Ted A. Schmidt

Ted's early career as a trial attorney began on the other side of the fence, in the offices of a major insurance defense firm. It was there that Ted acquired the experience, the skills and the special insight into defense strategy that have served him so well in the field of personal injury law.

Notable among his successful verdicts was the landmark Sparks vs. Republic National Life Insurance Company case, a $4.5 million award to Ted's client. To this day, it is the defining case for insurance bad faith, and yet it is only one of several other multi-million dollar jury judgments won by Ted during his career. He is certified by the State Bar of Arizona as a specialist in "wrongful death and bodily injury litigation".

Further examples of Ted's accomplishments in and out of the courtroom on behalf of his clients include the Bloom v. Brunswick Corporation case where he successfully obtained a $9 million verdict for a young man who had lost his leg in a boating accident. Ted advocated there was a product defect in the boat and convinced the jury to include a $6 million punitive damage award. Similarly, Ted tried a tire failure case in southern Idaho where he convinced the jury that a tire had been negligently installed and secured a $4.5 million verdict for his clients.

Ted was the attorney who represented a young lady badly mauled by a bear on Mt. Lemmon years ago. Ted's investigation and discovery revealed that the State of Arizona had known of the dangerous propensities of this particular bear for some time and had violated its own policies in capturing and releasing the bear. Ted obtained a multi-million dollar settlement on behalf of his client, the first of its kind in the State of Arizona if not North America. More recently, Ted tried a LASIK eye surgery case for a United Airlines pilot obtaining a $4 million verdict in Pima County. Ultimately the case was settled for that amount after Ted was successful on appeal. To this date this case stands as the largest verdict in a LASIK eye surgery case anywhere in the country.

Ted represented a young United Airlines pilot who underwent Lasik surgery that damaged his eyes to the point he could no longer fly. Ted was successful in obtaining a $4 million verdict to right this wrong.

Ted is recognized in Best Lawyers in America, is a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers, International Academy of Trial Lawyers and International Society of Barristers as well as a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates. He is an elected member on the Arizona State Bar Board of Governors, has served as Secretary/Treasurer on the Executive Committee and most recently was elected Vice President for the Arizona State Bar. Ted also heads up the bar's Malpractice Insurance Program Task Force and the organization's Collaboration Working Group which helps implement the State Bar's new Social Justice, Diversity & Inclusion goals, and chairs the State Bar Panel on the same subject.

Additionally, Ted is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Arizona College of Law teaching Trial Advocacy, is a Judge Pro Tem in the Pima County Superior Court, has been recognized by the Arizona State Bar as Member of The Year, and is the recipient of the Walter Craig Distinguished Service Award.

Originally from Mansfield, Ohio, Ted has been in Tucson since his undergraduate years at the University of Arizona and as a graduate of the University's College of Law. A father of four, he is active in the community as the Natural Resources Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission in Pima County and is especially involved with youth activities - as a coach in Little League, President of the FC Tucson Youth Soccer Board of Directors, and President of the Catalina Foothills High School Booster Club.

He has also been a member of the President's Club at the University of Arizona, where he and his late wife Ann established the Tara Nicole Schmidt "Have a Dream" Memorial Scholarship at the UA. This scholarship has funded, and continues to fund, the educational pursuits of worthy Arizona high school graduates.

Areas of Practice:: Products Liability; Medical Malpractice; Premises Liability; Federal Tort Claims; Bad Faith; Insurance; Governmental Liability

Litigation Percentage:: 100% of Practice Devoted to Litigation

Certification/Specialties:: Injury and Wrongful Death Litigation, Arizona Board of Legal Specialization

Bar Admissions:: Arizona, 1977; U.S. District Court District of Arizona, 1977; U.S. Court of Appeals 9th Circuit, 1982; U.S. Supreme Court, 1982

Education:: University of Arizona College of Law, Tucson, Arizona, 1977
J.D.
Honors: High Distinction
Law Review: University of Arizona, Managing Editor, 1976 - 1977; University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, 1974
B.A.
Honors: With High Distinction
Major: Government

