Marriage of Humphrey — Civil Procedure


The summaries of the Colorado Court of Appeals published opinions constitute no part of the opinion of the division but have been prepared by the division for the convenience of the reader. The summaries may not be cited or relied upon as they are not the official language of the division. Any discrepancy between the language in the summary and in the opinion should be resolved in favor of the language in the opinion. SUMMARY March 8, 2018 2018COA31 No. 16CA1869, Marriage of Humphrey — Civil Procedure — Receivers — Professions and Occupations — Colorado Medical Marijuana Code — Colorado Retail Marijuana Code — Licensing A division of the court of appeals decides, as a matter of first impression, whether a district court’s power to appoint a receiver trumps Colorado’s marijuana licensing laws. Here, the appointed receiver was not licensed to operate marijuana businesses as required by the Colorado Retail Marijuana Code and the Colorado Medical Marijuana Code. The division holds that courts may only appoint receivers for marijuana businesses who are licensed under Colorado marijuana licensing laws. Accordingly, the division reverses the district court’s order and remands the case with directions. COLORADO COURT OF APPEALS 2018COA31 Court of Appeals No. 16CA1869 City and County of Denver District Court No. 16DR30252 Honorable Lael Montgomery, Judge In re the Marriage of Kelsey M. Yates, Petitioner-Appellee, and Kiri A. Humphrey, Respondent, and Concerning Sterling Consulting Corporation, Receiver, Appellee, v. Michael S. Hartman, in his official capacity as the Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Revenue and State Licensing Authority for the Marijuana Enforcement Division, Intervenor-Appellant. ORDER REVERSED AND CASE REMANDED WITH DIRECTIONS Division VII Opinion by JUDGE BERGER Bernard and Freyre, JJ., concur Announced March 8, 2018 Griffiths Law PC, Carolyn Witkus, Jon Eric Stuebner, Lone Tree, Colorado, for Petitioner-Appellee Fairfield and Woods PC, John M. Tanner, Denver, Colorado, for Appellee Cynthia H. Coffman, Attorney General, Claudia Brett Goldin, First Assistant Attorney General, J. Alan Call, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Denver, Colorado, for Intervenor-Appellant ¶1 The question before us is whether a court may appoint a receiver for a marijuana business if that receiver does not possess the licenses required by Colorado’s marijuana licensing laws. We hold that, although courts have the equitable power to appoint receivers, they must make such appointments in compliance with the marijuana licensing laws enacted by the General Assembly. ¶2 Because the district court erroneously concluded that its power to appoint a receiver trumped the marijuana licensing laws, we reverse the receivership order. I. Relevant Facts and Procedural History ¶3 Petitioner-Appellee Kelsey M. Yates (Wife) filed a petition to dissolve her marriage to respondent-appellee Kiri A. Humphrey. She requested the appointment of a receiver over marital property, which included the “Frosted Leaf” group of businesses (the marijuana businesses). The marijuana businesses included a number of licensed medical and recreational marijuana entities. ¶4 The court granted Wife’s request for a receiver and appointed appellee Sterling Consulting Corporation (Receiver). The Receiver’s principal is Richard Block. The receivership order ...

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