Elder Abuse Laws: Are They Merely Scarecrow or White Hat Laws?

When researching laws that purport to serve the interests of a target population, such as the elderly, I look to see whether there is an effective enforcement mechanism attached to the law.  Without enforcement, the laws may serve merely as “scarecrows” to deter bad guys (who presumably are reading the laws… right?) or, perhaps, as a means by which legislators can proudly wear their “white hats,” to show they are the good guys.  One possible example could be Colorado’s civil penalties for violation of the state’s consumer protection laws where the victim is “elderly.”  C.R.S.A. Section 6-1-112 provides that:

“Any person who violates or causes another to violate any provision of this article [on consumer protections], where such violation was committed against an elderly person, shall forfeit and pay to the general fund of the state a civil penalty of not more than ten thousand dollars for each such violation. For purposes of this paragraph (c), a violation of any provision of this article shall constitute a separate violation with respect to each elderly person involved.”

In a recent pro se Colorado case, Donna v. Countrywide Mortgage, the federal district court dismissed all counts of the complaint filed by the borrower, including the count alleging a violation of “Colorado elder law,” concluding that such a private claim must fail because only the attorney general and district attorneys are authorized to seek civil penalties under that law.

Of course, there could be other sources of effective, private rights of action for elder abuse in Colorado law.