Hon. Michael E. Hegarty (Ret.) brings to his ADR practice 19 years as a federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, the last year of which he served as the first Chief Magistrate Judge in the district’s history.

As a litigator with the Washington, D.C., firm of Arnold & Porter, Judge Hegarty learned the substantive areas of securities, antitrust, and environmental law. Then, as an Assistant United States Attorney, he gained extensive experience trying employment discrimination and other civil rights cases, as well as mediating employment cases with the Department of Justice nationwide. He also handled over 120 appeals to the federal circuit courts, including 12 oral arguments in the Second and Tenth circuits.

On the bench, Judge Hegarty presided over 30 jury and 15 bench trials in areas such as antitrust, products liability, natural resources, personal injury, contract, and intellectual property. More importantly, he was a prolific mediator, handling over 1,400 settlement conferences, with a remarkable success rate. These included hundreds (each) of employment, class actions, contract, personal injury, and civil rights matters; hundreds of cases under various federal statutory causes of action, such as ERISA, consumer protection, Fair Labor Standards Act, environmental (Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, RCRA, CERCLA, etc.), insurance bad faith, securities, products liability, medical malpractice, misrepresentation/fraud/business torts, franchise law, intellectual property (patent, trademark, copyright); and dozens of other substantive areas of law.

Judge Hegarty’s experience as both a judge and a trial lawyer provide him with a great deal of insight into the legal process, thus enabling him to evaluate resolution options and efficiently guide parties to settlement.

As a mediator, Judge Hegarty has handled numerous high-profile cases. These have included the largest case in the history of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a nationwide class action arising from the U.S. Department of State’s au pair program, high-profile lawsuits contesting Colorado’s Medicaid system and its process for bringing indicted persons to competency through mental health treatment, the Aurora theater shooting case, and so many others. He is known for his relentless pursuit of resolution. He is particularly skilled at bringing innovative solutions that transcend the available remedies at trial and address the parties’ ultimate needs and desires. "He is by far the most sought-after magistrate judge for court-sponsored settlement conferences [mediation]. So, he is an excellent choice.”

Representative Matters

The experience list below is compiled from cases handled as a judge.

• Antitrust & Competition
• Action against sole domestic manufacturer of calcium silicate (Calsil), an insulation product, alleging claims for monopolization under the Sherman Act and disparagement claims under the Lanham Act
• Violations of antitrust laws regarding sole provider and processor of continuing education credits for surgical technicians and surgical assistants
• Regional sports network (RSN) action against national broadcast company claiming the latter used its broad reach in the Denver metro market to force the RSN out of business so that it could establish its own regional sports network
• Business Commercial
• Consumer brought action against operator of cannabis dispensary, alleging violation of Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA)
• Closed-circuit distributor of sports and entertainment programming brought action against restaurant, alleging that restaurant defendants illegally intercepted its programming and broadcast it without paying the sub-licensing fee
• Insurance company brought action against former exclusive agent, asserting claims for defamation and violation of Colorado Consumer Protection Act (CCPA) based on allegations that agent falsely claimed that company sold its customers’ sensitive information
• Breach of fiduciary duty by hedge fund manager
• Alleged civil RICO and mail fraud claims by major bank
• Civil Rights

• Numerous cases alleging false arrest, excessive force, malicious prosecution, wrongful death and wrongful conviction involving cities and counties
• Prisoner rights case in which plaintiff alleged that his First, Fourth, Fifth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendment rights were violated when he was transferred to a medical facility
• Lawsuit regarding the rights of disabled Coloradans who receive Medicaid assistance to live in their own communities rather than in institutional settings such as nursing homes
• Denver-based chapter of Black Lives Matter and nine individual plaintiffs brought suit against the city and county of Denver, officers of the Denver Police Department (DPD), and officers of the Colorado State Patrol (CSP) regarding police tactics used on protestors
• Class Action & Mass Tort

