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Overview

Jeff works in state and federal courts and is an experienced litigator and trial attorney, regularly serving as lead counsel in complex commercial and civil litigation and arbitration.  He handles business disputes, corporate litigation, environmental torts & natural resources law, insurance disputes, personal injury, probate litigation, and water litigation. 

Jeff brings to each case a pragmatic, cost-effective approach to help his clients get to where they need to be as effectively and efficiently as possible. Jeff was named as a Colorado Rising Star attorney by SuperLawyers in each year from 2017 through 2021.

• Education & Past Positions

  Jeff graduated with distinction from the University of Wisconsin – Madison in 2003 with a B.S. in Biology.  Prior to entering his career in law, Jeff worked as a research neurophysiologist at the University of Wisconsin Medical School where he conducted brain imaging research and sigma receptor activation pathway research.  He also served as a Patient Advocate at the University of Wisconsin Law School’s Center for Patient Partnerships, where he helped cancer patients navigate treatment options, clinical trials, and financial assistance programs. 

  Jeff graduated from the University of Colorado Law School in 2008 where he was awarded the 2007-2008 Clinical Education Award for Outstanding Client Service, stood as a Bernard J. Seeman Scholar, and served as a T.A. in the law school’s Legal Writing department. 

  Prior to joining Lyons Gaddis, Jeff was a partner at Driscoll Rose LLC, where he represented clients throughout Colorado and the west in business disputes, personal injury, environmental torts & natural resource cases, and complex civil litigation.  Before entering private practice, Jeff served as a judicial law clerk to the Hon. Norman D. Haglund on the Denver District Court.  He also clerked for the Sierra Club Environmental Law Program in Boulder, Colorado and at the Boulder County Attorney’s Office, where he worked under Andrew R. Macdonald, now a District Court Judge on the Boulder County District Court. 

