COURT OF APPEALS, STATE OF COLORADO Colorado State Judicial Building 2 East 14th Avenue Denver, Colorado 80203 Appeal from the Denver County District Court Honorable A. Bruce Jones, District Court Judge Civil Action No. 2014CV34803 Plaintiff-Appellant: NATIONAL FEDERATION OF INDEPENDENT BUSINESS, v. Defendants-Appellees: WAYNE W. WILLIAMS, in his official capacity as Colorado Secretary of State; COLORADO DEPARTMENT OF STATE, and THE STATE OF COLORADO. Attorneys for Plaintiff-Appellant: COURT USE ONLY Case Number: Names: Address: Phone No.: FAX No.: E-mail: Jason R. Dunn, #33011 Emily R. Garnett, #45047 BROWNSTEIN HYATT FARBER SCHRECK, LLP 410 Seventeenth Street Suite 2200 Denver, Colorado 80202-4437 (303) 223.1100 (303) 223.1111 jdunn @bhfs.com egarnett@bhfs.com NOTICE OF APPEAL
Appellant National Federation of Independent Business ( NFIB or Plaintiff ), by and through counsel, hereby files its Notice of Appeal. I. NATURE OF THE CASE A. Nature of the Controversy This case involves a state constitutional challenge under the TABOR Amendment, article X, 20, of the Colorado Constitution, challenging certain Colorado statutes that allow the Colorado General Assembly and the Colorado Secretary of State to impose charges on businesses for filing certain required documents and then use those receipts to primarily fund governmental services wholly unrelated to those paying the charges. NFIB alleged that such charges are a tax rather than a fee, and as such should have been subjected to the public vote requirement of TABOR. Because such a vote was never held, NFIB alleged that the statutes and the conduct of the General Assembly violate TABOR. B. Order Being Appealed and Basis for Appellate Jurisdiction. Plaintiff appeals the District Court s November 3, 2015 Order granting Defendants Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment. C. Resolution of Issues The order and judgment being appealed resolved all issues pending before the District Court. 2
D. Finality of Judgment The judgment was made final for purposes of appeal under C.R.C.P. 54(b) pursuant to the Court s Order granting summary judgment in favor of Defendants. E. Date of Entry and Service of Final Judgment. The Order granting Defendants Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment was entered on November 3, 2015 and served on all parties on that date. F. Extensions for Filing Motions for Post-Trial Relief. None. G. Motions for Post-Trial Relief. None. H. Date of Denial of Motion for Post-Trial Relief. Not applicable. I. Extensions for Filing Notice of Appeal. None. II. ADVISORY LISTING OF ISSUES TO BE RAISED ON APPEAL The following issue may be raised on appeal by Plaintiff: (1) Whether the District Court erred in failing to conclude that the charges imposed by the Secretary of State pursuant to C.R.S. 24-21-104 are taxes. 3
(2) Whether the District Court erred in concluding that the charges are not subject to the vote requirement of TABOR. III. NECESSITY OF TRANSCRIPT The transcript of the September 11, 2015 cross-motions for summary judgment hearing may be relevant to the issues raised on appeal. The approximate length of the hearing was two hours. IV. PREARGUMENT CONFERENCE A preargument conference is not requested. Attorneys for Plaintiff/Appellant: Jason R. Dunn, #33011 Emily R. Garnett, #45047 Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP 410 17 th Street, Suite 2200 Denver, CO 80202 Phone: 303.223.1100 Attorneys for Defendants/Appellees: V. COUNSEL FOR PARTIES Cynthia H. Coffman, Attorney General Frederick R. Yarger, Solicitor General LeeAnn Morrill, First Ass t Attorney General William V. Allen, Senior Ass t Attorney General Ralph L. Carr Colorado Judicial Center 1300 Broadway, 6 th Floor Denver, CO 80203 Phone: 720.508.6159 4
VI. APPENDIX An appendix containing a copy of the November 3, 2015 Order being appealed is attached hereto as Exhibit A. Respectfully submitted this 4 th day of December 2015. BROWNSTEIN HYATT FARBER SCHRECK, LLP s/ Jason R. Dunn Jason R. Dunn, #33011 Emily R. Garnett, #45047 Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP 410 17 th Street, Suite 2200 Denver, CO 80202 ATTORNEYS FOR PLAINTIFF-APPELLANT 5
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that on this 4 th day of December 2015, a true and correct copy of the foregoing NOTICE OF APPEAL was filed and served via ICCES upon the following: Cynthia H. Coffman, Attorney General Frederick R. Yarger, Solicitor General LeeAnn Morrill, First Ass t Attorney General William V. Allen, Senior Ass t Attorney General Ralph L. Carr Colorado Judicial Center 1300 Broadway, 6 th Floor Denver, CO 80203 Phone: 720.508.6159 Fax: 720.508.6041 Email: leeann.morrill@state.co.us will.allen@state.co.us Attorneys for Defendants-Appellees Clerk of the Court District Court, City and County of Denver, Colorado 1437 Bannock Street Denver, CO 80202 s/ Allecia Cavallaro Allecia Cavallaro 6