COLO. GOVERNOR VETOES NAMIC-OPPOSED BILL:

Colorado Gov. Bill Owens took a strong stand in support of tort reform and constitutional rights by vetoing a bill that would have allowed substitute service of process upon the Colorado Secretary of State, according to The National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies. Members of the insurance industry and other trade associations actively opposed this legislation as being inconsistent with tort reform, contrary to established constitutional law, and imprudent from a public policy standpoint. NAMIC lobbied and formally asked Gov. Owens to veto H.B. 1121, Concerning Substitute Service of Process upon the Secretary of State Due to Defendant’s Absence from the State in Civil Actions Arising from the Operation of a Motor Vehicle. “H.B. 1121 would have lead to a number of constitutional challenges to substitute service of process and would have created procedural problems at the trial court level that would have adversely impacted the legal system and those citizens that seek a timely redress of their civil claims in a court of law,” said State Affairs Manager Christian Rataj. The bill applied in any civil action against a Colorado resident or non-resident for damages or injuries sustained as the result of the operation of a motor vehicle if, after reasonable diligence and 120 days, the operator of the vehicle cannot be located.