Insurance: Assessment of Reasonableness of Refusal to Consent to Settlement By Insurer Where Insurer Has No Duty to Defend Apollo Education Group, Inc. v. National Union Fire Ins. Co., No. CV-19-0229-CQ (February 17, 2021) (J. Bolick) https://www.azcourts.gov/Portals/0/OpinionFiles/Supreme/2021/...
How do I know what coverage I have? When we consult with people who have been involved in a car accident, most do not know what kind of car insurance coverage they have off-hand. This is not surprising, because car insurance policies are intentionally confusing, broad, vague, ambiguous, and un...
A federal judge has awarded more than $1 million to a veteran who claims he was sexually abused by a former physician assistant at a VA hospital in Kansas.
Family Law—Appointment of Guardian for Minor with no Surviving Parents.
42 U.S.C. § 1983—Excessive Force Villanueva v. State of Calif., D.C. No. 8:17-cv-01302-JLS-KES (January 28, 2021) (J. Warlaw) https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2021/01/28/19-55225.pdf FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT OF PASSENGER IN CAR IS TERMINATED WHEN POLICE SHOOT AT THE CAR AND QUESTIO...
Ted Schmidt was recently elected to the Arizona State Bar Board of Governors and assigned to chair the Programs and Events Committee of the State Bar's Task Force on Social Justice, Diversity, and Inclusion. That Task Force generated a full report of recommendations for the Bar that were unanimo...
The Schmidt, Sethi & Akmajian January 2021 Newsletter covers topics such as Rule 68, COVID litigation, a recent police brutality settlement and more.
From Pima County's website: "You can help make sure Pima County doesn't miss its shot. As the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine accelerates, volunteers are needed to help staff the effort to get shots into our citizens' arms and protect our community against the virus. Volunteers at our vaccinatio...
The recent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol has resulted in consequences for lawyers connected to the event. One such person is John Eastman, who was a law professor at Chapman University. He spoke at the “Save America” rally preceding the riot and assisted in several of the lawsuits challengin...
Constitution: Due Process Right to Hearing to Assess Credibility of Witness Solorzano v. Jensen, 1 CA-CV 19-0772 (App. Div. I, December 29, 2020) J. Winthrop IN DECIDING ISSUE REQUIRING ASSESSMENT OF CREDIBILITY OF WITNESS DUE PROCESS REQUIRES COURT ALLOW SWORN LIVE TESTIMONY Father petitioned...
Dev Sethi's fertility fraud case was featured on the cover of the Tucson Weekly. Over the counter, retail DNA testing revealed that our client's physician artificially inseminated her with his own sperm, instead of the anonymous donor sperm that he promised. “It is a gross betrayal of the trus...
City reaches settlement with family of man who died in Tucson police custody.
"What day is it?" asked Pooh. "It's today," squeaked Piglet. "My favorite day," said Pooh. This short yet incredibly famous conversation between Pooh and Piglet is a simple reminder that what stands in front of us, at this very moment, is the most important thing. So important, in fact, that i...
Evidence & Torts: Ecclesiastical Abstention Doctrine/False Light Invasion of Privacy & Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress Christakis v. Deitsch, No. 1 CA-CV 19-0344 (App. Div. I, December 1, 2020) (J. Swann) https://www.azcourts.gov/Portals/0/OpinionFiles/Div1/2020/1%20CA-CV%2019-0344....
I have been working with University of Indiana Mauer College of Law professor Jody Madeira, investigating and prosecuting a case of fertility fraud. What is fertility fraud? It is a recently discovered phenomenon of doctors who have secretly and without permission impregnated their patients thr...
Torts—42 U.S.C. 1983 Claim for Excessive Force by Police Cortesluna v. Leon, No. 19-15105 (9th Cir., October 27, 2020) (J. Garber) https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2020/10/27/19-15105.pdf POLICE OFFICERS HAVE QUALIFIED IMMUNITY WHEN COURT FINDS THEIR USE OF FORCE WAS OBJECTIVELY ...
Dev Sethi is representing a mother and daughter in a fertility fraud case involving Doctor James Blute III.
Evidence/Civil Proc. R. 26(b)(4)(F)(ii): Treating Doctors as Expert Witnesses in Medical Negligence Cases Haught v. Payson Healthcare, NO. 2-CA-CV 2019 (Az App. Div. I, Ocotober 30, 2020) (J.Vasquez) https://www.appeals2.az.gov/decisions/CV20190150Opinion.pdf IMPERMISSIBLE TO ASK MULTIPLE TR...
UPDATE - 10/14/2020 - The deadline to register to vote in Arizona is 5pm on October 15th. The decision discussed below has been reversed by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. If you are not yet registered, you can visit ServiceArizona or the Arizona Secretary of State's website. Original blog: ...
Early voting in Arizona has started and voter enthusiasm is high. Already local officials have reported higher than average numbers of ballots being returned.
Torts: Qualified Immunity of Police Dispatcher/Citing Vacated Decisions Harianto v. State, No. 1 CA-CV 18-0446 (App. Div. I, September 24, 2020) (J. Brown) https://www.azcourts.gov/Portals/0/OpinionFiles/Div1/2020/CV18-0446%20Harianto%20OP.pdf ADOT & DPS DISPATCHERS HAVE QUALIFIED IMMUNITY AGAI...
There may never be another time in your lifetime when exercising your right to vote will be more important or easier.
As schools begin to reopen in Arizona, districts are asking parents to sign liability waivers.
Contract Barring Tort Claims Not Enforceable Against Non-Party to Contract/Closely Related Party Doctrine JTF Aviation Holdings Inc. v. CliftonLarsonAllen LLP, No. CV2017-003641 (September 18, 2020) (J. Montgomery) https://www.azcourts.gov/Portals/0/OpinionFiles/Supreme/2020/CV190209PR.pdf Def...
Our September 2020 has arrived! Our attorneys cover the following topics: 'Court Says School May Be Liable for the Off-Campus Murder of a Student' by Ted Schmidt 'Remote Depositions Are Here to Stay & Why I'm All for It' by Dev Sethi 'Jury Trials in the COVID Era' by Peter Akmajian 'Has a S...