Motor Vehicle Wrecks



Trucking Collision: Interstate 80

• Our client was injured when an eighteen-wheel tractor-trailer rear-ended the snowplow he was operating on Interstate 80. The collision resulted in the death of the semi driver and severely injured our client’s neck and shoulders. This case settled shortly before the scheduled 5-day trial in federal court in a six-figure settlement.


• Our client was employed as a commercial driver of an 80-ton crane. The corporation who owned the crane failed to properly maintain its brakes and our client lost control of the crane while driving down South Pass in Fremont County. He managed to avoid hitting any other vehicles on the highway, steered it off the road and jumped. Our client survived the wreck, but suffered severe injuries. After a five day trial, the jury awarded $1.8 million in damages.

Insurance Bad Faith

• Our client purchased a health insurance policy which promised "unlimited surgical benefits". After confirming coverage, she underwent elective spine surgery and incurred substantial medical expenses. Her health insurance company refused to pay the majority of those expenses. We filed suit claiming insurance bad faith and fraud. The matter settled favorably one month before the trial was scheduled to begin. The settlement amount is confidential, but our client is very pleased with the result.


• Our client owned a disability policy providing for benefits in the event of her inability to work as a dentist. The insurer challenged their obligation under the policy in federal court. In the effort to avoid having to pay benefits, the insurer improperly surveilled our client, interfered with her divorce proceedings, and inappropriately denied benefits based on unfounded allegations made by our client's husband. This "insurance bad faith" case was hotly contested and involved extensive legal briefing and argument. The case settled in our client’s favor one week before the trial was scheduled to begin. Settlement involved full payment of the value of the insurance policy, as well as a letter of apology from the insurer.

Libel Litigation

• A reporter for a local weekly newspaper wrote two truthful articles based on public court records filed in a lawsuit between a contractor and a home owner. The articles stated that the home owner alleged fraud and misappropriation of building materials against the contractor. The contractor then filed a lawsuit against our clients, the reporter and the newspaper, alleging libel and seeking over $3 million in damages. Our firm's defense continued through 18 months of contentious litigation. The District Court dismissed the case in summary judgment, finding in favor of our clients. See the article from the Jackson Hole News and Guide.

Embezzlement Recovery

• Our client suffered over $400,000.00 in losses after his office manager embezzled from his construction company. Our firm filed a civil suit against the office manager and her husband seeking to recover the embezzled funds. This case involved extensive data management and forensic accounting, as well as establishing new Wyoming precedent for finding a husband liable for the fraudulent acts of his spouse. After a five-day trial, the District Court found in our client's favor, holding the office manager and her husband jointly and severally liable for the entire amount.
  

Mismanagement of Retirement Fund - ERISA

• Our client, an emergency-room doctor, was a participant in a corporate retirement plan which was managed by a prominent brokerage firm. The broker assigned to the account mismanaged the retirement plan, resulting in multi-million dollar losses. A document and data-intensive case, our firm prepared a well-crafted and sophisticated graphical presentation of the broker's negligence. This compelling presentation led to a favorable settlement in the mid six figure range, just one day before the case was scheduled for arbitration.


• We represented a young man who was diagnosed with a very serious form of bone cancer. He had health insurance benefits through his employment. His employer's health insurance was offered and administered by the Wyoming Association of Builders Insurance Trust ("WAB"). Within one month of advising WAB of his cancer and necessary treatment, WAB canceled the health insurance plan for his employer altogether. We filed suit against the employer and against WAB. Our client prevailed after a week-long trial in federal court. The judge found that WAB had canceled the employer's insurance plan in order to avoid the expense of our client's cancer treatment. The case was affirmed by the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals and WAB was ordered to reinstate health benefits retroactively and to pay the attorney's fees and costs incurred by our client.