The Colorado Supreme Court ruled on October 21 that tenants have a statutory right to jury trials in landlord-tenant eviction proceedings under certain circumstances. Writing for the majority in Mercy Housing Management Group, Inc. v. Bermudez, Justice Carlos A. Samour Jr. explained that the Court sought to correct county courts’ common practice of denying jury trials to tenants facing eviction. In the past, county judges have refused jury trials in eviction cases on the grounds that there is no constitutional right to trial by jury in civil cases in Colorado. Yet, according to the opinion, while this right may not exist in the state’s constitution, it is embedded in existing state statutory law and court rule under the Colorado Rule of Civil Procedure 338(a) and the state’s forcible-entry-and-detainer (FED) statute. Following the decision, the right to a jury trial will be immediately extended to tenants in Colorado who are facing unresolved factual disputes in eviction cases.
The ruling will help to address power imbalances between landlords and tenants in the judicial system. On average, 83% of landlords in eviction cases have legal representation in court, while only 3% of tenants do. This disparity of legal resources results in the vast majority of cases being resolved in default judgments against tenants. Tenants’ ability to access a jury of their peers in select cases may increase the favorable eviction court outcome-rate, especially when paired with right to counsel protections that have been passed in Denver and Boulder. When tenants have access to legal representation, landlord-tenant cases resolve in default judgments less than 5% of the time. (Default judgments occur when a court automatically rules in landlords’ favor when a tenant does not answer a court summons or does not appear in court.)
Opponents of the proposed rule argued that the Court’s decision will overwhelm courts and create capacity-issues within the state’s judicial system. However, the opinion states that the majority is unpersuaded that their decision “will cause the sky to fall.” Specifically, the majority argues that (1) difficulties with judicial administration do not justify failing to correctly apply the state’s statutory law and (2) there is no reason to believe the number of jury trials will rise to an unreasonable extent. The Court notes that 25 states currently extend the right to a jury trial to tenants in eviction cases. Of these states, Eviction Lab reports that 10 have higher eviction filing rates than Colorado. The Court asserts that these data demonstrate that the judicial system can accommodate higher numbers of civil court jury trials.
To access a jury trial, tenants must present a genuine issue of material fact in the eviction filing. Tenants assert this factual dispute by filing an Answer form that should be included with the eviction Summons and Complaint they receive from their landlord. Tenants must file their Answer with the Clerk of the Court on or before their Summons date. It costs $80-$130 to file an Answer, and $98 to request a jury trial. However, tenants can request a fee waiver when they file.
More information about the Colorado Supreme Court’s opinion can be found here.