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Federal judge says mayor did not defame

We represented a former mayor of West Valley City, Utah who wrote articles under a pseudonym. In one particular published article, the mayor stated that a contract employee of a fiber optics network, had been accused of extortion in court documents in an employee dispute.  

State v. Dozah, 2016 UT App 13 (Jan. 22, 2016)

Defendant was charged with and convicted of aggravated assault, among other crimes, following a gruesome night of abuse the victim endured partly at defendant’s hands. The abuse ended with Defendant leaving victim at the side of a rural road in…

Belnap v. Graham, 2016 UT App 14 (Jan. 22, 2016)

This decision affirming the district court’s grant of summary judgment to a physician in a wrongful death case discusses several hearsay exceptions, and illustrates the interplay between the hearsay rule and a plaintiff’s burden at the summary judgment stage. Among…

Utah Alunite Corp. v. Jones, 2016 UT App 11 (Jan. 22, 2016)

Utah Alunite Corp. and the School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration appealed the district court’s dismissal of their petition for judicial review from an order of the State Engineer on a different entity’s application to appropriate water. Utah Alunite and…

W. Valley City v. Kent, 2016 UT App 8 (Jan. 14, 2016)

The City appealed from the district court’s exclusion at trial of the victim’s preliminary hearing testimony. After the preliminary hearing, the court had received two letters purportedly written by the victim in which she stated that she wanted to withdraw…

Tripodi v. Welch, 810 F.3d 761 (10th Cir. Jan. 13, 2016)

The Tenth Circuit affirmed the district court’s finding that a default judgment against the plaintiff was not dischargeable in bankruptcy because it fell within 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(19), which renders debts nondischargeable when they arise in connection with a violation of…

State v. McCallie, 2016 UT App 4 (Jan. 7, 2016)

 The Utah Court of Appeals affirmed the district court’s denial of a mistrial, holding that even though the prosecution committed constitutional error by commenting on the defendant’s silence, that error was harmless. In holding that there was error, the Court…

State v. Ainsworth, 2016 UT App 2 (Jan. 7, 2016)

While driving with methamphetamine in his system, defendant collided with another vehicle, resulting in serious injuries to two adults and the death of their eighteen-month-old child. The State charged defendant with three second-degree felonies under Utah’s Measurable Amount Statute. At…