Miscellaneous

• WHO: Food Safety Problem is Global, Not Just China

  Jenny Albano | July 17, 2007 1:12 PM | 0 CommentsScottsdale, AZ

  Top World Health Organization (WHO) officials stated that China is not the only place that has food safety problems. The United Nations agency receives around 200 reports of contaminated food every month in its 193 states with membership."I have to say that food safety is a big problem for both developed and developing countries," said Margaret Chan, WHO director-general.China, where poorly...

• Lessons On What Not To Do When Prosecuting a Claim

  Geoff Trachtenberg | June 20, 2007 10:35 PM | 0 CommentsScottsdale, AZ

  It was hard for me not to grin when reading the comedy of errors in Harris dba Angel Team Home Care, LLC v. Cochise Health Systems. In my view, it is a recipe legal malpractice.The suit arises from a dispute between a home health care company (Angel Team) and a division of the Cochise County Health and Social Services (CHS), and a CHS employee, Denise Pederson. Although the Court does not say...

• Directors Not Liable for the Misrepresentations of Their Agents Absent a Showing They Had "Knowledge" of the Misrepresentations

  Geoff Trachtenberg | June 05, 2007 10:17 PM | 0 CommentsScottsdale, AZ

  Judge Kessler of Division One just handed down another one of his massive opinions (this is not a criticism, just an observation). He seems to be a prolific writer and, my guess, a prolific reader as well.The case, Dawson v. Withycombe, marks another important milestone in the development of Arizona's corporate law. It follows in the footsteps of Wells Fargo Bank v. Arizona Laborers, Teamsters...

• Heirs Have the Right to Redeem Tax Liens As a Matter of Law, Setting Aside a Default Judgment and Rule 11 Sanctions Imposed on an Heir That Was Not Made a Party to a Lien Foreclosure Action

  Geoff Trachtenberg | May 31, 2007 11:29 AM | 0 CommentsScottsdale, AZ

  Real estate is one of this author's favorite "hobbies" of late -- call it schadenfreude, but the real estate roller coaster is at least as good as reality television, and better than Grey's Anatomy. As a result, it is not surprising that we should see more real estate cases come out of the woodwork, especially those related to foreclosure. Today Division One published Roberts v. Robert, which...

• Supreme Court Accepts Review in State Farm v. Premier

  Geoff Trachtenberg | May 25, 2007 9:02 AM | 0 CommentsScottsdale, AZ

  Late last year Division One handed down an awful decision in State Farm Ins. Cos. v. Premier Manufactured Systems, Inc., in which the court addressed whether the principles of comparative fault established are applicable to the participants in the chain of distribution of an allegedly defective product. In essence, Division One held that Arizona's comparative fault statute overrules...

• Message to the Trial Courts: "Show Your Work"

  Geoff Trachtenberg | May 24, 2007 1:50 PM | 0 CommentsScottsdale, AZ

  You know the old phrase from algebra, "show your work," well that is the message to the trial courts. Regretably, trial courts often rule on disputed issues with nothing more than a summary decision and without articulating their reasoning. Obviously, some of this is due the sheer volume of work that trial courts perform, but some of it is also due to habit and being lazy.The trouble with such...

• What If You Are Injured at Work? Can You Sue for Pain and Suffering?

  Geoff Trachtenberg | May 18, 2007 9:03 PM | 0 CommentsScottsdale, AZ

  Generally, but the remedies are very much stacked against you.Arizona workers' compensation laws are your avenue for redress if you have sustained injuries at work as a result of a co-worker or employer. You don't need to show negligence on the part of your employer to make a claim. What you need to show is that you were in the "course and scope" of your employment at the time you were injured...

• Defamation, Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress and the Relationship of Larry Flynt and Jerry Falwell

  Geoff Trachtenberg | May 16, 2007 3:46 PM | 0 CommentsScottsdale, AZ

  I often get asked about defamation suits and whether they are viable. Every time I deal with the issue I explain that the close cousin of defamation is intentional infliction of emotional distress and that both present difficult challenges. While defamation liability can be established fairly easily, damages can prove a problem for most cases. Intentional infliction of emotional distress, by...

• What Happens if I Was Bit or Attacked by Someone's Dog?

  Geoff Trachtenberg | May 15, 2007 8:56 PM | 0 CommentsScottsdale, AZ

  You can typically recover if you are injured by someone's dog, and generally their homeowner's insurance policy will provide liability coverage for these accidents. In addition, in Arizona we have a dog bite statute creating strict liability for such situations. Therefore, dog owners are liable for such injuries regardless of fault or alleged provacation of the dog.

• Update: Judge may lose his job after suing cleaners for $65,000,000

  Geoff Trachtenberg | May 09, 2007 9:54 PM | 0 CommentsScottsdale, AZ

  Roy L. Pearson Jr. might regret going after a dry cleaners for a lost pair of pants. A panel of four Washington DC officials is considering whether he should return as an administrative law judge for his bringing and maintaining a $65 million suit agaist the cleaners.