Legal Question in Business Law in Colorado

I live outside the city in Boulder County. There was some excavation work done close to me and after asking the contractor and excavator if it was legal to transport fill dirt to my property (both said yes, up to 400 cu/yds), I accepted about 93 cu/yds. The transport of dirt was free since the excavator saved the cost of transporting the excess dirt to a distant location. The excavator agreed to grade the dirt at my expanse but never responded after the dirt was dumped on my property (despite many attempts to reach him). After the piles (31) were not touched in over two months, boulder county placed a stop work notice on my mailbox. I have since been in contact with boulder county and found out that the legal limit on fill dirt is 50 cu/yds without a permit. The permit process is lengthy and costly, if I had known this could become an issue I would have never accepted any dirt to be dumped on my property. I would assume since the excavator was working in Boulder county, he either knew or should have known the legal limit. Is the excavator liable for dumping an amount of dirt that is over the legal limit? Sorry, I do not know what law area this falls under, I guessed Business.....


Asked on 1/25/23, 9:10 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Frank Natoli Natoli-Legal, LLC

The contractor should have known, I agree, but you can't rely on the excavator for legal advice. If the material is being placed on your property then the onus is on you to know the legal limits. If you end up out of pocket for fines, etc. you can always file a claim in the small claims court and see if the court agrees that at least some of the blame should be carried by the provider, but I would not expect that outcome.

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Answered on 1/25/23, 9:22 am


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