Our firm is asked often such question as “Can I sue the state of Colorado?”  ”Can I file a lawsuit against a school district?”  ”Is it possible for me to pursue litigation against a city?”

The Answer: Maybe

As in most things in the law, the answer is a strong maybe. Most often the government cannot be sued because it has immunity from suit — this is called soverign immunity because it stems from the time when kings could not be sued by their subjects.  There are exceptions to this rule for those instances where:

• The governmental agency or entity operates a motor vehicle
• The government operates a hospital or correctional facility
• The government operates a building that has a dangerous condition
• The governmental agency knows that it is allowing snow or ice to accumulate on the sidewalks and driveways around a building
• The government operates and maintains a gas facility, water facility, sanitation or swimming facility, and
• The government operates a public park.

Other reasons to waive immunity include the government failing to conduct a background check on certain educational employees and failing to correct the direction of right of way road signs.

The Government Is Protected From Certain Lawsuits

The list of what the government is protected from is much larger, such as:

• Wet, gravel filled driveways outside a school
• The use of a public recreation center
• Holes in the parking lots of public golf courses
• The manner in which a police officer acted toward his passenger in a patrol vehicle, and
• Those instances when a governmental employee’s privately owned motor vehicle is used on the job.

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