General Personal Injury | InjuryBoard Scottsdale

Interesting and disappointing personal jurisdiction memo opinion from Division One, Womack v. KC Arena. In short, KC operates a bar on the Nevada side of the Arizona-Nevada border, over served a patron who then drove across the state line and killed an Arizona pedestrian. Moreover, plaintiffs asserted that KC employees knew the patron lived in Bullhead City and that he would return there after...

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Surprising result in Webb v. Gittlen, a new opinion from the Arizona Supreme Court which holds that a professional negligence claim against an insurance agent is assignable. Although a long overdue holding, it highlights the badly misunderstood law concerning assignments, including the scope and justification of anti-assignment law (see my earlier article on Assignments vs. Liens in the...

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Today the Arizona Supreme Court issued an opinion in Cundiff v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Ins. Co. which dealt with workers' compensation offsets in underinsured motorist (UIM) claims.Pima County Deputy Sheriff Jean Cundiff was injured by a third-party while on the job, in her patrol car. Although she was paid certain workers' compensation benefits, the third-party only carried $15,000 in...

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"Attention Safeway shoppers, business owners now owe nondelegable duties to their invitees to keep their premises reasonably safe."Steven H. Simon sued Safeway after he was injured during a store altercation with a security guard who "physically and sexually" assaulted him. The guard was employed by a third-party company who had contracted with Safeway. He mistakenly concluded that Mr. Simon...

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A large number of people, attorneys included, don't know the difference between "assignments" and "liens."Why does it matter, you ask? For a number of reasons that will be more obvious when the difference is understood.An assignment is the easier of the two to understand since, as the name implies, it is an transfer of all or some rights or property to a third-party. Although an assignor...

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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...

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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,...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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New decision from Division One, Bohreer v. Erie Ins. Exch.. Bohreer holds that an Arizona court has general personal jurisdiction over a foreign insurer which has appointed the Director of Insurance as an agent for service of process and has not withdrawn such qualification or appointment, but has ceased doing business in the state prior to the acts underlying the complaint. The Court held...

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Mars Petcare has announced in tandem with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that it is recalling its 'Red Flannel Adult Formula' dry dog food and its 'Krasdale Gravy' dry dog food. Mars Petcare has issued this recall because of a potential for the dog food to be contaminated with Salmonella.The FDA and Mars Petcare are under taking the recall as a precautionary measure after FDA...

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