Robert Zangrillo faces felony charges for paying $250,000 to get his daughter into the University of Southern California as a fake athlete. Recently unsealed court records outline his defense -- his money was a donation, no different than those made by presumably many other families to grease th...
Torts: Qualified Immunity of Police Officers City of Caldwell v. Winfield, D.C. No. 1:16-cv-00359 (9th Cir. July 25, 2019) (J. Graber) http://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2019/07/25/18-35300.pdf WHERE POLICE OFFICER BELIEVED HE HAD PERMISSION TO ENTER PLAINTIFF'S HOME TO CONDUCT SEA...
The Supreme Court of the United States often goes by a nickname, "The Highest Court in the Land." And that's not just because of its secret, fifth floor basketball court. SCOTUS, another popular nickname, is the highest court in the federal judiciary. Established by Article III of the United S...
Yesterday, Matt Schmidt and and Amanda Bynum tought "Stress Management & Wellness: a Toolkit for Lawyers" for the State Bar of Arizona. The program was attended by over 70 people in person and online. In sum, the seminar focused on practical mindfulness strategies to overcome five primary elemen...
Torts: Implied Obstacle Preemption Dashi v. Nissan N.A., Inc, No. 1 CA-CV 18-0389 (App. Div. I, June 13 2019) (J. Weinzweig) https://www.azcourts.gov/Portals/0/OpinionFiles/Div1/2019/1%20%20CA-CV18-0389%20-%20Dashi%20v.%20Nissan%20-%20File%20Version.pdf NHTSA'S REFUSAL TO REQUIRE ADVANC...
Arizona Rules of Civil Procedure: Rule 42 Right to Change of Judge for Second Evidentiary Hearing Coffee v. Superior Court, No. 1 CA-SA 18-0251 (App. Div. I, June 20, 2019) (J. Weinzweig) https://www.azcourts.gov/Portals/0/OpinionFiles/Div1/2019/1%20CA-SA%2018-0251.pdf Successful party on ap...
Our Summer 2019 Newsletter has been released! We cover the following topics: 'Making Sense of Concussion' by Dev Sethi 'Electronic Scooter Rental Headed for Tucson' by Matt Schmidt 'Pima County's Pilot Fastar Program Withstands Constitutional Challenge' by Ted Schmidt 'Arizona Doctors Deli...
On June 26 from 1-4:15pm, Matt Schmidt and Amanda Bynum will be teaching "Stress Management & Wellness: a Toolkit for Lawyers" for the State Bar of Arizona. It is worth three hours of CLE, including 3 ethics credits. The program will focus on practical strategies and skills to incorporate into a ...
Last week I wrote about the powerful ways your cell phone betrays your every confidence. Google is one of many technology companies that collects and monetizes your personal information. Remember, if you aren't paying for the product, you are the product. Here are some simple steps you can tak...
State v. Mahoney, No. 1 CA-SA 19-0067 (App. Div. I, May 16, 2019) (J. Johnsen) https://www.azcourts.gov/Portals/0/OpinionFiles/Div1/2019/1%20CA-SA%2019-0067.pdf DEFENDANT MAY DESIGNATE UNKNOWN AND UNIDENTIFIED PERSONS AS NONPARTIES AT FAULT Plaintiffs' decedent died when he hit horses who wande...
I'm currently binging the podcast "To Live and Die in LA." It's the telling of a real-time investigation into the disappearance of Adea Shabani, a Hollywood model from her LA apartment in March 2018. Journalist Neil Strauss, who writes books and magazine articles, guides us through his invest...
Shepherd v. Costco Wholesale Corp., 1 CA-CV 18-0072 (App. Div. I, April 30,2019) (J. Perkins) https://www.azcourts.gov/Portals/0/OpinionFiles/Div1/2019/CV%2018-0072.pdf PHARMACY MAY BE LIABLE FOR NEGLIGENT FILLING OF PRESCRIPTION MEDICATIONS TWICE CANCELLED WHERE THE FILLING RESULTS IN EMBARRAS...
Redlin v United States, No. 17-16963 (9th Cir. April 23, 201`9 (J. Ikuta) (Appeal from Arizona District Court) http://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2019/04/23/17-16963.pdf SECOND NOTICE OF CLAIM UNDER FEDERAL TORTS CLAIM ACT FILED AFTER FIRST CLAIM DENIED IS NOT AN AMENDMENT OF FIRST C...
The Fellows of the American College of Trial Lawyers put on a great seminar today: “DAMAGES: It's All About the Money. How to Get it. How to Keep it.” Among the speakers were Schmidt, Sethi & Akmajian's own Ted Schmidt and Peter Akmajian, who spoke about punitive damages and wrongful death damage...
It's not an easy call. Plus, there are rules. In high school, Blue Bird Taxi was my life-line. I was a boarding student in a small mountain town in Western North Carolina. A phone call and 30 minute wait brought a light-blue sedan to Asheville School Road. Sometimes alone, and more often with...
The State Bar of Arizona has proposed the elimination of Rule 68—the Offer of Judgement Rule. Pursuant to Rule 68, any party may make a written offer to the opposing party to allow judgment to be entered in the case for a certain amount of money. The opposing side has 30 days to accept the offe...
Super Lawyers released their annual list of top attorneys for 2019. Ted Schmidt and Peter Akmajian were named in the top 50 lawyers in the state of Arizona. Dev Sethi was also chosen as a Super Lawyer in General Personal Injury. Additionally, Ted Schmidt was listed as a Super Lawyer in Product Li...
The Steven M. Gootter Foundation is dedicated to saving lives by defeating sudden cardiac death through increased awareness, education, scientific research and the distribution of AEDs. The Foundation, established by his loving family and friends, is dedicated to this mission in memory of Ste...
Surrounded by Arizonans touched by the tragedy of distracted driving, Governor Doug Ducey signed into law Arizona's statewide prohibition on using electronic devices while driving. This texting while driving ban has been brewing in the legislature for 12 years. In 2007, then Representative Stev...
Air bags that may not inflate can be found in vehicles made by Toyota, Honda, Kia, Hyundai, Mitsubishi, and Fiat Chrysler from model years 2010-2019. This morning's AP wire reports: Auto safety regulators have expanded an investigation into malfunctioning air bag controls to include 12.3 millio...
Arizona just needs the governor's anticipated signature to become the 48th state to ban texting and driving. In fact, the bill passed by the Arizona Legislature yesterday bans all hand-held use of cell phones while driving. The law does not take effect until 2021, and in the meantime the patchw...
The Washington Post is out with an explosive investigative piece detailing the horrors inflicted when popular Britax made BOB jogging strollers fell apart mid-stride. These three wheeled strollers are especially loved by new parents looking to spend some time with their babies in the fresh air. ...
The number of robocalls polluting our days is skyrocketing. With easy technology that allows these calls to come from fake numbers and despite some regulators efforts to stem the tide, they are multiplying exponentially. YouMail, a subscription app that attempts to stem these intrusions, publis...
Riding in the front seat, windows down, and your feet on the dash -- it's a romantic road-trip image. Maybe some Tom Petty playing. It's what summer adventures are made of, right? Do not do it. Everything else is great -- but do not put your feet on the dash. And make sure to warn your kids ...
"Dr. Death," one of the most popular podcasts in 2018, tells the story of a grossly incompetent neurosurgeon who practiced medicine and performed surgeries far longer than the healthcare industry should have allowed. Without spoiling too much, part of the reason this went on for too long was due ...
