After almost five decades of serving clients, Chip Delap has found that taking the global approach to clients’ questions produces the best results. Experience teaches us that a minor concern may have broad ramifications while complex issues are often resolved with a simple practical solution.
During his extended legal career, Chip has had the opportunity to work with and be influenced by many prominent and well educated lawyers in Colorado, nationally, and in foreign countries. This experience provided a broad spectrum of controversies and transactions.
As a trial lawyer, Chip has conducted jury trials, has been involved in the bankruptcy process, including the impact on creditors’ rights, and has gained an abundance of practical foresight into the pitfalls that might impact a given transactional matter.
Clients have stretched from Fortune 500 companies to individuals who were creating, selling, or passing on their business enterprises or personal assets. The result has been the accumulation of a wealth of knowledge and practical insights relating to commercial transactions and litigation involving real estate, entity creation both public and private, financing, land use, natural resources such as oil and gas or mineral exploration and production, bankruptcies, and business succession, estate planning, probate administration and litigation.
EDUCATION
J.D. University of Denver, College of Law, Denver, CO (1972)
Member of Board of Editors and Note Editor – Denver Law Journal (1969)
University College London/London School of Economics
Exchange Student-Political Science/Economics (1963)
B.A. Political Science, Lewis & Clark College, Portland, OR (1966)
Sports Hall of Fame (Elected 1995)
BAR ADMISSIONS/PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
- State of Colorado
- United States District Court for the District of Colorado
- United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit
- Supreme Court of the United States
(Admitted for particular cases in California, Utah, Wyoming, New Mexico, North Dakota, Kansas and Pennsylvania)
- American Bar Association
- Colorado Bar Association and Denver Bar Association
- AV rated in Martindale Hubbell
COLORADO BAR ASSOCIATION ACTIVITIES
Member of the CBA Legal Fee Arbitration Committee for over 20 years
Hearing Officer in over 50 fee disputes between lawyers and clients
MILITARY SERVICE
United States Army 1969-1972
1st Lt. (OCS Infantry – Ft. Benning, GA)
Airborne Ranger
82nd Airborne Division
1st Calvary Division
rEPRESENTATIVE CASES
Prutch v. Ford Motor Co.
40 Colo. App. 129, 574 P.2d 102, 618 P.2d 657 (Colo. 1980).
- Product liability/farm equipment – timing proof of defect.
Dumbell Ranch Co. v. Cherokee Exploration, Inc.
692 F.2d 706 (10th Cir. 1982)
- Trespass – public lands and location of unpatented lode claims.
Adams – Araphaoe v. Celotex
637 F. Supp. 570 (D.C. Colo. 1986)
958 F.2d 381 (10th Cir. 1992)
- Asbestos insulation in public buildings – statute limitation – other defenses.
Redies v. Nationwide Mutual Ins.
711 F. Supp. 570 (D.C. Colo. 1986)
- Negligent misrepresentation – sale of insurance agency.
Stratsky v. Paramount Comm.
778 F. Supp. 505 (D.C. Colo. 1991)
7 F.3d 1464 (10th Cir. 1993)
- Toxic substance – preclusive effect of consent decree for superfund site.
Kincaid v. Western Operating Co.
890 P.2d 249 (Colo. App. 1994)
- Oil and gas operating agreement – interpretation of limits to area of mutual interest.
Beal Bank, S.S.B. v. Jack’s Marine, Inc.
201 B.R. 376 (B.C. Ed. Penn. 1996)
- Court order as improper modification of Chapter 11 plan of reorganization.
CF&I Steel, L.P. v. Air Pollution Control Div.
77 P.3d 2003 (Colo. App. 2003)
- Limitation of public disclosure of emission data
In re Rancher Energy Corp.
2011 WL 260473 (D.C. Colo. 2011)
- Representing public company – Chapter 11 debtor in possession for reorganization of senior debt
In re Notary
313 P.3d 619 (Colo. App. 2011)
- Probate – conflicting claims of priority right to be personal representative.
In re Estate of Newton
547 B.R. 411 (B.C. Colo. 2016)
- Challenge to improper removal of state court litigation to bankruptcy court.
The Phillip T. Shapples Trust v. Bill Barrett Corporation, et al.
United States District Court for the District of Colorado
15-CV-01335-JLK (2019)
- Successful settlement of an oil and gas contract dispute.
rEPRESENTATIVE Transactions
- Representing developers of downtown Denver property – 1979-1983
- Development and sale of client’s precious metals claims – Colorado, Wyoming, Montana and South Dakota
- Uranium exploration joint venture – private U.S. landowners and public Canadian company
- Sale of Wyoming uranium projects to publicly traded Canadian uranium exploration and production company
- Reorganization of computer software company
- Reorganization of company manufacturing plastic landscaping products
- Cash and stock sale of HOA and LLC mineral interests to Australian publicly traded company
- Stock sale/purchase of medical technical company
- Sale of medical testing company
