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• Supreme Scrooge: Arizona's Supreme Court Delivers a Serious Blow to Products Liability

  Geoff Trachtenberg | December 09, 2007 6:32 AM | 0 CommentsScottsdale, AZ

  Worried about lead in your toys this Christmas? You now have something else to worry about - if those toys harm or kill your children, your rights and remedies in the state of Arizona are under serious attack.This week, in State Farm Ins. Co. v. Premier Mfg. Sys. Inc., the Arizona Supreme Court held that, despite centuries-old common law "strict liability" in product liability cases, Arizona's...

• Wyeth Recalls Cold Medicine Due to Dosing Cup Issue

  Jenny Albano | November 02, 2007 11:07 PM | 0 CommentsScottsdale, AZ

  Wyeth is recalling several brands of nonprescription cold medicine because they come with a dosing cup that does not mark the half-teaspoon level recommended for children aged 2 through 5 years old. According to the Wyeth spokesperson, there is nothing wrong with the product.The cold medicines being recalled are: Robitussin Cough DM, Robitussin Cough & Cold CF, Robitussin Cough & Congestion,...

• Failure to Plead Sufficient Facts - The New Legal Malpractice?

  Geoff Trachtenberg | October 21, 2007 3:48 PM | 0 CommentsScottsdale, AZ

  There's a new case out this week from Division Two, Cullen v. Koty-Leavitt Insurance, which deals with the reasonable expectations doctrine in the UIM setting. The case is not particularly fascinating from a substantive perspective, but it raises questions about potential legal malpractice exposure.In sum, Cullen filed a UIM claim based upon the fact that his family was given the right to...

• Legal Malpractice Statutes of Limitation - Tort and Contract

  Geoff Trachtenberg | October 18, 2007 7:56 PM | 0 CommentsScottsdale, AZ

  Interesting legal malpractice case from Division Two, Keonjian v. Olcott, dealing with the issue of when the statute of limitations begins to run and whether the tort or contract limitation period applies.The essence of the alleged malpractice was that the plaintiff got bad advice from her attorney concerning the deeding of some land that she co-owned with another party. The trial court had...

• $800,000 Wrongful Death Settlement for Motorcycle Collision in Arizona

  Geoff Trachtenberg | October 12, 2007 5:31 PM | 0 CommentsScottsdale, AZ

  Levenbaum & Cohen ("L&C") is pleased to report that the firm recently settled a motorcycle wrongful death case for $800,000.00. L&C, which also does business as The Law Tigers -- a group of attorneys concentrating in motorcycle injury -- obtained the settlement after two riders, one in his 70s and the other in her 50s, collided with a vehicle that was trying to pass a semi-truck.If you or a...

• Experts Not Allowed to Testify to the Percentage of Fault

  Geoff Trachtenberg | September 06, 2007 4:41 PM | 0 CommentsScottsdale, AZ

  Division One just handed down Webb v. Omni Block, Inc., a clearly written opinion which decisively eliminates an expert's ability to testify as to the "percentage of fault" for any party or non-party.In Webb, defendant, Omni Block, hired an expert who testified as to the specific percentage of fault (or lack thereof) for various parties and non-parties. Judge Jones allowed this testimony and...

• Three Trial Courts Hold Medical Malpractice Statute Unconstitutional

  Geoff Trachtenberg | August 31, 2007 8:54 AM | 0 CommentsScottsdale, AZ

  In last few years, many states adopted protectionist legislation in favor of the medical industry. The legislation essentially puts up various barriers to bringing medical malpractice cases by, among other things, attempting to impose expensive and burdensome constraints on the way these types of cases are litigated.The medical lobbyists, of course, claim that the legislation is necessary to...

• Bell Atlantic v. Twombly: The Day "Notice Pleading" Died (Sort Of)

  Geoff Trachtenberg | August 29, 2007 2:20 PM | 0 CommentsScottsdale, AZ

  On May 21, 2007, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down Bell Atlantic v. Twombly, 550 U.S. ___ (2007), announcing the "retirement" of the long-standing standard for dismissal of complaints articulated in Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41 (1957) - i.e., the standard that complaints should not be dismissed "unless it appears beyond a doubt that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of his...

• Court Blasts Sheriff's Office for "Arbitrary and Capricious" Action Against a Local Newspaper

  Geoff Trachtenberg | August 28, 2007 2:16 PM | 0 CommentsScottsdale, AZ

  Another new opinion from Division One, West Valley View v. Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, blasts the Marcopa County Sheriff's Office. In short, Sherriff Joe decided he did not like the coverage by the West Valley View, a local newspaper, so he eliminated the West Valley View from the electronic distribution list for press releases and refused to respond to public records requests or provide...

• Court Permits Hospitals to Charge "Maximum Rates" to Those Who Can Least Afford It

  Geoff Trachtenberg | August 27, 2007 2:43 PM | 0 CommentsScottsdale, AZ

  Division One just handed down Banner Health v. Medical Savings Ins. Co., a terrible opinion which deals with whether a hospital can charge a patient and its "non-network insurer" full billed amounts historically paid by only two percent of all patients. The answer, for now, is yes in a two-to-one decision.Incidentally, by "non-network insurer," I mean to refer to an insurer who has no agreement...