Agenda

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8:00 – 8:30 am MDT
Morning Session
8:30 – 11:45 am MDT
Break
11:45 am – 12:45 pm MDT
Afternoon Session
12:45 – 5:00 pm MDT


Easements                                                       M. Cohen

What is and is not an easement.
Differences between an easement and a license.
Different uses of the term “right of way.”
Types of easements
• Express easements
• Prescriptive easements
• Easements by necessity
• Easements implied by prior by use
• Easements by estoppel
• R.S. 2477
• Condemnation of an easement
Locating easements
Easements in gross versus easements appurtenant
Considerations in drafting easements
Mechanics of easement litigation
Modifications of easements
Obstructing use of easements and remedies for obstruction

Trespass, Adverse Possession                             K. Gantenbein
and Other Unauthorized Access to Land
Elements of civil trespass to land
Reviewing the history of adverse possession
Maintaining a claim for adverse possession
• Statute of limitations
• Elements of a claim
Defending against a claim for adverse possession
Examining recent adverse possession cases

Understanding Utility Easements                     S. Hendon
Definition of a utility easement
Types of utilities affected
Areas of use
• New design
• Relocation
• Conversion
• Abandonment
• Temporary construction
Condemnation
Considerations for avoiding conflict

Eminent Domain Process from                       J. Alderman
Start to Finish Landowner Perspective
Starting the condemnation process
Immediate possession
Valuation trial
Appeal

Eminent Domain Process from                        R. Rodriguez
Start to Finish Government Perspective                     
Starting the condemnation process
Immediate possession
Valuation trial
Appeal

Right to Take and Types of Takings                     R. Simatic
Right to take
• Public use or public purpose
• Blight and eminent domain abuse
• Limitations for challenging public use
• Inverse condemnation
• Floodings
• Extractions
Types of takings
• Total take
• Partial take
Direct damages
Severance damages
• Easements
Fullest extent rule
Temporary easements
• Regulatory takings


Webinar Instructions

All attendees must log-on through their own email – attendees may not watch together if they wish to earn continuing education credit. HalfMoon Education Inc. must be able to prove attendance if either the attendee or HalfMoon Education Inc. is audited.

Certificates of completion can be downloaded in PDF form upon passing a short quiz. A link to the quiz will be sent to each qualifying attendee immediately after the webinar. The certificate can be downloaded from the Results page of the quiz upon scoring 80% or higher.

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Credits

Colorado Attorneys
8.0 CLE Hours

Professional Engineers &
Professional Land Surveyors
7.0 Continuing Education Hours*

*CE is not required in Colorado


Continuing Education Credit Information

This course is open to the public. HalfMoon Education has applied to the State of Colorado Supreme Court Office of Continuing Legal and Judicial Education for course approval for attorneys. Updates on the CLE approval can be found at www.halfmoonseminars.org under this course listing.

This webinar offers 7.0 continuing education hours to professional engineers and land surveyors licensed in Colorado. Continuing education is not required to maintain a license in Colorado.

Professional engineers and land surveyors seeking continuing education credit in other states will be able to claim the hours earned with this webinar, in most cases. Refer to specific state rules to determine eligibility.

Completion certificates will be awarded to participants who complete this event, respond to all prompts, and earn a passing score (80%) on the quiz that follows the presentation (multiple attempts allowed).

Speakers

Jody Alderman

Jody Alderman Attorney at Alderman Bernstein
Ms. Alderman has practiced eminent domain law and real estate law for more than two decades. During law school at the University of Colorado School of Law, it was the takings clause of the U. S. Constitution, where the power of eminent domain stems, that immediately piqued her interest. As such, her University of Colorado Law Review article focused on the Fifth Amendment’s takings clause. Upon graduating from law school, she found a job at Denver law firm Grimshaw & Harring (now called Spencer Fane) where she could focus on the area of law that so interested her. Ms. Alderman worked at Grimshaw & Harring until 2009, when she and a colleague left to start Alderman Bernstein. At Alderman Bernstein, her practice focuses primarily on eminent domain law, and she also does both transactional and litigation work related to real estate. Ms. Alderman handles contract disputes; quiet title actions and Rule 105 proceedings; Rule 106 appeals of land use decisions; drafting and negotiation of a variety of real estate contracts, leases, easements and other conveyance instruments; and due diligence and closings. She has been selected to Super Lawyers since 2014, has been designated as one of the Best Lawyers in America for Eminent Domain and Condemnation Law since 2007 and she is an AV Preeminent Rated Lawyer by Martindale-Hubbell.