Published Works:: Merit Selection of Judges, Under Attack Without Merit. Arizona Attorney, February, 2006; Insurance Bad Faith; First-Party and Third-Party Claims and Available Damages. Bar Bites, A Division of Arizona Institute of Continuing Legal Education, 1990; Refusals to Settle. Refusals to Defend. Reservations of Rights and Damron Agreements, Bar Bites, A Division of Arizona Institute of Continuing Legal Education, 1990; Punitive Damages in Arizona: The Reports of Their Death are Greatly Exaggerated, 29 Ariz.L.Rev. 599, 1987; State of the Art - A New Frontier in the Products liability Area, Arizona State Bar Journal, February, 1984; Turning the Plaintiffs Assertion of the Physician-Patient Privilege to the Advantage of the Defense, 25 For the Defense, (March 1983). Use of Request for Admissions in the No Liability Case. 24 For the Defense.10, June, 1982; Architects. Engineers and the Statute of Limitations. 1 DRI Monogram, 24, 1982; Common Law Concepts of Life Insurance in Community Property Jurisdictions: Recommendations for a Practical Approach, 18 Ariz.L.Rev, 182, 1976; Double Jeopardy. Multiple Punishment and the Criminality of Crime While on Bail, 17 Ariz.L.Rev. 757, 1975

Representative Cases:: Sparks v. Republic Nat. Life Ins. Co., 647 P.2d 1127 (Ariz. 1982)

Classes/Seminars Taught:: Effective Demand Letters: View from Both Sides, Arizona Trial Lawyers Association - Tucson, Arizona, May 5, 2008; Chairman, Bench and Bar, April 28, 2008; "Insurance Bad Faith Claims", (Tucson, Arizona), Lorman Business Center, January 22, 2008; Chairman, Bench and Bar, December 4, 2007; Chairman, Bench and Bar, May 14, 2007; State Chair Trial Seminar, Arizona Trial Lawyers Association, March 16, 2007; Chairman, Bench and Bar, December 13, 2006; Chairman, Bench and Bar, May 8, 2005; Chairman, Bench and Bar Roundtable With the Robes, December 8, 2005; Insurance & Tort Law Update, Tucson, Arizona, May 2, 2005; Insurance Law from A to Z, State Bar Presentation, 2004; Bad Faith, Damron, Morris, and Peaton Agreements and Himes, Arizona Trial Lawyers Association, 2003; "Trial Skills", (Pinetop/Lakeside, Arizona), State Bar of Arizona White Mountains, 2003; "Bad Faith and Punitive Damages", San Francisco, California, American Conference Institute, 2003; "Trial Skills", (Pinetop/Lakeside, Arizona), State Bar of Arizona - White Mountains, 2002; Arizona Evidence Law, CLE West, 2002; Encyclopedia of Experts, State Bar of Arizona, 2002; "Trial Skills", (Pinetop/Lakeside, Arizona), State Bar of Arizona - White Mountains, 2001 - 2004; Expert Testimony in Federal and State Court Tucson, Arizona, Arizona Trial Lawyers Association, 2000; Admissibility of Expert Opinion Evidence in Federal and Arizona Courts, Pima County Bar Association, 2000; College of Trial Advocacy Program Tucson, Arizona, State Bar of Arizona, 2000; "Use of Medical Experts" (Greer, Arizona), State Bar of Arizona - White Mountains, 2000; "Ethics" (Greer, Arizona), State Bar of Arizona - White Mountains, 1999; CLE by the Sea Program, (San Diego, California), State Bar of Arizona, 1999; "Insurance Bad Faith Law", (Tucson, Arizona), Lorman Business Center, 1999; Professionalism, State Bar of Arizona, 1999; College of Trial Advocacy Program, (Tucson, Arizona), State Bar of Arizona, 1998; "Professionalism & Ethics" (Greer, Arizona), State Bar of Arizona - White Mountains, 1998; CLE by the Sea Program, (San Diego, California), State Bar of Arizona, 1998; College of Trial Advocacy Program, (Tucson, Arizona), State Bar of Arizona, 1997; CLE by the Sea Program, (San Diego, California), State Bar of Arizona, 1997; College of Trial Advocacy Program, (Tucson, Arizona), State Bar of Arizona, 1996; CLE by the Sea Program, (San Diego, California), State Bar of Arizona, 1996; "Insurance Bad Faith Claims", (Tucson, Arizona), Lorman Business Center, 1995; College of Trial Advocacy Program, (Tucson, Arizona), State Bar of Arizona, 1995; "Disclosure vs. Discovery - Strategic, Practical and Ethical Problems caused by New Federal Rules", (New York City, New York), ATLA Annual Convention, 1995; CLE by the Sea Program, (San Diego, California), State Bar of Arizona, 1995; Legal Malpractice "A Case Study", (Tucson, Arizona), Lorman Business Services, 1995; "Proposed Rule Changes Juries", (Tucson, Arizona), Arizona Association of Defense Counsel, 1995; "Insurance Law", (Tucson, Arizona), Lorman Business Center, 1994; College of Trial Advocacy Program, (Tucson, Arizona), State Bar of Arizona, 1994; CLE by the Sea Program, (San Diego, California), State Bar of Arizona, 1994; "Making It Work Trial Practice in the 90's", (Kapalua, Maui), Western Trial Lawyers Association, 1994; Educational Lecturing Since, Western Trial Lawyers Association, 1982