• Representative Cases and Clients

  • Represented a Colorado Mutual Ditch Company in a ditch easement encroachment and trespass case (2018);
  • Represented a Colorado municipal district in a complex commercial lawsuit involving medical and emergency services billing (2018);
  • Represented a Colorado Home Rule Municipality in a road dedication and irrigation ditch easement case (2019);
  • Represented a Colorado landowner in a sharply contested boundary and adverse possession dispute (2020);
  • Hammer and Hatton v. Pisgah Reservoir & Ditch Co., et al.; Teller County District Court, 2015
    Represented downstream landowners in an environmental tort lawsuit where reservoir operators discharged thousands of tons of fine sediment into a river and onto the landowners’ property.  Negotiated complex permits involving the United States Army Corps of Engineers, the Colorado Division of Water Resources, and the Colorado Department of Natural Resources.  Selected and worked with engineering and geologic experts, deposed opposing engineers, experts, and lay witnesses, and tried the case.  The case settled deep into seven figures halfway through trial.  
  • J.C. v. Safeco Insurance Company; United States District Court for the District of Colorado, 2016
    Represented a Safeco policy holder in an insurance bad faith and statutory delay case pending before Chief Judge Marcia Krieger in the United States District Court.  The case involved hard-fought claims that Safeco failed to act in accordance with Colorado law when it delayed the payment of insurance benefits claimed to be owed to its insured. 
  • DexOne, f/k/a Dex Media, Inc. v. Misc. Corporate Parties; Proceedings Throughout the U.S.
    Served as outside litigation counsel in over 80 cases involving corporate fraud, telecommunications tariffs, public utility easements, commercial disputes, and publication errors.  Represented the client in jurisdictions throughout the United States and developed a network of competent local counsel from Seattle, Washington to Destin, Florida.  Achieved exceptional case results while maintaining a low-cost litigation budget.  Jurisdictions ranged from U.S. District Court to small claims, plus arbitrations.  Undefeated on motions to compel arbitration.   
  • CenturyLink v. Thornton and Northglenn; Colorado Court of Appeals, 2014
    Represented a public utility provider in local tax disputes concerning the erroneous payment of use tax, tax calculation models, and statutory allocation between neighboring home rule municipalities.  Proceedings began with administrative appeals to the Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Revenue and ended at the Colorado Supreme Court.  Negotiated with municipalities concerning the calculation of local tax use owed, including competing modeling methods.  Prepared appellate briefs and a Petition for a Writ of Certiorari that addressed the interaction of statutory defenses to taxpayers with statutory provisions governing relief between municipalities. 
  • In re: C.H.; Saguache County District and Juvenile Courts, 2015
    Represented the interests of a 17-year-old woman who sustained serious injuries when she was ejected from a vehicle in a one-car incident on a mountain pass.  Appeared in juvenile court proceedings to maintain status as the real party in interest and preserve medical and financial decision-making authority with her adoptive grandmother.  Negotiated policy limits settlements with multiple insurance carriers and statutory reimbursement claims with the Colorado Department of Healthcare Policy & Financing.  Confirmed the resolution through probate proceedings. 
  • P. v. Zehnder Family Property, LLC, et al; Jefferson and Weld County District Courts, 2015
    Represented the interests of a young boy who suffered serious head injuries when ejected from an ATV at a family farm. The case involved three individuals and two corporate entities, plus complex family dynamics. Successful claims were brought under Colorado’s Premises Liability Act and in tort.  Following a contested series of negotiations, the case settled on favorable terms and was confirmed through a probate proceeding in the Weld County District Court.
  • N.W. v. Farmers Insurance; Boulder County District Court, 2012
    Represented a Farmers policyholder in a sharply disputed underinsured motorist case alleging breach of contract, wrongful delay, and breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing.  Worked with treating physicians on complex vestibular injuries.  Successfully reduced the scope of vestibular testing by the Rule 35 physician retained by Farmers at a heavily contested hearing.  The case settled on favorable terms at mediation.    
  • In re: A.C.; Colorado Office of Administrative Courts, 2011
    Represented a severely injured Colorado employee in a rollover vehicle incident while on a work trip in Oklahoma.  Secured orders in the OAC proceeding to remove the case from the workers’ compensation system and pursue tort claims.  Negotiated six-figure policy limits settlements.
  • Other matters include:
    • Representing a 17-year-old Colorado woman who was ejected from a vehicle during a one-car collision on a remote mountain pass.  Jeff helped to secure two six-figure policy limits settlements from the insurance carriers and had the settlements approved by a State of Colorado District Court / Probate Judge. 
    • Representing a Boulder, Colorado bicyclist who was hit by a car in downtown Boulder in claims against Progressive and Liberty Mutual.
    • Representing a Boulder, Colorado bicyclist who was hit by a truck in Boulder County while she was out on a training ride.  The case involved claims made against USAA Insurance Company. 
    • Representing a Front Range-area victim of sexual abuse in a widely publicized clergy abuse case.  The case settled on confidential terms. 
    • Representing a Broomfield, Colorado plumber in a subcontractor dispute where the subcontractor failed to pay his workers after having been paid by the plumber.  The case settled after suit was filed for the amount owed to the plumber, plus attorneys’ fees and case costs.
    • Representing a Colorado nurse who suffered a traumatic brain injury after being hit by an uninsured motorist who fled the scene.  The nurse recovered a six-figure settlement from her own insurance carrier. 
    • Representing a Denver-area nurse in a wrongful death case against a major Front Range delivery company.  The case settled on favorable and confidential terms. 
    • Representing a Lafayette, Colorado pedestrian who was hit by a car while walking in a marked crosswalk across South Public Road.  After filing a lawsuit in the Boulder County District Court, the case settled favorably for six figures.

• Organizations & Community Involvement

  Jeff is a member of the Colorado Bar Association and the Boulder County Bar Association. He is a Past-President of the Boulder County Bar Association. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the United States Icelandic Horse Congress and its regional affiliate for the Rocky Mountain region. He is a former Board Member of Twin Peaks Racing, a Longmont-based cycling team.

  Jeff lives in Longmont with his wife, Abby, and their dog, Henry. In their free time they enjoy riding horses on trails throughout Colorado.