Red Rocks Suit Back To Court

Colorado’s Court of Appeals recently reversed a previous decision to dismiss the suit. In it, plaintiffs argued that “their injuries resulted from a dangerous condition of the amphitheater, a public facility and a public building, which was caused by improper maintenance,” according to court documents obtained by the local Westword. Their contention that the injuries occurred in a public building appears to be what raised a question for the court of appeals.

A 2013 decision found the city was protected from responsibility under Colorado’s Governmental Immunity Act since Creation Rock, from which the rocks slid, was a “natural condition of . . . unimproved property.”

Creation Rock is one of several formations that surround the amphitheater. But that ruling failed to address whether Red Rocks is a public building, the Westword noted.

Sam Ventola, an attorney representing the concertgoers, told the paper the venue meets the definition of a building, which doesn’t always necessarily include four walls and a roof.

“A building is anything that is unnaturally built up above the ground,” he said. The case has been remanded back to district court.