Proffitt v. State
Cases that cite this one
32 later published cases cite this decision. The 25 that cite it most often are listed here.
- City & County of Denver Ex Rel. Board of Water Commissioners v. Gallegos (Colo. 1996)
- Walton v. State (Colo. 1998)
- Burnett v. Colorado Dep't of Natural Resources, Div. of Parks and Outdoor Recreation (Colo. 2015)
- City of Colorado Springs v. Powell (Colo. 2002)
- Bertrand v. Board of County Commissioners of Park County (Colo. 1994)
- Padilla Ex Rel. Padilla v. School District No. 1 in the City & County of Denver (Colo. 2001)
- Springer v. City & County of Denver (Colo. 2000)
- Fogg v. Macaluso (Colo. 1995)
- State Ex Rel. Colorado State Claims Board of the Division of Risk Management v. DeFoor (Colo. 1992)
- City of Aspen v. Meserole (Colo. 1990)
- State Personnel Board v. Lloyd (Colo. 1988)
- Passarelli v. Schoettler (Colo. 1987)
- Elder v. Williams (Colo. 2020)
- sh Foundation, Katherine Tudor, and Donald Herbert Goede, III v. City of Colorado Springs (Colo. 2018)
- Foundation v. City of Colo. Springs (Colo. App. 2015)
- Daniel v. City of Colorado Springs (Colo. 2014)
- Medina v. State (Colo. 2001)
- Shootman v. Department of Transportation (Colo. 1996)
- Willer v. City of Thornton (Colo. 1991)
- State v. Hartsough (Colo. 1990)
- Stephen v. City and County of Denver (Colo. 1983)
- Wheeler ex rel. Wheeler v. Baker (Colo. App. 1981)
- Stephen v. City & County of Denver (Colo. App. 1981)
- Marrapese v. Rhode Island (District Court, D. Rhode Island 1980)
- City of Colorado Springs v. Gladin (Colo. 1979)
This list shows which later cases cite this one. It does not say how they treated it, and no review of that has been done. Not a substitute for Shepard’s or KeyCite — verify before relying.
Opinion of the Court
delivered the opinion of the Court.
The plaintiff in error (plaintiff) brought an action against the State of Colorado and a number of officers and employees of the State to recover for the alleged wrongful death of her son, who was stabbed while an inmate in the State Reformatory. The State moved to dismiss the complaint on the ground of sovereign immunity. The court sustained the motion.
We make no expression concerning the merits of this action and confine ourselves solely to the matter of sovereign immunity of the State of Colorado. For the reasons expressed in Evans v. County Commissioners, 174 Colo. 97, 482 P.2d 968, announced contemporaneously with this opinion, we hold that the court-made doctrine of sovereign immunity of the State of Colorado is overruled. As to the parties to this proceeding and the two contemporaneous proceedings (Evans, supra, and Flournoy v. School District Number One, 174 Colo. 110, 482 P.2d 966), this decision is effective immediately. As to all other causes of action the ruling shall be prospective only and shall be effective only as to causes of action arising after June 30, 1972.
The judgment is reversed and the cause remanded with instructions to deny the motion to dismiss and reinstate the complaint as against the State of Colorado.
Mr. Justice Day and Mr. Justice Kelley dissent for the reasons expressed in their dissents filed in Evans v. County Commissioners, supra.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.