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, Colorado law permitted the Department of Transportation to acquire a mineral estate when it condemned land in fee for highway purposes, even though the law limited mineral interests acquired with a condemned right-of-way or easement. The court distinguished the statutory use of "right-of-way" in the eminent-domain provisions from its broader use in the transportation provisions and therefore reversed the court of appeals. Justice Eid, dissenting, would have held that the pre-2008 statutes limited the Department's mineral acquisition authority to interests necessary for subsurface support.