Colorado appeals court rules on e-scooter companies’ liability

DENVER — Colorado’s second-highest court ruled on Thursday that electric scooter companies cannot be held liable simply for making scooters available to users who, in turn, cause injuries to others.

Answering the question for the first time, a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals stressed that, even though e-scooter providers have no general duty to protect third parties from their users, there could be specific scenarios in which companies can be held responsible — for example, by renting to a customer known to be dangerous.

“We express no opinion on the existence and scope of a company’s duty to third parties in circumstances not alleged in this case. Nor do we consider the nature of any duty Lime might owe to the users of its scooters,” wrote Judge Karl L. Schock in the panel’s Nov. 14 opinion.