nicholas.merritt@wilsonelser.com

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Nicholas Merritt represents individuals and businesses in all aspects of civil litigation. His practice focuses on the defense of claims related to general liability matters.

Prior to joining Wilson Elser, Nicholas worked at a boutique litigation firm in Phoenix, handling civil litigation and criminal defense. Previously, he served as an Assistant Attorney General in the Arizona Attorney General’s Office, where his practice focused on child welfare law and the protection of children. In that role, Nicholas gained extensive trial experience, acting as first-chair in over 100 bench trials and contested evidentiary hearings.

During law school, Nicholas gained diverse experience through internships with various legal organizations in Arizona, including the Cochise County Attorney’s Office, the Office of the Federal Public Defender, the Maricopa County Office of the Legal Advocate, and Arizona Municipal Strategies, as well as a transactional real estate firm in Los Angeles, California. Notably, Nicholas won his first jury trial as a Rule 39(c) limited practice attorney during his internship with the Cochise County Attorney’s Office. He was also awarded highest honors for his generous pro bono contributions throughout his law school career.  

    Education

    • Arizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law (J.D., 2022)
      • Pro Bono Honors with Highest Distinction
      • CALI Award for Excellence in Special Topics in Water Law
      • Student Bar Association Representative
    • Gettysburg College (B.A., 2019)
      • Presidential Scholarship

    Bar Admissions

    • Arizona

    Court Admissions

    • U.S. District Court, District of Arizona

Nicholas Merritt

Wilson and Merritt Secure Dismissal in Federal Court for Insurance Brokerage Client

Daryl Wilson (Of Counsel-Phoenix, AZ) and Nicholas Merritt (Associate-Phoenix, AZ) obtained summary judgment in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona for Wilson Elser’s client, an insurance brokerage. The plaintiff, an delivery company partner operating approximately 30 trucks, sued our client after its commercial auto policy was canceled for non-payment in September 2023 and not reinstated. The insurer and wholesale broker were previously dismissed by stipulation, leaving our client as the sole defendant.

The plaintiff asserted negligent misrepresentation and declaratory relief claims, seeking business interruption, payroll, and increased substitute coverage costs. The misrepresentation claim rested on the broker's alleged statement that paying the remaining premium would reinstate the policy. Daryl and Nicholas moved for summary judgment on both claims. After oral argument, the court granted the motion in full. On the negligent misrepresentation claim, the court found no evidence that our client made any false statement. It also held that the economic loss doctrine independently barred the claim because the losses were purely economic and arose from the policy our client had been hired to procure. The court also rejected the plaintiff's late attempt to advance a new theory through an expert report, finding that the report lacked supporting facts, the theory had not been pleaded, and the alleged statement was made to the insurer ‒ not to the plaintiff ‒ so the plaintiff could not have relied on it.

The court also rejected all three requests for declaratory relief. It found that a declaration concerning the dismissed wholesale broker’s duties would resolve no dispute between the remaining parties, that apportionment of damages was meaningless with only one defendant remaining, and that the requested declaration concerning a duty to disclose rested on the same failed theory underlying the misrepresentation claim. Judgment was entered for our client, and the case was closed.

Daryl R. Wilson and Nicholas Merritt

Campbell and Merritt Successfully Defend Public Housing Authority Against State and Federal Claims

Taryn Campbell (Of Counsel-Phoenix, AZ) and Nicholas Merritt (Associate-Phoenix, AZ) prevailed on a motion to dismiss on behalf of Wilson Elser’s public housing authority client in the Arizona Superior Court for Maricopa County. The lawsuit arose from events occurring in July and August 2024. Under Arizona law, claims against public entities have strict deadlines: claimants must serve a notice of claim within 180 days and file suit within one year. The plaintiff served her notice in April 2026 and filed suit in July 2026. The court held that the plaintiff’s state-law claims were time-barred and also rejected her argument that the claims did not accrue until she later suffered a medical episode. Instead, the court held that the claims accrued when the alleged harm occurred, in August 2024.
 
The court also dismissed the plaintiff’s federal civil rights claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, finding that the complaint failed to plausibly allege a constitutional violation. The eviction proceedings had gone through the courts, affording the plaintiff due process. Additionally, the complaint failed to allege that the claimed constitutional violation and harm resulted from an official policy, custom, or practice, as required in claims seeking to establish a public body's liability. The ruling underscores Arizona’s strict enforcement of notice-of-claim deadlines and demonstrates how public entities can successfully challenge weak claims at the pleading stage, avoiding costly discovery.

Taryn Campbell and Nicholas Merritt

Allin and Merritt Prevail in Construction Defect Arbitration

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.
 

Taylor H. Allin and Nicholas Merritt

Cieniawski, Pompeo, Merritt & Martinez Prevail on Inapplicability of Fictitious Defendant Practice to an Out of Time Party Addition

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.

Brian Cieniawski, Celeena B. Pompeo and Nicholas Merritt

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