TRIALCOURTDECISIONS
020
CASES OF NOTE
TRIAL COURT
DECISIONS
Fernandez v. City of Phoenix
September 15, 2014
Maricopa County Superior Court
Don Myles, Michele Molinario and Gaya Shanmuganatha
Don Myles, Michele Molinario, and Gaya Shanmuganatha,
attorneys with Jones, Skelton & Hochuli in Arizona, recently
obtained a win for the City of Phoenix at the Maricopa County
Superior Court of Arizona. Plaintiffs, assignees of former
Phoenix police officer Richard Chrisman, brought a declaratory
action against the City of Phoenix to enforce an $8.5 Million
dollar Morris type agreement.
Defendant Phoenix moved for summary judgment arguing
that Plaintiffs’ claims are barred by the statute of limitations,
res judicata, collateral estoppel or judicial estoppel, and that
the Phoenix City Codes either bars Plaintiff’s claims or limits
their damages to the costs of defense in the underlying Federal
Court case. The Court agreed with Defendant Phoenix’s that
its obligations to Mr. Chrisman, and therefore Plaintiffs, cannot
extend beyond the limits set by the Phoenix City Codes. The
Court, therefore, granted Phoenix’s Cross Motion for Summary
Judgment and held that, if the jury finds that Phoenix wrongly
denied Mr. Chrisman indemnity, Plaintiffs’ are only entitled to
recover reimbursement for reasonable fees and expenses and
not the $8.5 Million dollar settlement.
Oscar Aguilar v. Werner Enterprises, Inc.
October 25, 2013
U.S. District Court, District of Arizona
Phil Stanfield and Jeremy Johnson
Phil Stanfield and Jeremy Johnson obtained one of
Arizona’s Top Defense Verdicts of 2013, which was
featured in Arizona Attorney’s Magazine in June 2014.
Phil Stanfield and Jeremy Johnson obtained a defense
verdict on behalf of Werner Enterprises in a highly-contested
wwrongful death case in federal court. The decedent’s Honda
Accord suffered a front-passenger tire failure at approximately
8:00 PM on eastbound Interstate 10 in Phoenix, Arizona. She
brought the car to a stop in the #3 travel lane of the freeway,
then engaged the park brake and called her husband to inform
him of the car problems. Werner’s tractor trailer collided into
the stopped car about a minute and a half after the car came to
a rest, resulting in the woman’s death.
At trial, Mr. Stanfield presented evidence showing that the
decedent drove on the flat tire for a minimum of one full mile
before bringing the car to a stop. He also argued that the
decedent’s failure to drive the car off the highway (where there
was available shoulder along the road and she had passed
at least one freeway exit), was the true cause of the accident.
Plaintiff’s counsel argued the tractor-trailer driver was at
fault due to lack of attention and failure to avoid a stranded
motorist. In closing argument, plaintiff’s counsel asked the
jury for a compensatory damage award of $20 million or
more. The jury returned a defense verdict after deliberating for
approximately three hours.