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City of Colorado Springs v. Conners2/7/2000
Certiorari to the Colorado Court of Appeals
EN BANC AND CASE REMANDED
I. INTRODUCTION
In this case, we address the question of whether claims for non-compensatory equitable relief under the Colorado Civil Rights Act (CRA) are claims for "injuries which lie in tort or could lie in tort" for the purposes of the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act (CGIA) and thus whether such claims are either barred by or subject to the notice provisions of the CGIA. Petitioner, the City of Colorado Springs, appeals a decision by the court of appeals reversing the trial court's dismissal of a complaint by Kathleen F. Conners, respondent, against the City. See Conners v. City of Colorado Springs, 962 P.2d 294, 299 (Colo. App. 1997). Conners sued the City claiming that she had been subjected to a hostile work environment and retaliatory discharge in violation of the CRA. Conners also filed common-law claims for invasion of privacy and outrageous conduct, and she later sought to add a federal Title VII claim against the City.
The trial court dismissed Conners's claims, ruling that the CGIA barred the claims because Conners did not comply with the notice requirements of the CGIA. The trial court denied as untimely Conners's request to add the Title VII claim. The court of appeals reversed in part, holding that a claim brought under the CRA "is not a claim that lies in tort or could lie in tort," and thus Conners's failure to comply with the notice provisions of the CGIA did not bar her CRA-based claims. Conners, 962 P.2d at 298. The court of appeals affirmed the trial court's decision that Conners's common-law claims were barred by the CGIA. See id. at 299.
We hold that claims for non-compensatory equitable relief based on violations of civil rights statutes such as the CRA are not claims for "injuries which lie in tort or could lie in tort" for the purposes of the CGIA. Accordingly, actions under the CRA that are equitable and non-compensatory in nature are not claims for which the CGIA provides public entities immunity from suit. Therefore, these claims do not have to comply with the notice provisions of the CGIA. Hence, we affirm the result reached by the court of appeals and remand the case with instructions to return it to the trial court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
II. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
Conners worked for the City of Colorado Springs from May 1990, until February 1993. She alleges that in November of 1992, she made informal complaints that another employee harassed her by using vulgar and profane language of a sexually suggestive nature. Conners also alleges that she was discriminated against in work assignments and other conditions of her employment because of her sex and because she had complained of sexual harassment.
In February of 1993, the City fired Conners, purportedly for a lack of work. Conners claims that her job duties "were taken over by other employees" and that "other employees were hired" to perform jobs that she could have performed. Conners asserts that the City fired her because she filed sexual harassment complaints and because she claimed to be a victim of sexual discrimination.
Pursuant to the procedures set forth in the CRA for discriminatory employment claims, Conners filed an administrative complaint with the Colorado Civil Rights
JUDGMENT AFFIRMED
Division (CCRD) in July of 1993. The CCRD found that her claim lacked probable cause in January, 1994. Conners appealed this decision to the Colorado Civil Rights Commission, which upheld the CCRD's decision and issued Conners a right-to-sue letter in February 1994. Under the C
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