This includes appellate attorneys' fees because to deny appellate attorneys' fees to consumers who are forced to prosecute an appeal would undercut the objectives of the Colorado Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. See Martin v. Allen, 193 Colo. 395, 566 P.2d 1075, 1076 (1977) (applying this rationale to award appellate attorneys' fees in an action under the security deposit statute). Debt collectors could then, by the simple act of filing an appeal, effectively discourage consumers from obtaining legal redress.
This includes appellate attorneys' fees because to deny appellate attorneys' fees to consumers who are forced to prosecute an appeal would undercut the objectives of the Colorado Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. See Martin v. Allen,566 P.2d 1075, 1076 (Colo. 1977) (applying this rationale to award appellate attorneys' fees in an action under the security deposit statute). Debt collectors could then, by the simple act of filing an appeal, effectively discourage consumers from obtaining legal redress.
Cases from other states additionally support our interpretation of § 8-203(e)(4), as several courts have held that similar attorney's fees provisions of security deposit statutes apply to post-trial motions and/or appeals. In Martin v. Allen, 193 Colo. 395, 566 P.2d 1075 (1977), the Supreme Court of Colorado reversed a lower court decision refusing to allow attorney's fees for an appeal. In holding that a tenant could be awarded attorney's fees for an appeal relating to that state's security deposit statute, the court stated that the Colorado statute:
The Act recognizes the unequal bargaining positions of the landlord-tenant relationship. In Martin v. Allen, 193 Colo. 395, 566 P.2d 1075 (1977), we held that the Act is designed "to assist tenants in vindicating their legal rights and to equalize the disparity in power which exists between landlord and tenant" in conflicts over security deposits. Id. at 396, 566 P.2d at 1076.
Consistent with the legislative declaration and these rules of statutory construction, the supreme court has construed the Act's attorney fee provisions broadly in favor of tenants. It has held successful tenants "entitled" to attorney fees for appellate as well as trial court litigation. Martin v. Allen, 193 Colo. 395, 396, 566 P.2d 1075, 1076 (1977). This holding relied on the Act's "salutary" purposes:
Our reasoning accords with the Colorado Supreme Court's reasoning in Schneiker v. Gordon, 732 P.2d 603, 610 n.4 (Colo. 1987) (en banc) (citing Martin v. Allen, 566 P.2d 1075, 1076 (Colo. 1977)), where the court concluded that
The WWSDA is “designed to assist tenants in vindicating their legal rights and to equalize the disparity in power which exists between landlord and tenant in conflicts over such relatively small sums.” Martin v. Allen, 193 Colo. 395, 396, 566 P.2d 1075, 1076 (1977). Colorado has an interest in regulating landlord-tenant relations throughout the state so state residents have an expectation of consistency.
It is designed to assist tenants in vindicating their legal rights and to equalize the disparity in power which exists between landlord and tenant. Martin v. Allen, 193 Colo. 395, 396, 566 P.2d 1075, 1076 (1977). Therefore, we hold that a landlord who fails to account for a tenant's security deposit within the statutory time period set forth in section 38-12-103(1) may not avoid treble damages by accounting for a security deposit during the subsequent seven-day period established by section 38-12-103(3)(a).
On several occasions we have recognized that the parties to a residential lease are not in the same relative position, at least with regard to the equality of bargaining power between them, as are parties to a typical commercial lease. See, e.g., Martin v. Allen, 193 Colo. 395, 566 P.2d 1075 (1977) (recognizing that § 38-12-101 through -103, 16A C.R.S.(1982), governing wrongful withholding of security deposits by residential landlords, was enacted to equalize the disparity in power which exists between landlord and tenant over relatively small sums). It remains for future determination whether differences in the form, subject matter, and the interests of society as among various types of leases warrant that there be differences in treatment with respect to the same or similar problems and issues.
Torres v. Portillos, 638 P.2d 274 (Colo. 1981); Ball v. Weller, 39 Colo. App. 14, 563 P.2d 371 (1977); Martin v. Allen, 193 Colo. 395, 566 P.2d 1075 (1977). Reasonable attorneys' fees under the security deposit statute have been awarded often, Torres v. Portillos, supra; Martinez v. Steinbaum, 623 P.2d 49 (Colo.