NEWS

Congratulations to trial counsel Sico Hoelscher Harris LLP and Santa Fe partner, Roz Bienvenu, who successfully convinced the New Mexico Court of Appeals to reverse the trial court’s dismissal for lack of personal jurisdiction in a wrongful death product liability case based on the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Ford Motor Co. v. Mont. Eighth Jud. Dist. Ct., 141 S. Ct. 1017 (2021). The New Mexico Court of Appeals determined that the the fatal accident was sufficiently related to Bridgestone’s New Mexico contacts to give rise to jurisdiction. You can read the opinion here.

This case is another of many personal jurisdiction wins for Roz, making her a top appellate lawyer on this important issue for plaintiff’s firms nationwide.

Congratulations to Daryl Washington and Greg Marks who, with help from DP&S’s Shelby White and Thad Spalding, won a $21.6 million jury verdict for their client, Odell Edwards, in a civil rights case involving the use of excessive, deadly force. The plaintiff’s 15-year-old son, Jordan, was shot and killed by a Balch Springs police officer, Roy Oliver, as the car Jordan was riding in was leaving a house party. The police officer was criminally convicted of murder in 2018, but continued to claim that his shooting was justified. On April 3, 2023, the civil jury disagreed, finding Oliver liable for using excessive, deadly force, and awarding $10.6 million in actual damages to Mr. Edwards and to Jordan’s estate, and an additional $11 million in punitive damages for the officer’s wrongful conduct. You can read the Dallas Morning News article about the verdict here. You can also view news reports about the verdict here (WFAA), here (Fox 4), and here (NBC 5). 

Congratulations to Santa Fe partner, Caren Friedman, who was named a 2023 Southwest “Super Lawyer” in the appellate practice category.  Southwest Super Lawyers magazine covers New Mexico and Arizona.  Caren is one of only seven New Mexico appellate practitioners, and the only one from Santa Fe, to be recognized.  This is Caren’s 17th consecutive year to be included on this list.  You can read the digital edition of Southwest Super Lawyers magazine here.

DP&S is proud to have assisted trial counsel Jack Walker and Reid Martin of Martin Walker PC in a defective product case with national and international ramifications. 

This tragic case involved the death of a two-year-old child who died from choking on a Calico Critters Yellow Labrador Twins toy.  Initially filed in 2018, the case was heavily litigated for more than three years. In 2021, Plaintiffs successfully defeated partial summary judgment filed by Defendant Epoch Everlasting Play, LLC; although the Defendant argued that it could not be held liable as a matter of law under a negligence per se theory, Plaintiffs convinced the Court of the opposite: that Epoch was negligent per se because the toy violated Consumer Product Safety Commission Regulations, and thus the toy was a “banned hazardous substance.”  The Court agreed with the position advanced by Plaintiffs, finding that Epoch was negligent per se because its toy has small parts that presented a choking hazard and, as a “flocked” toy, was intended for children under three years of age.  You can read the Court’s opinion here. Shortly after the Court’s favorable ruling, the case was resolved for a confidential sum. 

But honoring their clients’ wishes, Martin Walker and DP&S continued to fight to convince regulators that these toys should be removed from the market entirely.  Initially, the Court’s decision was cited by CPSC acting commissioner Peter Feldman, who urged the federal agency to expedite enforcement of CPSC regulations against flocked toys to protect the health and safety of children across the country. You can read Commissioner Feldman’s press release here. 

After continued lobbying efforts, on March 9, 2023, the CPSC announced a voluntary recall of all Calico Critters animal figure and sets sold with small parts accessories. Commissioner Feldman sent a strong message about the recall and called for the recall as a “first step” urging the CPSC to review similar toys and accessories to ensure safety.  You can read Commissioner Feldman’s statement here.

Congratulations to Santa Fe partners, Caren Friedman, Justin Kaufman, and Rosalind Bienvenu, who successfully convinced the New Mexico Court of Appeals to affirm a judgment rejecting contract and fraud claims against state licensed medical cannabis growers, Ken and Irene Livingston, the founders of Healthy Education Society.  The Livingstons prevailed at trial, and on appeal, the judgment was affirmed in its entirety based on the failure to prove damages.  You can read the memorandum opinion in Livingston Land, LLC v. Brooker, A-1-CA-38948 (N.M. App. Feb. 15, 2023), here.

Congratulations to Santa Fe partner, Caren Friedman, who presented argument on behalf of the Plaintiff in the New Mexico Court of Appeals on January 12, 2023.  Plaintiff was catastrophically injured when the grossly overloaded and untethered scaffold on which he was working collapsed.  In New Mexico, a negligence claim against an employer is barred by the exclusivity provision of the Workers Compensation Act.  Caren argued that the employer’s intentional acts and omissions and utter disregard for the consequences allow Plaintiff’s claim to proceed.  The Court will determine whether the district court erred in granting summary judgment in favor of the employer.  You can listen to Caren’s argument in Camarena v. Superior Contracting Corp. d/b/a American Nat’l Insulation and Sealants, N.M. App., A-1-CA-39598; A-1-CA-39269 here.