Hennemann, Theresa

I have represented both public and private sector clients in eminent domain/condemnation, water and land use law and litigation since earning my law degree in 1968 from the University of Colorado School of Law and serving as a law clerk to the Colorado Supreme Court's Chief Justice Edward E. Pringle.

I've negotiated and closed dozens of purchases and sales of water rights and settled or tried hundreds of cases in water, eminent domain and land use (including 42 U.S.C. §1983) cases.  I have offered argument over eighty times in my appellate practice, primarily in my listed areas of practice. Some of these cases established new principles that have become part of Colorado law. From 1979 to 1983, I also taught water law to lawyers. 

At the close of 2010, I resolved years of land use litigation by selling almost 900 acres of prime mountain property to Pitkin County, Colorado, for seventeen million dollars.  Within the last two years, I secured a six million dollar 42 U.S.C § 1983 settlement against the City of Thornton and an inverse condemnation settlement of four million dollars against the City and County of Broomfield, both for Moreland Properties, LLC.  Representing a landowner, I obtained a dismissal with prejudice of the City of Greeley's petition in condemnation and also secured all costs and attorney fees in the district court and the appellate courts.  I have appellate litigation involving vested rights currently underway in Colorado's Court of Appeals and Supreme Court.

I have published numerous articles and practice manual chapters and lectured in my areas of practice.  I wrote and continue to provide the annual Colorado update to 6 R. Clark, Waters and Water Rights Colorado Water Law (D. Beck, ed. 1991).

In addition to Colorado's courts, I am admitted to practice in the U.S. District Court foreclosures, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit and the United States Supreme Court.

Specialty Practice Areas

Water Law

My water law clients have included water and metropolitan districts, water and wastewater authorities, real estate developers, ranchers, irrigators, reservoir companies, irrigation companies and golf course developers. I've secured dozens of complex decrees for the water supply plans of numerous metropolitan districts throughout Colorado, for municipalities such as the Town of Vail and the City of Grand Junction, for Colorado's largest irrigation company, for numerous real estate developers, for new and established ski resorts and golf courses, and for individual property owners. I've also secured decrees for complicated augmentation plans for the Denver Technological Center and other Southeast Denver Metropolitan area special districts.

Eminent Domain/Condemnation

I have tried or settled dozens of cases involving Denver International Airport (DIA) and E-470, the Public Highway Authority's toll road around Denver, the Colorado Department of Transportation's project to expand Interstate 25 (T-REX), various FasTracks projects and private landowners in various urban renewal projects. My practice dates back to the acquisition of rights of way for Colorado's major interstate highways. I've acquired property for open space, recreation, drainage improvement projects, water pipelines, city halls, roadways, schools and even a county jail.

Land Use Law and Litigation

For many years, I have represented both public and private clients in litigation specific to land use and zoning, regulatory takings, governmental authority, constitutional rights of private property owners (42 U.S.C. § 1983), downzoning, vested property rights and tax assessment appeals.