• Multidistrict litigation involving claimants who experienced respiratory problems from the use of a spray grout sealer
• Class action involving foreign nationals who worked in the United States providing live-in childcare (au pair) services involving for-profit and nonprofit organizations alleging conspiracy to set prices, in violation of Sherman Act, and violations of Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and state wage laws 
• Insured driver, whose vehicle was damaged in collision, brought putative class action against insurer for breach of contract and bad faith breach of insurance contract, challenging process by which insurer calculated actual cash value of total loss vehicles
• Royalty owners brought putative class action in state court against natural gas well operator, alleging that operator calculated and paid royalties in a manner inconsistent with prior class action settlement agreement and contrary to underlying royalty agreements
• Shareholder brought securities-fraud class action against corporation that provided cybersecurity products and services, corporation's chief executive officer (CEO), and corporation's former chief financial officer (CFO) 
• Current and former employees of county school district and labor organization brought action against school district, asserting claims for impairing contractual obligation in violation of United States and Colorado constitutions, breach of contract, impermissible taking of property in violation of Fifth and Fourteenth amendments and Colorado Constitution, and quantum meruit
• Class-action suit over allegedly defective wrist straps used with a popular video game system
• Elite female taekwondo athletes brought putative class action against national Olympic committee, national governing body for the Olympic sport of taekwondo, coaches, and others, asserting claims for violation of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), and state law
• Employment Law

• Numerous trials and settlements involving wrongful terminations, retaliation, pregnancy discrimination, sexual discrimination, age discrimination, race/cultural background discrimination, sexual harassment and hostile work environment, wage and hour, and whistleblower claims
• Former employee brought action against former employer, alleging race and national origin discrimination and retaliation under Title VII and § 1981, discrimination, failure to accommodate, and retaliation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), discrimination under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) and the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
• Former employee accused of breach of employment contract, computer fraud, and misappropriation of trade secrets when he started his own company
• Intellectual Property

• Patent infringement involving heat-sealing process used by company to seal its packaged prepaid debit cards
• Alleged infringement of 11 patents involving an imaging technology that may be applied to medical instruments, such as endoscopes, as well as to smartphones and tablets
• Theft of trade secrets, trademark infringement and dilution involving products from competing footwear companies
• Record companies and music publishers that produced and distributed copyrighted commercial sound recordings and musical compositions filed suit against internet service provider (ISP) claiming vicarious liability for copyright infringement, in violation of Copyright Act
• Owner of copyrighted film filed suit against internet user alleging infringement and contributory infringement, in violation of the Copyright Act, through the use of an internet peer-to-peer file sharing protocol
• Home designer brought numerous suits against homeowners who copied a design from trade magazines
• Owner of patent relating to parallel processing computer systems sued two of the largest U.S. technology companies for infringement
• Life Sciences

• Action against drug manufacturer alleging failure to warn or inform drug users and prescribers in the U.S. about the risk of compulsive behaviors, including gambling, which resulted in significant financial, mental, and physical damages
• Federal securities class action brought against a biopharmaceutical company focused on the research, development, and advancement of immunomodulatory therapies for the treatment of pain from osteoarthritis
• Strict liability for failure to warn and defective manufacture and design, negligence, recklessness, and breach of warranties for an allegedly defective artificial hip replacement device implant
• Personal Injury

• Wrongful death claim involving elderly woman who suffered fatal injuries from falling when a safety clip on the mechanical lift used to move her from her bed to her wheelchair failed
• Accident involving major airline carrier when airplane veered off the runway during takeoff and injured numerous passengers
• Multiple actions against movie theater alleging premises liability, negligence, and wrongful death claims under Colorado law arising from a mass shooting at the theater
• Claimant stepped on a piece of plywood located on the roof, slid off the roof, and sustained serious and permanent physical injuries
• Product Liability

• Action brought against bicycle helmet manufacturer for serious head injuries
• Plaintiff alleged that he suffered physical and monetary injuries when a ladder sold by major retailer caused him to be thrown backwards
• Products liability case involving manufacturer’s decision to use formaldehyde, a known carcinogen, in its floor joists that were installed in over 2,400 newly built homes in the United States, including over 500 new homes in Colorado
• Product liability cases against tractor manufacturer alleging crashworthiness of sleeper compartment and an inadequate restraint system
• Rollover cases involving catastrophic injuries against major auto manufacturers
• Professional Liability