Honors and Awards:: Top 50 Southwest Super Lawyers, Southern Arizona Specializing in Injury and Wrongful Death, 2007; James E. Rogers College of Law Distinguished Alumnus Award, 2007; Walter E. Craig Award, 2006; NALS of Tucson Boss of the Year Award, 2005; Sidney S. Woods Alumni Service, University of Arizona, 2005; Southern Arizona Association of High School Athletic Directors Ruy McNally, 2003 - 2006; State Bar of Arizona Member, 2002; Silver Beaver, 2002; Spanish Trails District Award of Merit, Catalina Council Boy Scouts of America, 1998; Adjunct Professor of Law, 1992 - 1993; State Bar of Arizona Outstanding Leadership in Contribution to Continuing Legal Education, 1987 - 1990; State Bar of Arizona Outstanding Leadership in Contribution to Continuing Legal Education, 1997; William Spade Memorial Award for Outstanding Contributions Made to the College of Law, University of Arizona, 1977; Fellow, American Bar Foundation, 1987 - Present; Fellow, International Society of Barristers, 1995 - Present; Southwest Super Lawyers 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2020, 2022

Professional Associations and Memberships:: Tara Nicole Schmidt Have a Dream Memorial, 1994 - Present, Founder and Director; National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame Southern Chapter, 2006 - Present, President; National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame, 2003 - Present Member, Board of Directors; Catalina Council Legal Counsel, 2001 - 2003, Council Commissioner; Advisory Commission for Certification in Personal Injury and Wrongful Death Litigation before State Bar, 1989 - 2004; Chairman; Catalina Foothills High School Football Rooster Club: Touchdown Club, 2000 - 2003; President; Canyon View Little League, 1990 - 1997; League Coach; Canyon View Little League, 1996; Board of Directors, Chairman; American College of Trial Lawyers, 1998 - 2000; Civil Justice Committee; Arizona College of Trial Advocacy, 1985 - 1999; Founding Chairman; Arizona College of Trial Advocacy, 1985 - 1999; Faculty Member; Hastings College of Trial Advocacy, 1979 - 1981; Graduate and Faculty member; University of Arizona College of Law, 1981 - 1984; Member Board of Visitors; University of Arizona College of Law, 1984 - 2003; Chairman of the Board of Visitors; State Bar of Arizona, Trial Practice Section, 1986; Chairman; State Bar Convention, 1988; Chairman; Arizona State Bar Civil Practice, 1982; Procedures Committee; Law College Association, University of Arizona, 1994 - Present; Board Member; Arizona Federal District Court of Arizona, Ninth Circuit; American Bar Association; American Association for Justice; Arizona Trial Lawyers Association; Arizona Trial Lawyers Association, 1989 - 1991; Board of Directors; Pima County Superior Court; Judge Pro Tem; University of Arizona, College of Law; Adjunct Professor; Arizona Law School, 2000 - Present; Board of Visitors; Fellow, American College of Trial Lawyers, 1997 - Present; State Chair American College of Trial Lawyers, 1998 - 2001; Best Lawyers in America, 2002 - Present; Arizona State Bar Certified Specialist in Injury and Wrongful Death Litigation; Advisory Commission for Certification in Personal Injury and Wrongful Death Litigation Before State Bar, 1989 - 2004; Chairman; American Board of Trial Advocates, 1981 - Present; American Board of Trial Advocates, Tucson Chapter, 1999; President; International Society of Barristers, 2004 - Present; State Chair; State Bar Professional Liability Insurance Task Force, 2002; Serve on State Bar Task Force to Investigate a Captive Insurance Company, 2002 - 2003; State Bar Vice-President, 2022

Past Employment Positions:: Kinerk, Beal, Schmidt, Dyer & Sethi, Partner, 1995 - 2005; O'Connor, Cavanagh, Anderson, Westover, Killingsworth & Beshears, Partner, 1984 - 1995 (Managing Partner 1992-1995); Jennings, Strouss & Salmon, Partner, 1980 - 1984; Jennings, Strouss & Salmon, Associate, 1977 - 1980

Pro Bono Activities:: Cub Master, Pack 220, Catalina Council BSA, 1990 - 1995; Scoutmaster Troop, Catalina Council BSA, 1995 - 2000; Venture Crew Advisor, Venture 100 BSA, 1999 - 2002; Canyon View Little League Coach, 1990 - 1997

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