Colorado Supreme Court: State Civil Procedure Doesn’t Allow for Lone Pine Orders

DENVER –– Colorado’s state civil procedure does not allow a trial court to issue Lone Pine orders, the state high court recently ruled, affirming an intermediate appellate court’s decision to reverse the dismissal of a chemical exposure case.

In the April 20 opinion, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that the state Rules of Civil Procedure does not permit a trial court to require a plaintiff to establish a prima facie case in the primary stages of litigation, while “simultaneously barring discovery that might exposed the very support sought to prove a claim.”

The plaintiffs in the underlying lawsuit contended …