Livingston Land, LLC v. Brooker, No. A-1-CA-38948, 2023 WL 2017517 (N.M. App. Feb. 15, 2023)
Successfully convinced New Mexico Court of Appeals to affirm judgment rejecting contract and fraud claims against state licensed medical cannabis growers for failure to prove damages.
Opinion

Aquifer Science v. Verhines, et al., 2023-NMCA-020, 527 P.3d 667 (2022)
Successfully defended decision to deny developer’s water application that would have impaired existing wells and would have been contrary to conservation of water in New Mexico, along with cost award, including post-judgment interest, to prevailing public interest group that opposed water application.
Opinion

Collado v. Fiesta Park Healthcare, LLC, 525 P.3d 378 (N.M. Ct. App. 022)
Assisted with briefing and strategy in defeating nursing home’s effort to overturn $11M verdict and, on cross-appeal, reinstating a jury finding that the various defendant-entities operated as a joint venture, making them all responsible for the nursing home’s conduct.
Opinion

Schmidt v. Int’l Playthings LLC, 536 F.Supp.3d 856 (D. N.M. 2021)
In products liability case arising out of the choking death of a two-year-old child who died from choking on a Calico Critters toy, successfully defeated partial summary judgment filed by toy manufacturer, Epoch Everlasting Play, LLC and instead finding Epoch negligent per se because the toy, which has small parts that present a choking hazard and is marketed to children under three years age, violated Consumer Product Safety Commission Regulations and constituted a “banned hazardous substance.”
Opinion and Order

Lopez/Romero v. Ford Motor Co., D-101-cv-2019-03306 (N.M. Dist. Ct. June 26, 2020)
Working with trial counsel The Tracy Firm and Williams Injury Law on behalf of a minor client who was seriously injured in a rollover, DP&S defeated Defendant Ford Motor Company’s motion to dismiss on personal jurisdiction grounds. As it had in past cases, the Court rejected Ford’s arguments that its contacts in New Mexico were insufficient to confer specific jurisdiction, and that its registered agent in New Mexico did not equate to consent jurisdiction.
Order

More Significant Victories ⤏

Santa Fe office wins in the New Mexico Court of Appeals!
Congratulations to Santa Fe partners, Caren Friedman, Justin Kaufman, and Roz Bienvenu, who successfully convinced the New Mexico Court of Appeals to affirm the judgment in this probate case involving a dispute over the decedent’s property. At the heart of the dispute was the Estate’s claim of a valid contract that allegedly distributed valuable water rights appurtenant to land near Truchas in Northern New Mexico.

Caren Friedman & Justin Kaufman help protect $11M verdict on appeal!
Congratulations to Jeffrey Pitman and Benjamin Reyes of Pitman, Kalkhoff, Sicula & Dentice on their victory in the New Mexico Court of Appeals. Mr. Pitman and Mr. Reyes, along with Feliz Rael of The Law Offices of Feliz A. Rael, and Keller & Keller, successfully defended an $11 million jury verdict on appeal in a nursing home wrongful death case. In a published opinion, the Court of Appeals rejected the defendants’ bid to overturn the verdict and procure a new trial and, on cross-appeal, reinstated a jury finding that the various defendant-entities operated as a joint venture, making them all responsible for the nursing home’s conduct. DP&S partners Justin Kaufman and Caren Friedman assisted with the appellate strategy and briefing.

Congratulations to our 2022 New Mexico “Super Lawyers”!
DP&S is proud to announce that Santa Fe-based partners Caren Friedman and Justin Kaufman have been named Southwest (New Mexico and Arizona) “Super Lawyers” for 2022, an honor based on professional achievement and peer recognition.

DP&S named to “Best Lawyers” 2022 “Best Law Firms” List!
DP&S is proud to announce that it has been named to the “Best Lawyers” 2022 “Best Law Firms” list as a “Tier 1” firm–the highest ranking available–in the Dallas/Fort Worth area in Appellate Practice! According to U.S. News–Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms,” “[a]chieving a tiered ranking . . . signals a unique combination of quality law practice and breadth of legal expertise. Ranked firms, presented in three tiers, are recognized on a national and regional-based scale. Firms that received a tier designation reflect the highest level of respect a firm can earn among other leading lawyers and clients from the same communities and practice areas.”

More News Stories ⤏