Mark Cohen

Mark Cohen, J.D., LL.M.
Mark Cohen has 37 years of legal experience. He is an AV-rated lawyer and was selected as a Super Lawyer in business litigation. He earned a B.A. degree in Economics at Whitman College and earned his law degree at the University of Colorado in Boulder. He earned an LL.M. degree in Agricultural and Food Law from the University of Arkansas, where he also taught advanced legal writing. His diverse legal career includes service as an Air Force JAG, a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney, a prosecutor, a municipal judge for Boulder, and six years on the Advisory Board of The Colorado Lawyer (including one as chairperson). Mr. Cohen wrote six articles in the Am. Jur. Proof of Facts series, including the seminal article on piercing the corporate veil. He wrote two mysteries published by Time Warner, and his first mystery, The Fractal Murders, became a Book Sense® mystery pick. His satirical article, How to Draft a Bad Contract, won praise from scholars such as Steven Pinker and has been reprinted in many legal publications. His practice focuses on business and real estate law, and related litigation.

Keith Gantenbein

Keith Gantenbein Attorney at Gantenbein Law Firm
Mr. Gantenbein Jr. is the Owner of Gantenbein Law Firm and specializes in Real Estate Law, including Residential and Commercial Real Estate Issues, HOA Law and Foreclosure Defense, as well as Tax Law Business Law, Civil Litigation, Probate, Estate Planning, Wills, Trusts, Elder Law and Credit Dispute. Mr. Gantenbein has an extensive real estate background. His experience in real estate began while working for his father, a local real estate agent with over 40 years of experience. He began his legal career in HOA law, working for Hindman Sanchez, a large Colorado Homeowner’s Association (HOA) law firm. Mr. Gantenbein’s experience in HOA collections and HOA foreclosures gives him a valuable approach on how to represent homeowners who have issues with their HOAs, including judicial foreclosure and unreasonable HOA fees. He then worked for the largest foreclosure firm in Colorado, Castle Stawiarski, in Denver. Mr. Gantenbein and is admitted to practice law in the State of Colorado, the State of Michigan, the State of Wyoming, the U.S District Court of Colorado and the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals of Colorado.

Serena Hendon L.

Serena L. Hendon Attorney at Montgomery Little & Soran
Ms. Serena L. Hendon is a non-equity partner at Montgomery Little & Soran. Her practice focuses representing architects and engineers with issues related to construction, professional liability, and commercial litigation. She is well-versed in complex construction defect and has represented owners, developers, general contractors, and subcontractors in cases involving construction on commercial, governmental, and residential sites. Prior to becoming an attorney, she worked for almost two decades as a civil engineer. She remains a licensed professional engineer in the State of Colorado. Having been an active participant as an engineer on projects from the initial site design phase all the way through construction, she knows firsthand the issues that challenge parties throughout the design and construction of a project. Bringing such knowledge to the legal side aids Ms. Hendon in evaluating the situation from a technical and legal standpoint in order to strategize and appropriately advise clients. Ms. Hendon is licensed to practice law in both Colorado and Wyoming. She is a Certified Floodplain Manager and is a staff editor for the American Water Works Association.

Richard Rodriguez

Richard Rodriguez Attorney at Hamre, Rodriguez, Ostrander & Dingess
Mr. Rodriguez represents public and private entities, individual property owners, developers, lenders, landlords, tenants, and others in all phases of public and private eminent domain and condemnation proceedings. Mr. Rodriguez’ practice has concentrated primarily on real estate litigation, with an emphasis on eminent domain and land use litigation. Mr. Rodriguez also maintains a complex commercial litigation practice, a significant portion of which includes real estate and construction litigation, including, but not limited to, quiet title actions, foreclosures, boundary disputes, mechanics’ lien litigation, and construction litigation. Prior to affiliating with Hamre, Rodriguez, Ostrander & Dingess, P.C., Mr. Rodriguez was a partner at a large international law firm headquartered in Denver, Colorado. Mr. Rodriguez graduated from the University of Southern California in 1991, receiving a B.A. degree in Political Science. He received his J.D. degree from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1994.

Ryan Simatic

Ryan Simatic is an Attorney and Officer at Biersdorf & Associates, a law firm representing property owners in eminent domain actions from Alaska to Florida and everywhere in between. Mr. Simatic has individually and cooperatively tried multiple eminent domain matters to verdict or award with estimated damages ranging from $50,000 to over $20 million. His practice has also involved other real estate litigation matters, including disputes on property taxes, adverse possession, and land use. Mr. Simatic has practiced extensively in the appellate courts and has obtained favorable rulings in Minnesota, Tennessee, and North Dakota. He obtained his J.D. degree from the Mitchell Hamline School of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota and his B.A. degree from the University of Minnesota. Mr. Simatic is licensed to practice in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Arizona, New York, and Idaho.