Firm News
Legal News
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| 11/12/09 Ashley Ann Dorris Serves as Panelist on Webinar |
| On November 12, 2009, Ashley Ann Dorris served on a seven member all female panel that hosted a webinar presented by USLAW devoted to "Developing Client Relationships".
The webinar focused on the fundamental practices that can be developed and used to improve communication between clients and outside counsel and how the communication can lead to successful relationships. The webinar was presented to a nationwide audience and attended by attorneys, in house counsel, and insurance risk managers. |
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| 06/10/09 Snyder Law Defense Verdict |
| Following on their success in the previous month, Barry Snyder and Diana Pugh won again in Los Angeles Superior Court in May 2009. This case, tried in the downtown courthouse, involved the defense of a moving company which had moved the possessions of a well-to-do real estate attorney and his family to their new $4 million home. One of the items moved was a safe which allegedly contained about $400,000 in cash, jewels and important papers. The plaintiffs contended that the safe was the only item missing the day after the move, one of the movers made a "pretext" call to the plaintiff about a tool left behind, and footprints at the scene matched the movers' tennis shoes.
Barry and Diana defended on the basis that the entirety of the case was based on speculation and there was no real proof that the jewelry existed or was in the safe or was stolen. The new home was equipped with a security system which plaintiffs admittedly did not arm, plaintiffs did not check to see all doors were secured and spent the night at a local hotel, and none of the jewelry was ever insured or appraised. The Santa Monica Police Department Detective who investigated, testified that he was convinced that none of the movers were involved. Plaintiffs refused a very generous offer of $150,000 prior to trial. After deliberating only 75 minutes, the jury returned a defense verdict.
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| 05/13/09 Sean Burnett Has Successful Defense |
| Sean Burnett successfully defended Bed Bath & Beyond in a bench trial before Judge Melvin Sanvig in Los Angeles County Superior Court. The claim involved the allegation of a debilitating permanent injury to the plaintiff’s foot caused when a bookshelf fell off a display and struck plaintiff’s left foot. Bed Bath & Beyond denied that the injury was permanent. Plaintiff’s expert diagnosed her with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome as a result of the incident testified that she was permanently and severely disabled. After three days of trial, plaintiff’s counsel asked the Court to award the plaintiff $1.3 Million. The Court, in dismissing the claim that the injury was permanent, awarded Plaintiff $35,048.00. |
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| 04/10/09 Snyder Law Defense Verdict |
| On April 10th, after deliberating only one and a quarter hours, a Pomona, California jury returned a defense verdict in favor of the firm's clients in a wrongful death action. The case was tried by Barry Snyder and Diana Pugh before Judge Peter Meeka and took only 4 trial days to complete. MRJ Trucking, Inc., and its driver, Randall Jackson, had earlier offered $10,000 to settle, and that offer was summarily dismissed. They will now be able to recover court costs and expert witness fees from the unsuccessful plaintiffs, totaling nearly $40,000.
The case involved an emergency stop by Mr. Jackson in a area called a "gore point" - a triangular area between the eastbound 60 freeway and the transition to the northbound 57. He stopped to investigate what he thought was a tire blowout. After setting his braking and putting on his fourway flashers, the rear of his trailer was struck by the decedent who was cutting across the 60 in a late attempt to get onto the 57 transition and was instantly killed. The decedent was a 27 year old man whose blood tests showed that he had smoked marijuana within 2 hours of the accident. The Snyder Law trial team retained both a toxicologist and trucking driver to testify as experts at trial. The jury, in discussions afterward, reported that it was a tragic situation but caused solely by the negligence of the decedent.
