Otis Felder (Partner-Los Angeles, CA) and Taylor Allin (Partner-Phoenix, AZ) combined to obtain a judgment in favor of a boat owner before the U.S. District Court for Utah. The Salt Lake federal court entered judgment in exoneration of the owner in connection with a fire that occurred on October 26, 2023, on Lake Powell, causing damage to the vessel along with the surrounding dock infrastructure and other vessels. It was suspected that the fire was caused by lithium-ion batteries. While no one was on board the vessel at the time of the incident, neighboring vessel owners set the boat adrift after observing smoke billowing from its windows. Unfortunately, winds blew the vessel from one part of the marina to another, resulting in significant damage to the marina's dock, other vessels and surrounding property. Claimants in the proceeding included the marina operator, which had asserted claims for damages related to dock repairs and vessel salvage costs. With no evidence proving the vessel owner had any knowledge of the cause of the fire, the marine withdrew its claims. With the Court's exoneration order, the vessel owner petitioner has been found free of liability, and the action is now closed.

Taylor Allin (Partner-Phoenix) and Nicholas Merritt (Associate-Phoenix) successfully defended their client, a national home improvement store, in an arbitration involving construction defect and breach of contract allegations. The client contractually arranged for a general contractor and a supplier of roofing materials to replace a private homeowner’s roof. During the delivery of materials, the roof was damaged. While waiting for an assessment of repairs, the roof was further damaged by a rainstorm. The house was not repaired and eventually declared a total loss due to exposure to the elements over a long period of time.  

The homeowners' insurer also brought a subrogation action seeking damages for the cost of the entire home for over $400,000. The homeowners sought damages over $1,000,000. The arbitrator agreed with the mitigation-of-damages argument advanced by Taylor and Nicholas, limiting damages to the original incident and the first rainstorm only. Fault was allocated equally between the delivery company and the general contractor. Additionally, Plaintiffs were not awarded attorneys' fees as they were not the prevailing party.
 

Colt Dodrill (Partner-Phoenix), Katherine Stewart (Of Counsel-Phoenix), and Jake Ordorica (Associate-Las Vegas) have obtained voluntary dismissals of the firm’s car-sharing platform client and various vehicle owners without having to file motions to dismiss. Colt, Katie, and Jake have called and educated multiple plaintiffs’ counsel in Arizona and Nevada on their states’ respective peer-to-peer car-sharing statutes, explaining the facts of various cases and how clients are immune from suit under those statutes. They also forwarded favorable rulings to opposing counsel from prior cases, holding that no negligent entrustment claim will stand when the shared-vehicle driver has a valid driver’s license, and finding clients are not vicariously liable for each driver’s negligence. This wave of voluntary dismissals by separate plaintiffs’ firms in two states has saved Wilson Elser clients substantial defense costs and allowed carriers to close files quickly.   

Colt Dodrill (Partner-Phoenix) and Jake Ordorica (Associate-Las Vegas) successfully moved in Nevada’s Clark County District Court to dismiss negligence claims against Wilson Elser’s clients – a car-sharing platform and the vehicle owner. The plaintiff alleged that the clients negligently entrusted the car to a “Doe” driver who hit her vehicle and fled the scene. After opposing counsel refused to voluntarily dismiss our clients, Colt and Jake argued that the shared vehicle driver’s valid license belied the negligent entrustment claim and that such liability does not extend to successive entrustments. Colt and Jake further argued that, under state peer-to-peer car sharing statutes, federal law bars vicarious liability claims. The Court agreed, granting Wilson Elser’s motion two days before the scheduled hearing.

Brian Cieniawski (Of Counsel-Phoenix, AZ), Celeena Pompeo (Partner-Orange County | Los Angeles, CA), and Phoenix, Arizona, associates Nicholas Merritt and Marcus Martinez defended an major transportation client regarding a tractor–trailer incident in Mohave County, Arizona, in which plaintiff alleged that multiple driver side wheels separated from a trailer hauling freight. The plaintiff attempted to add our client as a defendant more than five months after the two year limitations period expired. Our defense focused on a straightforward statute of limitations bar under A.R.S. § 12 542 and the inapplicability of fictitious defendant practice to an out of time party addition; we also emphasized the absence of timely notice or any “mistake” in identity to satisfy Rule 15(c)’s relation back requirements, and the availability of public information that would have identified the trailer’s owner earlier. The court granted our motion and dismissed all claims with prejudice.