• Action against prison mental health professional, alleging medical malpractice under state law and cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment pursuant to § 1983, arising from events that occurred after prisoner was placed on mental health watch
• Unlicensed, nonprofessional lab technician allegedly mislabeled biopsy slides that resulted in unnecessary surgery for the patient
• Legal malpractice suit against attorney for failure to obtain legal malpractice insurance

Honors, Memberships, and Professional Activities

Honors

• Walter Hiersteiner Award for Significant Service to Society in the area of legal education, University of Kansas, 1986
• Phi Beta Kappa, 1982
  
  

Memberships

• Board Member and Treasurer on the Faculty of Federal Advocates, 2003-2006, 2024-2025
• Board Member Teen Challenge of the Rocky Mountains, 2013-2025
  
  

Representative Speaking Engagements

• Colorado Bar Association, When Your Judge is Your Mediator – The Benefits and Pitfalls of Court-Sponsored ADR, 12/12/2024
• Colorado Bar Association 18^th Annual Alternative Dispute Resolution Conference, Tricks of the Trade - Reaching Yes for Mediators: A Microscopic and Telescopic Discussion of the Philosophical and Mechanical “Tradecraft” of Victorious Mediation, 10/25/2024
• Colorado Bar Association Employment Law Conference, Judicial Panel, 9/25/2024
• Federal Practice Update, Federal Bar Association – Colorado Chapter and Colorado Bar Association, Magistrate Judges Panel, 7/19/2024
• Federal Practice Update, Federal Bar Association – Colorado Chapter and Colorado Bar Association, The Practice of Law in the United States District Court, District of Colorado, Judges Panel, 7/29/2022
• Federal Practice Update, Federal Bar Association – Colorado Chapter and Colorado Bar Association, The Federal Magistrate Judge's Role in Your Case and Pointers for Successful Litigation in Federal Court Judges Panel, 2016-2019
• Colorado Bar Association Employment Law Conference, How to Settle A Case: Top 10 Things to Look for in Settlement Negotiations, 4/20/2018
• Colorado Bar Association Employment Law Conference, Employment Law Tips and Tricks: What Works and What Doesn’t from the Perspective of the Bench, 10/5/2017
• Colorado Bar Association Employment Law Fall Update, Unmanageable Human Resources Practicum and Role Play, 11/10/2016
• Colorado Bar Association Social Security Disability, Post Krauser: 5 Step Sequential Process; Treating Physician Rule, 2/19/2016
• Federal Practice Update, Federal Bar Association – Colorado Chapter and Colorado Bar Association, Effective Advocacy in Federal Court: Magistrate Judges Share Their Views, 6/5/2015
• Colorado Bar Association Employment Law Conference, Judges' Discussion of New Consent Jurisdiction Rules, Early Neutral Evaluations, e-Discovery and How Employment Cases are Handled in Federal Court, 3/20/2014
• Federal Practice Update, Federal Bar Association – Colorado Chapter and Colorado Bar Association, The Federal Magistrate Judge's Role in Your Case and Pointers for Successful Litigation in Federal Court Judges Panel, 2010-2014
• Colorado Bar Association and Colorado Judicial Institute, We Can Work It Out - Mediation and Settlement Conferences, 5/15/2014
• Colorado Bar Association Workplace Discrimination, Fly on the Wall: What Goes on in the Other Room During a Mediation Panel, 1/10/2014
• Colorado Bar Association Employment Law Conference, “Strategies for Early Settlement of Employment Law Cases,” May, 5/26/2010

Background and Education

• United States Magistrate Judge for the District of Colorado, 2006-2025
• Chief United States Magistrate Judge, 2024-2025
• Chief of the Civil Division of the U.S. Attorney's Office, 2002-2006
• Assistant U.S. Attorney in the District of Colorado, 1992-2002
• Associate, Arnold & Porter, Washington D.C. and Denver offices, 1988-1992
• Law Clerk, U.S. District Judge Dale Saffels (District of Kansas), 1986-1988
• J.D., Order of the Coif, University of Kansas School of Law, 1986
• B.A., Political Science and Economics, cum laude, Kansas State University, 1982