The courthouse
The Douglas County Courthouse is at 4000 Justice Way, Ste. 2009, Castle Rock, CO 80109. A case is assigned to that courthouse only if the facts point there, such as your county of residence and the places where the insurer operates.
IT'S MORE THAN MONEY.
Castle Rock Bad Faith Insurance Lawyers When a Fire Claim Turns Into a Receipt Hunt
After a house fire, a crash, or an injury that keeps you off work, the policy you bought is supposed to carry part of the load. If your insurer has pushed the claim aside, cut the payout, or denied it outright, call (303) 209-9395 and we'll look at what it did.
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(303) 209-9395
Castle Rock, Douglas County
Why policyholders call us
CGH Injury Lawyers represents Castle Rock residents against insurers that deny, delay, or underpay claims without a reasonable basis. Your first conversation with us is free, and we do not get paid unless we win.
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ABOTA trial advocate on the team
Trial lawyers, not a settlement mill
8 attorneys, bilingual EN / ES
The fire trucks left hours ago, and the contents list you sent your insurer has been "under review" ever since. A Castle Rock bad faith insurance lawyer can dig into that review, find out what reasons the insurer has given, and weigh them against the standard Colorado law sets.
Founded in Denver in 2016 as Cheney Galluzzi & Howard, CGH Injury Lawyers works with Castle Rock clients from that same city. Get in touch at (303) 209-9395 or through the contact page.
What This Page Covers
- The good-faith duty your insurer owes you
- Colorado's statutory and common-law bad faith claims, compared
- The courthouse in Castle Rock and the local records that support a claim
- Our case process, available remedies, insurer arguments, and deadlines
Key Takeaways
- Insurers owe their customers fair treatment. The duty of good faith and fair dealing runs from an insurance company to the people it insures, per Colorado's jury instructions.
- Delay or denial needs a reason. Colorado's statute forbids unreasonable delay or denial of covered benefits and unreasonable means lacking a reasonable basis.
- Both claims can travel together. The statutory claim is separate from the common-law claim, and a single set of facts may support each.
- The statute spells out the recovery. A claimant can seek double the covered benefit, plus court costs and reasonable attorney fees.
- Two years is the general common-law limit. That period generally starts once you knew, or should have known, about the injury and what caused it, and a lawyer should confirm it for your claim.
Castle Rock Claims That End Up in Dispute
A fire claim has two parts, the house and what was in it. It's the second part where a claim can bog down, with requests for receipts you lost in the fire and values cut item by item.
Auto and income claims can grind to a halt the same way. After a crash with an underinsured driver, your carrier may sit on the claim, and a disability insurer may end benefits while your doctor says you still can't return to work.
We look at why. The statute cares about the insurer's basis for each decision, and we look for it in the claim file.
Common law vs. statute
Two Ways to Hold an Insurer Responsible in Colorado
Colorado gives policyholders two claims. The jury instructions treat the statutory claim as "separate from" the common-law claim, and one set of facts may support both.
| Statutory claim | Common-law claim | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting point | C.R.S. 10-3-1115, with remedies in 10-3-1116 | Travelers Insurance Co. v. Savio (Colo. 1985) |
| You must show | A covered benefit was held up or refused with no reasonable basis | Unreasonable conduct, plus the insurer's knowledge or reckless disregard of it |
| Which is harder | The easier claim to prove | The harder claim, because of the knowledge element |
| Available remedy | Twice the covered benefit, along with court costs and reasonable attorney fees | Damages caused by the insurer's conduct |
How the statute works
Colorado's statute bars an insurer from acting to "unreasonably delay or deny" what a first-party claimant is owed on a claim for benefits. The test for unreasonable is whether the insurer acted without a reasonable basis.
The law protects people claiming under their own coverage. Claims against somebody else's liability coverage fall outside it, which generally rules out the other driver's insurer. Among its other limits, the statute doesn't apply to workers' compensation, title insurance, or life insurance issued under Article 7 of Title 10.
How the common-law claim works
Savio adds a second hurdle. Beyond unreasonable conduct, you have to show the insurer was aware that its conduct was unreasonable or that it recklessly ignored it.
Local Knowledge
Castle Rock's Courthouse and Local Records
According to Douglas County, Castle Rock is the county seat. Douglas County belongs to the 23rd Judicial District, and its courthouse is in Castle Rock.
Hospital records
The state health department's trauma facility list designates AdventHealth Castle Rock, at 2350 Meadows Blvd., as Level III. When an auto or health insurer disputes your care costs, records from that hospital or any other that treated you can help show what care was needed.
Fire department records
The Town of Castle Rock's facility listing says the Castle Rock Fire and Rescue Department protects the Town and the Castle Rock Fire Protection District. What the responding crew recorded may help show how a fire started when your insurer questions the cause, so it is worth asking for while details are fresh.
Claims that can become disputes in Castle Rock:
- A house fire contents claim where the insurer demands receipts for items that burned
- A water line failure in the garage or basement, denied as long-term leakage
- An underinsured motorist claim on your own auto policy that stalls after a crash
- Disability benefits ended while your doctor still restricts your work
Why CGH
Why Castle Rock Clients Turn to CGH Injury Lawyers
Preparing for trial
We prepare each case as if it will be tried.
ABOTA
Managing Partner Kevin Cheney belongs to the American Board of Trial Advocates.
Case review
We go through your policy, the correspondence, and the timeline of the claim.
Spanish-language line
Call (303) 835-9177 for help in Spanish.
Our Denver office
We're at 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201.
How we handle your case
The Steps in a Castle Rock Bad Faith Case
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Document review
Your policy, the insurer's letters, and the claim timeline come first.
