).

According to the Colorado Court of Appeals, a Colorado utility company may recover as breach of contract damages the expenses it incurred to relocate its pipeline in unreasonable interference cases. This was the first time a Colorado appellate decision had come to this conclusion. The Colorado Court of appeals approved of citing to out-of-state cases for the idea that relocation damages are available in easement cases sometimes.

Since the trial court in Ute Water did not err in awarding relocation damages for breach of contract to the utility easement, the Colorado Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court decision. This is an important decision moving forward that every Colorado real estate attorney dealing with easements should read.

Do you need a utility easement lawyer in Colorado?

Only the top Colorado divorce attorneys are intimately familiar with the issues Colorado utility easements and how to take them from consult to jury verdict. Our Evergreen, Colorado litigation boutique is set up to deliver the highest service to a select number of clients dealing with life’s most difficult problems.

Do you have an issue involving Colorado easements and need to speak to an attorney? If you have a real estate issue involving easements in Jefferson County, Clear Creek County, Summit County, or Park County Colorado, you should contact Newland Legal today. Call us at (303) 948-1489 or email us at zach@newlandlegal.com to find out how we can help you keep the rights to your land.