At the end of last week, I received an email from an advertiser, asking me to clarify our position as Newspaper of Record for Gilpin County. I sat on the email for a few hours, then sent it to our attorney. Our attorney, Mark Cohen, responded with our standard response. I won’t bore you with all the details, but here is the meat of the response, which is sent to every public notice advertiser after the advertiser is given false information about the Legal Newspaper of Record of Gilpin County, The Mountain-Ear. When the other newspaper sends this out to our advertisers, it is absolute harassment of our publication. This continued bullying has not gone unnoticed, we have simply chosen to take the high road (again and again) against the claim. So perhaps this can help set the record straight?
If you ever have a question about The Mountain-Ear, feel free to reach out to me. I will share the same information with you. My personal cell is 303-881-0365 and my email is info@themountainear.com
MARK COHEN
J.D., LL.M.
Legal Opinion Concerning Publication of Legal Notices
At your request, I researched the legal issue you asked me to investigate concerning the contention made by your paper’s competitor, the Weekly Register- Call (WRC), that publication of legal process or legal notices in your paper for matters pending in Gilpin County does not comply with Colorado law. That is wrong, as I explain below.
FACTS
In October of 2023, Robert Sweeney, publisher of the WRC, sent an email to one of your advertisers, a lawyer in Boulder that published in your paper a notice to creditors for an estate matter pending in Gilpin County. Mr. Sweeney told your advertiser that, “Only one newspaper qualifies to publish legal notice under the Colorado Revised Statutes” for matters pending in Gilpin County – the WRC.
Essentially, Mr. Sweeney’s contention was that the WRC is based in Gilpin County and the Mountain-Ear is based in Boulder County, and therefore legal notices published in your paper for matters pending in Gilpin County are legally ineffective. (My search of the Colorado Supreme Court records shows there is no person named Robert Sweeney admitted to practice law in Colorado).
I begin by noting that one of the two trade name registrations for “Weekly Register-Call” is owned by MyAppStore.biz, which is a Colorado LLC with its principal place of business at an address in Idaho Springs, which is in Clear Creek County. That point aside, The Mountain-Ear maintains an office in Gilpin County, has advertisers in Gilpin County, has subscribers in Gilpin County, and you reside in Gilpin County. As I understand it, both papers are printed in Berthoud, which is partly in Larimer County and partly in Weld County. Moreover, the Gilpin County Commissioners have designated The Mountain-Ear as Gilpin County’s official publication for legal notices.
ANALYSIS
Rule 4(g)(2) of the Colorado Rules of Civil Procedure provides that in some cases a court may order service of process by publication. In such cases, the rule provides that the court may:
(2) Order publication of the process in a newspaper published in the county in which the action is pending. Such publication shall be made once each week for five successive weeks. Within 14 days after the order the party shall mail a copy of the process to each person whose address or last known address has been stated in the motion and file proof thereof. Service shall be complete on the day of the last publication. If no newspaper is published in the county, the court shall designate one in some adjoining county.
Similarly, in probate matters, § 15-12-801, C.R.S. provides in relevant part:
(1) Unless one year or more has elapsed since the death of the decedent, a personal representative shall cause a notice to creditors to be published in some daily or weekly newspaper published in the county in which the estate is being administered, or if there is no such newspaper, then in some newspaper of general circulation in an adjoining county. Such notice shall be published not less than three times, at least once during each of three successive calendar weeks. The notice shall be substantially as follows...
Both Rule 4 and the probate statute use the phrase “published in,” so the question arises as to what that means. The short answer is found in § 24-7-101, C.R.S., which provides:
“Published” means a newspaper that maintains an office in the county to gather news, sell advertising, or conduct the general business of newspaper publications. (Emphasis added).
Because The Mountain-Ear maintains an office in Gilpin County, any legal process or notice that it publishes concerning legal matters pending in Gilpin County is “published in” Gilpin County.
Additionally, nothing in the Colorado statutes precludes a newspaper from being “published in” more than one county. To the contrary, the statute contemplates that a newspaper may maintain an office in more than one county and be considered to publish in all counties in which it maintains an office.
You may, if you wish, send a copy of this opinion to your legal advertisers. They remain free to consult their own counsel.
