The north parking structure at the Jefferson County Administration & Courts building. The area numbered 1 is where plaintiff Beverly Stickle parked her vehicle, while the area numbered 2 is where she fell. Picture from the district court order in Stickle v. County of Jefferson
The walkway, at left, on the north parking structure, with a step-down to the parking lot. Picture from the district court order in Stickle v. County of Jefferson
A view from the north parking structure's walkway, in foreground, toward the parking area. The yellow line is the dividing point, featuring a step-down. Picture from the district court order in Stickle v. County of Jefferson
The north parking structure at the Jefferson County Administration & Courts building. The area numbered 1 is where plaintiff Beverly Stickle parked her vehicle, while the area numbered 2 is where she fell. Picture from the district court order in Stickle v. County of Jefferson
Although Jefferson County insisted its parking garage was not a "public building" and, therefore, the county could not be sued under Colorado law for a woman's injuries, the state's second-highest court rejected those claims on Thursday.
The Colorado Governmental Immunity Act generally shields public entities from civil liability in order to prevent taxpayer dollars from being diverted to lawsuits and to ensure government officials can continue to provide services. There is an exception, however, if a person is injured due to a "dangerous condition of any public building."
A three-judge panel for the Court of Appeals determined a two-level parking garage at the Jefferson County Administration & Courts building is itself a building under ordinary and legal definitions of the word.
"More fundamentally, while we accept the County’s position that a public parking structure — like a public parking lot — can be a 'public facility,'" wrote Judge Anthony J. Navarro in the July 21 opinion, "we reject the notion that a public parking structure cannot also be a 'public building.'"
The appellate ruling allows Beverly Stickle to proceed with her lawsuit against Jeffco for injuries she sustained in the garage.
On Feb. 6, 2018, Stickle drove to the courts building to address a ticket. She used the north parking structure, a triangle-shaped garage with parking on the second level. Drivers can then take stairs down to the campus, which also houses the sheriff's department, jail and other government buildings.
When Stickle returned to her car, she walked up the stairs to the second level. At the top landing was a dark gray walkway, with a step-down to the car lot — painted the same color of gray. The change in elevation was marked by yellow paint, which was most evident when looking from the lot toward the landing.
From the walkway, however, the identical grays created an illusion masking the step-down. Stickle fell and suffered a compound fracture in her right arm.
The walkway, at left, on the north parking structure, with a step-down to the parking lot. Picture from the district court order in Stickle v. County of Jefferson
A view from the north parking structure's walkway, in foreground, toward the parking area. The yellow line is the dividing point, featuring a step-down. Picture from the district court order in Stickle v. County of Jefferson
She sued Jefferson County, which countered that it was immune from liability under the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act. It disputed the parking garage fit the law's definition of a "public building," or that the step-down was a dangerous condition.
After a hearing, at which there was testimony about others falling in the garage because of the step-down illusion, District Court Judge Russell B. Klein sided against Jeffco.
"Defendants argue that the roof is just another parking lot," he wrote in March 2021. "However, decisions on how to utilize roof-top space should not be determinative as to whether a structure is a 'building' any more than constructing a roof-top deck or roof-top garden would prevent a structure from being a building."
To demonstrate the garage presented a dangerous condition, Stickle had to show the step-down hazard resulted from the county's actions or failure to act when constructing or maintaining the facility. While Klein ruled out the hazard stemmed from the garage's maintenance, he suggested the construction of the walkway and car lot using the same color paint satisfied the criteria for a dangerous condition.
The county turned to the Court of Appeals, arguing the coloration masking the step-down was the result of design, not construction. Jeffco also contested Klein's finding that the north parking structure was a building.
"None of the hallmark features that make a structure a building exist in this case. The North Parking Structure is simply one level of an open parking lot stacked on top of another level of a parking lot — and nothing more," wrote the county attorney's office.
Stickle's lawyers observed Jefferson County's witnesses had testified in district court that the resurfacing of the garage's second level was, in fact, part of a maintenance project.
"Those same witnesses confirmed that the purpose of resurfacing the parking structure was to prevent water and chemical seepage from damaging the parking structure. This falls squarely within the definition of maintenance under the CGIA," wrote Thomas A. Bulger.
The appellate panel agreed with Klein's reasoning that the garage was a public building. It differed slightly by finding, as Stickle's lawyer argued, a dangerous condition existed due to the garage's maintenance. The evidence, Navarro wrote, showed the county chose the topping material for the walkway and car lot to prevent further decline or failure of the material — which fell into the category of maintenance.
The case is Stickle v. County of Jefferson.
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