Department of Transportation, State of Colorado, an Agency of the State of Colorado, as Successor in Interest to The…

Summary

The court held that, before the 2008 amendments, the statutory scheme did not categorically prohibit the Department of Transportation from acquiring a mineral estate when condemning land for highway purposes. The term "right-of-way" in the eminent-domain statute referred to a limited property interest, while its use in the transportation statutes could refer to the land itself, so the court of appeals erred by treating the terms as imposing the same limitation. The judgment was reversed and the case remanded for further proceedings; Justice Eid, dissenting, would have held that the Department could acquire mineral rights only to the extent necessary for subsurface support.