Partners Paul Dougherty (Los Angeles, CA), Greg Lee (Los Angeles, CA), and Taylor Allin (Phoenix, AZ) with Shirley Jin (Of Counsel-Los Angeles, CA) prevailed on a Rule 12 motion to dismiss in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona on behalf of a Chinese tire manufacturer based on lack of personal jurisdiction. The lawsuit arose from a highway rollover accident in which the rear tire of the plaintiff’s motorcycle, which had been manufactured at the client’s plant in Jiangsu, China, experienced a tread/belt separation. The plaintiff argued that the Chinese client had sufficient minimum contacts with Arizona based on, among other things, marketing and sales throughout the United States, a website, authorized retailers in Arizona, and the issuance of a recall by a domestic subsidiary that allegedly impacted Arizona. After taking the motion to dismiss under submission for more than nine months, the district judge ultimately agreed with the defense team that the plaintiff had failed to meet his burden of establishing sufficient minimum contacts with Arizona, and granted their motion to dismiss without leave to amend. 

Taylor Allin (Partner-Phoenix, AZ), Brian Del Gatto (Partner-Phoenix, AZ), and Brian Page (Associate-Phoenix, AZ) secured dismissal in the Arizona Federal District Court on behalf of Wilson Elser’s client, an independent contractor tour guide. The client was working in his independent contractor capacity for a tour company, during which time the company offered an optional flight operated by a separate, unaffiliated entity. Several passengers chose to take the flight, which tragically crashed, resulting in two fatalities and injuries to other passengers. The plaintiffs all brought suit against the tour company, the flight operator, and the tour guide. Wilson Elser filed a motion to dismiss the claims against the client on the basis that he owed no duty in connection with the flight. The court agreed and granted the motion, dismissing the case with prejudice and without leave to amend, resulting in major savings in legal fees for the client and avoiding involvement in a case allegedly worth multiple millions of dollars.

Beata Shapiro (Partner-Boston, MA), Brian Del Gatto (Partner-Phoenix, AZ), and Anne Kim (Associate-Boston, MA) defended a major national commercial tenant in a trip-and-fall case in the Suffolk County Superior Court in Boston. The plaintiff alleged that she fell on a sloped surface in the parking lot of the property after attending a ticketed event hosted by the firm’s client, and asserted claims of negligence and failure to warn. The firm’s client was added as a party to the case after discovery was conducted of the plaintiff and the co-defendants, the property owner, and the general contractor that installed the slope as part of an ongoing construction project at the site. Beata, Brian, and Anne moved for summary judgment as to all claims, before incurring the costs of answering the complaint or participating in discovery, on the grounds that the firm’s client did not have control over the parking lot under the terms of the lease and had no notice of the presence of the slope. Summary judgment was granted as to all claims against the firm’s client, over opposition, and the plaintiff has not appealed within the time permitted. This proactive approach saved the clients time and litigation expense and the possibility of a large damage award. 

Brian Del Gatto (Partner-Phoenix, AZ), William Cook (Partner-Detroit, MI), and Katherine Beres (Of-Counsel-Detroit, MI) prevailed on behalf of a Canadian international logistics company in Monroe County Circuit Court, Monroe, Michigan. The plaintiff alleged that when the vehicle she was a passenger in stopped in the dark in the middle of an unlit interstate highway at night and was rear-ended by a semi-truck driven by our client's driver, the driver was at fault. However, the truck’s dash camera video of the accident clearly demonstrated that the vehicle that plaintiff occupied was not visible until one second prior to the accident thereby creating a sudden and unavoidable collision. When the plaintiff refused to negotiate in good faith, Brian, Bill, and Kate filed a dispositive motion explaining how the evidence demonstrated that the driver was not negligent. The circuit court agreed and dismissed the case.