Nelson Patrick Boyle

Nelson is a native of Arvada, Colorado. His civil litigation practice focuses on appeals, business, insurance bad faith, and personal injury litigation. Nelson joined Burg Simpson in 2013, after several years in a small firm. He earned a B.A. in History from Temple University (1997), an M.A. in U.S. History from New Mexico State University (2000) and his J.D. at the University of Denver’s Sturm College of Law (2007). Nelson is licensed to practice in all Colorado courts, the U.S. District Court for Colorado, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court.

Nelson serves as Chair of Colorado’s Second Judicial District Judicial Performance Commission. Nelson serves as a member of the Amicus Curiae Committee of the American Association for Justice and on the Board of the Colorado Trial Lawyers Association, where he co-chaired the Amicus Curiae Committee from 2010-2018 and he is now Chair Emeritus of the Committee. Nelson enjoys skiing, hiking, and camping with his family.

Nelson teaches CLE courses on ethics issues and helps organize and host an annual professionalism and ethics CLE during professionalism month.

Appeals & Appellate

Civil Appeals, Federal Appeals

Personal Injury

Animal & Dog Bites, Brain Injury, Car Accidents, Construction Accidents, Motorcycle Accidents, Premises Liability, Truck Accidents, Wrongful Death

Insurance Claims

Bad Faith Insurance, Business Insurance, Disability Insurance, Health Insurance, Life Insurance, Motor Vehicle Insurance, Property Insurance

Business Law

Business Contracts, Business Dissolution, Business Finance, Business Formation, Business Litigation, Franchising, Mergers & Acquisitions, Partnership & Shareholder Disputes

• Free Consultation
  We provide free consultations for appeals, insurance, personal injury, and commercial matters.
• Contingent Fees
• Rates, Retainers and Additional Information
  I provide appellate and commercial litigation on a contingent-fee or an hourly basis, depending on the case.

Colorado

Since 2007

10th Circuit

Since 2011

U.S. Supreme Court

Since 2012

Attorney

Burg Simpson Eldredge Hersh & Jardine PC

2013 - Current

The University of Denver Sturm College of Law

J.D. (2007)

2003 - 2007

New Mexico State University

M.A. (2000) | History

1998 - 2000

Temple University

B.A. (1997) | History

1994 - 1997

Appellate Attorney

Super Lawyers

2020

"Rising Star" 2012-2017, "Super Lawyer" 2019, 2020

Personal Injury

Best Lawyers in America

2019

Outstanding Service Award

Colorado Trial Lawyers Association

2016

New Trial Lawyer of the Year

Colorado Trial Lawyers Association

2012

Colorado State Bar  # 39525

Member

2007 - Current

Q. I have been accused of causing an accident that left my son dead and other people injured but I was avoiding another car

June 13, 2020

A: Hire a lawyer. I don’t practice criminal defense. But I have some experience in that area. You need to get a lawyer and quit posting about your case in public arenas, like this. If you cannot afford a lawyer, apply for a public defender. You need a lawyer asap.

Q. Is it illegal to block a road? If so, then is it illegal to hit someone blocking the road? Does speed matter?

June 2, 2020

A: There's a "last clear chance" doctrine that says, basically, if you can avoid a crash or if you can avoid hitting the person, then it's illegal. The video you refer to involved a driver who appeared to purposely hit the person. If it can be proved in court that she did so on purpose, then it's illegal. If you're on the highway and a person jumps in front of your car, how far away are you? If you have sufficient space to avoid hitting the person (by stopping, changing lanes, braking, etc.), then it could be manslaughter to hit them. Obviously, in that or any scenario, hitting the gas pedal to purposely run someone over is illegal. If you're at a stoplight and the light changes and someone's in the crosswalk in front of you, they have the right of way. Not only because they're in the crosswalk, but because they were in the right of way before the light changed. Those are black and white scenarios.

Q. Can Park County close all short term Rentals (530)? Could this be unconstitutional or considered “regulatory Taking”.

May 15, 2020

A: It depends. If this is related to a worldwide pandemic, in which the county is exercising its Constitutional power to protect the public health, the answer is likely yes to your first question. The Colorado Supreme Court has not weighed in directly on the constitutionality of the various public health orders related to the Covid-19 Pandemic. Pennsylvania's court upheld a statewide order and Wisconsin's court recently struck one down. Constitutional rights come into conflict at times. For instance, everyone has a right to free speech but they cannot yell fire in a crowded theater (if there's no fire). This is an oft-cited example of the so-called police power (the power of the state to protect the public health and safety) coming into conflict with the right to free speech. The police power wins because there's a reasonable basis for deprivation of the speech right. And in the theater/fire example, there would not be a right to compensation for the deprivation. It remains to be seen if the Colorado public health orders will be upheld as constitutional, whether the United States Supreme Court will weigh in on the question now that 2 states have decided the question differently, and whether, a business or property owner could be compensated in the event of deprivation of the right to enjoy one's property under a public health order. I'd bet that the orders are upheld, Wisconsin was wrong, and a property owner cannot get compensated. It's hard to imagine how the public health orders could possibly be unconstitutional since they are based on a reasonable public safety purpose. Even if a reviewing court disagrees with the decision, the question isn't whether it's right. The question is whether an objectively reasonable person could make the decision to issue the public health order. That's a huge mountain to overcome given the reality of the Pandemic.