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| 03/28/09 Sean Burnett Moderates ADA Panel |
| Sean Burnett moderated a panel for USLAW’s Retail Practice Group at its bi-annual client conference in Charleston, South Carolina. Panelists included a Senior Litigation and Employment Counsel for Fed Ex Office and Associate General Counsel for Developers Diversified Realty Corporation. The panel discussion was well attended and touched on various topics from suit and claim prevention to litigation strategy. |
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| 10/15/08 Ken Martin Attends Real Property Symposium |
| The recent crisis in the economy, and in particular the meltdown of the mortgage and credit markets, has presented real estate practitioners and their clients both new challenges and new opportunities. As part of Snyder Law’s continuing commitment to stay on the cutting edge of real estate and title insurance law, Ken Martin this week attended an all-day symposium in Los Angeles titled “Resolving Real Estate Title Defects.” The program, organized by the National Business Institute, covered a variety of important topics, including title examination, purchasing agreements, closing protection letters, ethical considerations, curing title problems, and access and road issues. Snyder Law’s dedication to continuing legal education ensures that clients are given the most complete and current advice. |
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| 10/01/08 Snyder Law Shareholders Become Members of CLM |
| Snyder Law shareholders Ashley Ann Dorris, Sean R. Burnett and Barry Clifford Snyder were recently nominated as and accepted a members in the newly-formed Council on Litigation Management (www.litmgmt.org). CLM is a nationwide organization dedicated to further the practice of litigation management through dedication, education, collaboration, and communication. Mr. Snyder will be a panel member on one of the two Premier Panels at the CLM Annual Meeting in March 2009, Phoenix, AZ. The panel deals with the issue of alternative legal fees.
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| 02/01/08 Burnett and Snyder Successfully Defend Schneider National |
| In January 2008, Sean Burnett and Barry Snyder worked together to obtain a unanimous defense verdict in a jury trial in Tulare, CA. The firm represented Schneider National Bulk Carriers, Inc., one of the nation's largest motor carriers, located in Green Bay, WI, and its driver, Alpha Diallo. Before trial, the firm successfully obtained an order from the trial judge, bifurcating the issue of negligence from causation and damages. The plaintiff contended that while he was traveling northbound on Highway 99 towards Fresno, California, a large orange tractor trailer unit swerved into his lane, hit his vehicle and then left the scene. Over the course of trial, plaintiff Arthur Lewis and his attorney tried to convince the jury that it was the Schneider/Diallo rig which caused an accident. However, because the only skid marks at the scene were in the lane NEXT to the plaintiff, and the investigating officer thought the marks were from Lewis' truck, the jury was convinced that it must have been plaintiff who veered into the other lane. Moreover, despite the fact that plaintiff had an alleged eyewitness who claimed to have chased down the Schneider tractor-trailer and identified Diallo as the driver, Diallo's own testimony as to the complete lack of any accident carried the day.
Plaintiff Lewis had made a pre-trial demand of $250,000. He claimed that the accident was responsible for a diabetic coma which put him in the hospital for 3 weeks and caused him continuing pain in his neck, back and shoulders which led to neck surgery. His total claimed medical bills were more than $225,000. |
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| 09/01/07 Burnett and Snyder Successfully Defend Trucking Company |
| In August 2007, Sean Burnett and Barry Snyder obtained a verdict for their client, Dallas Mavis Specialized Carrier Co., and driver Robert Sloggett in a five-day jury trial before Judge Dan T. Oki. The trial was held in Los Angeles County Superior Court in Pomona. Plaintiff Barbara Matson claimed serious injuries that necessitated back surgery after she was involved in a low speed impact accident with Mr. Sloggett on an onramp to the 57 freeway in San Dimas, California. Mr. Burnett and Mr. Snyder argued that even if Mr. Sloggett was negligent, Ms. Matson's need for surgery could not have been caused by the accident. Plaintiff counsel asked the jury to return a verdict for something over $500,000 during his closing argument. After less than an hour of deliberations, the jury concluded that Mr. Sloggett was negligent but that his negligence did not cause injury to Ms. Matson. One of the keys to success was the testimony of nationally renowned biomechanical expert Wilson "Toby" Hayes, PhD., whose testimony buttressed the defense arguments (www.hayesassoc.com). Snyder Law served a pre-trial statutory offer to compromise which was declined by plaintiff. Dallas Mavis and Sloggett were therefore able to recover all expert fees and costs from the plaintiff and a judgment for them was entered for over $28,000.
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