EXPERT WITNESS:

LITIGATION SUPPORT: HISTORICAL RESEARCH AND TESTIMONY

As a practicing professional public historian, Dr. Gulliford has now been involved in four lawsuits related to access issues in Colorado and rights of way over historic mining trails and roads. Twice he has been retained by Colorado counties at the request of county attorneys, and twice by attorneys working with their private clients. As a history professor proficient in Western and environmental history, Dr. Gulliford offers a unique perspective in these cases and he always “groundtruths” each situation before beginning other kinds of research that involves government documents, diaries, letters, newspapers, mineral location certificates, homesteading documents, mining claims, photographs, etc. Dr. Gulliford has been privileged to work in Delta, Ouray, San Miguel and Rio Blanco Counties.

EXPERT WITNESS RESEARCH AND TESTIMONY:

GUNNISON COUNTY, COLORADO: Retained by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, State of Colorado, to research an RS 2477 claim in JOHN BIRO, et al. v. JONATHAN WHITACRE SMITH v. DAVID GOTTORFF Case No. 2017CV030060, August 2020.

LAKE COUNTY, COLORADO: Retained by Lake County in a federal court case wherein plaintiffs were suing the county over a spur branch of county road CR 6B in Civil Action No. 15-cv-01761-WJM-KLM, Race v. BOCC, et al., spring 2016 to August 2017. Declared a public road by summary judgement.

MONTEZUMA COUNTY, COLORADO: Retained by the county to research and write an RS 2477 claim for the historic Lone Cone Road also known as the Dolores-Norwood Road, spring 2016.

MORA COUNTY, NEW MEXICO: Retained by the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office to review historic documents concerning a road and right-of-way in Mora County, New Mexico. 2014.

DELTA COUNTY, COLORADO: Hughes vs. Patterson in Delta County District Court Case No. 2010CV255. Dispute over access to an historic road to the West Reservoir, Fall 2012. Trial February 2013 with the judge ruling for Hughes.

RIO BLANCO COUNTY, COLORADO: Expert Report for Rio Blanco County District Court Case No. 06 CV 35 ultimately settled out of court. Focused on historic homestead documents and site information. Interpreted archaeological report. Dispute over road access to private and public lands. March 2007- September 2008.

OURAY COUNTY, COLORADO: Hired by the county to research and describe an historic trail and road through the Camp Bird Mine. Camp Bird Colorado, Inc. vs. Board of County Commissioners of the County of Ouray, Case Number 02CV16. Research 2003-2006. Trial October 2006. The judge ruled for Ouray County. Sustained on appeal. Commissioners of the County of Ouray, Case Number 02CV16.

If you would like to retain Dr. Gulliford’s expert historian services on roads and trails, please contact Andrew directly at andy@agulliford.com.