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Legal fit
We match the facts to the common-law claim, the statutory claim or both.
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Demand
We send a formal written demand to the insurer.
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Evidence
We include claims-file materials, your documentation, and outside expert input where it helps.
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Filing
We file where the case belongs, which may be the Douglas County Courthouse in Castle Rock once the venue is confirmed.
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Remedies
We pursue the underlying benefit, statutory damages, and attorney fees where applicable.
Compensation
What Castle Rock Policyholders Can Recover
A bad faith case has no set value. It depends on your policy, your losses, and how the insurer acted, and reading the file comes first. What we can do early is show you which remedies fit your facts.
What the statute allows
Section 10-3-1116(1) lets a first-party claimant whose claim was unreasonably delayed or denied sue in district court to recover two times the covered benefit, together with reasonable attorney fees and court costs. An unreasonably delayed benefit the insurer paid before judgment doesn't reduce that award, the jury instruction notes say.
What the common law allows
The actual damages instruction includes:
- Noneconomic losses or injuries
- Economic losses to date and those likely in the future
- Physical impairment or disfigurement, where the proof supports it
Punitive damages
They may be possible in some cases, but proof of bad faith alone doesn't establish them, according to the instruction notes.
A health or disability policy issued in Colorado carries one more protection: a clause that hands the insurer discretion to interpret terms or decide eligibility has no effect, because the statute makes it void (C.R.S. 10-3-1116(2)).
Insurer defenses
What Insurers Say, and How We Respond
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"We need proof of ownership"
Your insurer can ask for proof of ownership. When the proof burned, photos, bank records and other sources can help rebuild the inventory. If the insurer's own adjuster walked through the house and saw the damage, that visit belongs in the record as well.
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"The claim is fairly debatable"
Colorado lets an insurer challenge a claim that's fairly debatable, even if its denial turns out to be mistaken. The jury instructions say that weighs against bad faith but, without more, is not outcome-determinative, and a denial without a reasonable basis isn't fairly debatable.
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"Our later findings back us up"
Colorado judges an insurer's decision on the information in front of it at the time. Schultz v. GEICO Casualty Co. is the case the jury instructions cite for this.
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Deadlines and next steps
Castle Rock Bad Faith Deadlines
Common-law bad faith counts as a tort in the jury instructions, and C.R.S. 13-80-102 governs it. It has to be brought within two years after you knew both the injury and its cause, or would have known with reasonable diligence.
For statutory claims, look to the Colorado Supreme Court's decision in Rooftop Restoration. Its holding: a claim under section 10-3-1116(1) isn't governed by the one-year penalty-action limit in C.R.S. 13-80-103(1)(d).
Underinsured motorist bad faith has its own starting line. The claim for unpaid UIM benefits can't accrue until you've obtained a judgment against, or settled with, the underinsured driver. Ask a lawyer to confirm your deadline.
Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I tell if my fire claim is a bad faith insurance claim in Colorado?
Look at the insurer's reasons for each delay or cut. Under the statute, a bad faith insurance claim in Colorado turns on C.R.S. 10-3-1115, which asks whether a covered benefit was delayed or denied without a reasonable basis, and a common-law claim also requires the insurer's knowledge or reckless disregard. We can check the insurer's explanations against your policy and the file.
Is the Castle Rock courthouse where my case would go?
Possibly. The court is chosen based on the facts, like the insurer's places of business and your home, and for a Castle Rock resident the Douglas County Courthouse in Castle Rock is one option.
My own insurer won't pay my underinsured motorist claim. What can I do?
Because this is your own uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage, you're the first-party claimant, and an unreasonable delay or denial can support a bad faith claim. Keep the timing rule in mind, though: that bad faith claim can't accrue until you've obtained a judgment against, or settled with, the underinsured driver.
My disability benefits stopped. Does Colorado law help?
It may. If the insurer ended benefits without a reasonable basis, the statute can apply, and if the policy was issued in Colorado and the plan's administrative remedies are used up, you're entitled to de novo review by a court and the right to a jury (C.R.S. 10-3-1116(3)).
Can the other driver's insurer be sued for bad faith?
Generally not under the statute. Its definition of a first-party claimant leaves out a person asserting a claim against an insured under a liability policy, so a claim against the at-fault driver's carrier generally falls outside it.
How much could a bad faith case be worth?
Figures come once we've been through your file. The statute lets you seek twice the covered benefit with court costs and reasonable attorney fees, while common-law damages cover the economic and noneconomic losses the insurer's conduct caused.
What if I can't find receipts for things lost in the fire?
Tell us what you do have. Photos, bank and card statements and online order histories can help rebuild an inventory.
Is there a CGH Injury Lawyers office in Castle Rock?
No. We serve Castle Rock clients from our Denver office at 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201. Call us at (303) 209-9395 to tell us about your claim.
Keep Reading
Related pages
It's More Than Money.
Speak With a Castle Rock Bad Faith Insurance Attorney
A bad faith insurance attorney can review a stalled, refused or underpaid claim with you. Call (303) 209-9395 or send the details through our contact page.
You'll find more on our Colorado bad faith insurance lawyer page and our Denver bad faith insurance lawyer page. If a collision started the claim, read our Castle Rock uninsured motorist lawyer page along with the page for our Castle Rock car accident lawyer work, and see Castle Rock personal injury lawyers for the rest of our work.
Prefer to read first? See how Colorado bad faith law works.
CGH Injury Lawyers · 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201, Denver, CO 80205
Cheney Galluzzi & Howard, LLC, d/b/a CGH Injury Lawyers. Attorney advertising. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every case turns on its own facts, injuries, and available insurance coverage. This site is for general information and is not legal advice. Reading this page does not create an attorney-client relationship.