FJGG Welcomes
Corey Zurbuch & Tasha Power
Mr.Zurbuch received his Juris Doctor from West Virginia University College of Law, Morgantown, West Virginia, in1996. His practice areas include Environmental Litigation (Gas & Oil Drilling Operations), General Litigation, Complex Litigation, Toxic Torts, Real Estate, Construction Defects, and Personal Injury. Corey has represented land owners and other residents who are hurt by ground water contanination that result from fracking. He regularly speaks at seminars on natural gas drilling, air pollution, water contamination, property damages, and possible health affects among other topics.
Corey's Profile
 Ms.Power received her Juris Doctor from the University of Colorado School of Law in 2005. Her practice areas include Commercial Litigation, Real Estate, Mechanic's Liens, and Title Disputes.
Tasha's Profile
They want to drill on my property. They own the mineral rights, is there anything I can do to minimize the impacts?
By Corey Zurbuch
Property owners in Colorado often ask this question when they own the surface rights but not the mineral rights. While they may feel powerless, they do have enforceable rights and can take steps to minimize impacts to their property. While the mineral rights owner has the right to extract the oil or gas, state regulations provide limits to where and how they drill. These regulations require the energy development company to minimize their intrusion upon the surface and minimize damage to the property. Specifically, Colorado Revised Statute §34-60-127 provides:
(1)(a) An operator shall conduct oil and gas operations in a manner that accommodates the surface owner by minimizing intrusion upon and damage to the surface of the land.
(b) As used in this section, "minimizing intrusion upon and damage to the surface" means selecting alternative locations for wells, roads, pipelines, or production facilities, or employing alternative means of operation, that prevent, reduce, or mitigate the impacts of the oil and gas operations on the surface, where such alternatives are technologically sound, economically practicable, and reasonably available to the operator.
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Trial Court Purports to Regulate Brokerage Compensation under RESPA
By Jonathan Goodman
 In Augenstein v. Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC, decided on August 30, 2011, a federal district court held that a brokerage firm violated Section 8(b) of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974 ("RESPA") by charging a client $199 plus three percent of the purchase price for sale and settlement services. The court determined that the $199 was "unearned" under RESPA Section 8(b) because the brokerage firm could not "connect the fee to any specific service" rendered to the client.
RESPA Section 8(b) prohibits brokers from charging "unearned fees," mandating that "no person shall... accept any portion, split, or percentage of any charge... for... a real estate settlement service... other than for services actually performed."
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Hiring an Attorney to Go Through the Divorce or Custody Legal Process
By Sarah Hersh
 You may be asking yourself whether you should hire an attorney for your divorce or custody case. Consulting with an attorney is important to protect your legal rights. You may believe that you don't need any legal advice because you and your spouse agree on all of the issues. However, you should consult with an attorney prior to signing on the dotted line so that you are not giving up your current or future legal rights relating to financial issues or issues concerning your children. You should be aware of the complexities of the law regarding these issues prior to entering into an agreement.
Your lawyer will help you get the best terms for you when settling issues regarding child custody, financial support issues, property and debt division, and all other issues in your case. When you consult with your attorney, you will have the best chance of settling your case with terms in your best interest whether you are a stay-at-home mom, a CEO at a major company or anything in between.
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IN THIS ISSUE
They want to drill on my property. They own the mineral rights, is there anything I can do to minimize the impacts?
Trial Court Purports to Regulate Brokerage Compensation under RESPA
Hiring an Attorney to Go Through the Divorce or Custody Legal Process
Employee May Be Stuck With Non-Compete
Considerations Before Walking Away From a Mortgage
What Property Owners Should Know About Zoning Violations
Handling Divorce Cases on a Statewide Basis
Overtime Pay for Salaried Employees
Employee May Be Stuck With
Non-Compete
By G. Roger Bock
 In a recent case, Lucht's Concrete Pumping, Inc. v. Horner,(E1) the Colorado Supreme Court decided whether an employer's continuation of the employment of an existing employee is adequate "consideration" (quid pro quo) to support a noncompetition agreement. Reversing a lower court, the Colorado Supreme Court held that where an employer "forbears from terminating an existing at-will employee," the employer forbears from exercising a legal right, and that "such forbearance constitutes adequate consideration for a noncompetition agreement."
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Considerations Before Walking Away From a Mortgage
By Michael Smeenk
 The Denver Post recently published an op-ed piece entitled "The Wisdom of Walking Away from Your Mortgage," which encourages homeowners who owe more on their property than it is worth to consider simply walking away from their mortgage(s). This article, and others like it that suggest walking away from home loans without fully considering the financial and related ramifications, are irresponsible at best because they fail to even mention the negative implications of the decision.
When a homeowner walks away from their property, the property will eventually be foreclosed on. If the property sells at the foreclosure sale for less than the debt against it, the borrower will be responsible for that deficiency balance. Deficiencies are especially likely where the property has more than one loan against it.
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What Property Owners Should Know About Zoning Violations
By Jordan May
 As a result of these economically challenging times, many property owners come up with creative means to maximize income generated by their properties, whether residential or commercial. Recent examples include the proliferation of short term and vacation residential rentals like those seen on www.vrbo.com and www.craigslist.com. Other examples include property owners expanding property uses, including the operation of new businesses out of an existing property not zoned for the new use. These activities can often generate significant additional revenue which is especially important in times of financial distress.
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Handling Divorce Cases on a Statewide Basis
By Gregg Greenstein
 If you were suffering from a cardiac problem and needed a cardiologist to help with an ongoing process, would you choose the one closest to your house simply because it's easy to get to his or her office, or the one who comes highly recommended and is considered one of the best in the state but whose office might be in another part of the state? Would your answer be different if the doctor could handle almost all things associated with your care, via phone, fax, email and the internet? The answer for most people is that they would choose the best care possible - regardless of the location of the professional office.
Overtime Pay for Salaried Employees
By G. Roger Bock
To be exempt from overtime pay, an employee's situation may need to meet both a "salary" test and a "duties" test under applicable law. Some of the requirements for these tests are discussed further below. The importance of the requirements can be seen from the consequences for misclassifying a worker.
Which Law Applies
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