Alan Epstein

epsteina@hallevans.com
Direct - (303) 628-3354
1125 17th Street, Suite 600
Denver, Colorado 80202
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Hall & Evans has litigated more civil appeals in the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals than any other Colorado law firm as well as more civil appeals before the Colorado Court of Appeals and the Colorado Supreme Court. Alan Epstein heads the appellate group.

Over the past 25 years, I have been privileged to work on quite a few precedent-setting appellate cases. At the time, I wasn’t thinking about whether or not the ultimate decision would set precedent; I was simply trying to achieve the best result for my client. Today, as I continue this work, it is very personally and professionally gratifying to see how these decisions have shaped Tenth Circuit and Colorado law.

Alan Epstein has litigated cases resulting in more than 200 published opinions, many of which have significantly shaped Colorado law in the areas of insurance, employment, public entities and product liability. These include:

Do universities have a legal obligation to supervise a student’s personal, off-campus recreational activities? In University of Denver v. Whitlock, the Colorado Supreme Court said “no.” When a student who had been jumping on a trampoline at night in his fraternity house was seriously injured, the lower courts awarded a multi-million dollar judgment to the plaintiff. The Colorado Supreme Court reversed this decision and absolved the University of any liability.

When two friends who had been drinking were involved in a serious car accident, the passenger did not sue the driver. Instead, he sued the facility where the driver (who was on a weekend pass) was a resident. The lower courts agreed that the facility was at fault. In Davenport v. Community Corrections of Pikes Peak Region, the Colorado Supreme Court reversed this decision holding that Community Corrections could not exert a sufficient level of control over the resident/driver to establish a “special relationship,” and therefore did not have a legal duty to protect the passenger.

A woman who was attacked and sexually assaulted in her car claimed that her general automobile liability insurance policy should cover her for the resulting injuries. The lower courts agreed. In State Farm v. Kastner, the Colorado Supreme Court reversed this decision holding that automobile insurance policies were not intended to insure for such an intentional tort because sexual assaults do not “arise out of the use of an automobile.”

In 1980 and 1981, Alan served as judicial law clerk to The Honorable Charles D. Pierce, of the Colorado Court of Appeals, gaining insight into the inner workings of the appeals process.

Publications

Contributing author, Colorado Appellate Handbook (Third Edition, 2005; Second Edition, 1994; First Edition, 1984), Continuing Legal Education in Colorado, Inc., Denver.
“Cross-Appeals in the Colorado and Federal Court Systems,” Colorado Lawyer, Aug. 1996.
“Set-Off Under the Contribution and Collateral Source Statutes,” Colorado Lawyer, July 1992.
“Strict Products Liability and Comparative Fault in Colorado,” Colorado Lawyer, Oct. 1990.
“Computer-Aided Liability,” Computer-Aided Engineering, Nov. 1989.

Presentations

“Appellate Practice in Colorado’s Federal and State Courts,” 2005, a CBA CLE program.
“Appellate Law in Colorado,” 2003, a CBA CLE program.
“Appellate Brief Writing in Colorado,” 2003, a CBA CLE program.
“Colorado Appellate Practice Bench/Bar Conference,” 1997, a CBA CLE program.
“Effective Appellate Practice in Colorado,” 1995, a CBA CLE program.

Memberships

Colorado Bar Association
          Litigation Section
                    Appellate Practice Subcommittee, co-founder and chair (1992-1994)
Denver Bar Association
Colorado Defense Lawyers Association
          Appellate Subcommittee, chair (1997-present)
Defense Research Institute

Business/Community Involvement

Denver Public Library Friends Foundation, board member (1996-2002)

Recognitions

Colorado “Super Lawyer,” Appellate Practice (2006 and 2007)

Education

University of Denver College of Law, J.D., 1980
          American Jurisprudence Award in Criminal Law.
University of Colorado, B.A., Political Science, 1976
          Phi Beta Kappa

Admitted to Practice

Colorado, 1980
U.S. District Court, District of Colorado
U.S. Court of Appeals, 10th Circuit
U.S. Supreme Court.

Outside the Office

When not helping clients with their appeals, I enjoy travel, tennis, hiking and photography.