Colorado § 6-25-112 - Liability in case of fire or accident.

§ 6-25-112. Liability in case of fire or accident.

The landlord or keeper of a hotel or public establishment is not liable for loss of or damage to the property of a guest or patron of the hotel or public establishment by fire or by any unforeseen cause or inevitable accident unless the loss or damage occurs on account of the landlord's or keeper's negligence or the negligence of the landlord's or keeper's employee.

Source: L. 2017: Entire article added with relocations, (HB 17-1245), ch. 240, p. 988, § 1, effective August 9. L. 2026: Entire section amended, (HB 26-1426), ch. 334, p. 2021, § 83, effective August 12.

Editor's note: This section is similar to former § 12-44-111 as it existed prior to 2017.

ANNOTATION

Law reviews. For comment on Bidlake v. Shirley Hotel Co., appearing below, see 29 Rocky Mt. L. Rev. 136 (1956). For article, "One Year Review of Torts", see 34 Dicta 115 (1957).

Annotator's note. Since § 6-25-112 is similar to former § 12-44-111 and laws antecedent to that section, relevant cases construing those provisions have been included in the annotations to this section.

"Unforeseen causes", within this section, cannot be anticipated as likely to occur, and thus the theft of the baggage of a guest at an inn, or an ordinary burglary, is not an unforeseen cause. New Albany Hotel Co. v. Dingman, 66 Colo. 306, 181 P. 126 (1919).

Where a hotel's uniformed employee, after inquiry and consent, assumed custody and control of guest's automobile with the understanding that it was to be stored in a nearby garage overnight, but instead such employee used the automobile for a "joy ride" and left it on a public street in a damaged condition, and articles of personal property were removed or stolen from the glove compartment, the hotel was liable for the loss and damage resulting from its employee's conduct. Bidlake v. Shirley Hotel Co., 133 Colo. 166, 292 P.2d 749 (1956).