If you paid your total balance in full before the court could issue a judgment for possession, the court was legally obligated to cancel any judgments against you and dismiss the case in its entirety. If this was the case, the eviction should not appear on your record.  C.R.C.P. 312.5, C.R.S. 13-40-115

It seems like the eviction judgment wasn’t properly cleared from your record because of a procedural error, which is unfortunate. The problem is that while Colorado law allows people in similar situations to remove a judgment that has been entered into the record by mistake, there is a strict 182-day deadline to file this motion. Unfortunately, in your situation, it appears that time has passed. C.R.C.P. 60. I would highly recommend speaking with an attorney to discuss this in more detail to understand if anything can be done.

In your case, since it sounds like the eviction was improperly reported despite it being vacated, you may have grounds to dispute the record with tenant-screening companies or consumer agencies under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). The FCRA gives you the right to dispute the accuracy of any information in your consumer file, specifically if you can provide proof that the eviction was vacated, the Consumer Reporting Agency must block the reporting of a vacated record within 30 days. C.R.S. 5-18-111

Using a portable rental application when applying for tenancy may be helpful, particularly if you can have the vacated eviction stricken from your record. However, it’s important to note that a landlord or property manager can still elect to use their own background check system on their own dime, which could still bring up the false judgment. 

Another thing to keep in mind is that Colorado landlords are prohibited from considering rental history beyond seven years when evaluating rental applications. Because your eviction took place in 2019, this record will expire next year. Moving forward, this particular Colorado statute should give you additional protection from unlawful discrimination when applying for tenancy. C.R.S. 38-12-904

If you would like to speak to an attorney, please contact us at (303) 688-0944.