Latest News
Caren Friedman and Phil Kovnat win big in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas!
Congratulations to Santa Fe attorneys, Caren Friedman and Phil Kovnat, who, along with Dallas trial counsel C. Kyle Pugh and appellate counsel Jeffrey Levinger, successfully convinced U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor of the Northern District of Texas to deny a Motion for New Trial, for Remittitur, or to Alter or Amend the Judgment filed by the United States of America in a Federal Tort Claims Act case. Following a bench trial involving a collision between a United States Postal Service truck and a motor vehicle operated by Michael Le, which rendered Mr. Le a quadriplegic, Judge O’Connor awarded Plaintiffs over $26 million in damages, including damages for past and future physical pain and suffering, mental anguish, physical impairment, disfigurement, and loss of consortium.
DP&S welcomes Lara Hollingsworth to our Houston Office!
DP&S is pleased to announce that Lara Hollingsworth has joined our team as a partner in our Houston office.
Lara comes to us from Rusty Hardin & Associates where she was a lawyer and partner for over 20 years. Lara has been recognized as one of the 500 Leading Litigators in America by Lawdragon and has been recognized as one of the Best Lawyers in America from 2020-2024. Additionally, Lara was recognized by Thomson Reuters as a Texas Rising Star in 2004, and 2006-2010, and as a Texas Super Lawyer from 2020-2023.
Tammy Holt Argues at The Texas Supreme Court!
Tammy Holt, of our Dallas office, argued at the Texas Supreme Court on November 29, 2023. At issue in this case is whether diligence in service of process is a “statutory prerequisite to suit” for claims brought under the Tort Claims Act.
Caren Friedman speaks at NM Appellate Bench & Bar Conference
Santa Fe attorney Caren Friedman was one of four New Mexico appellate practitioners asked to participate in panel discussions at the Appellate Bench and Bar Conference, held in the supreme court courtroom on Friday, October 20, 2023. Caren joined a distinguished panel of supreme court justices, court of appeals judges, and court staff to discuss topics of interest and concern to the appellate bench and bar.
DP&S helps win $21.6M Civil Rights verdict!
Congratulations to Daryl Washington and Greg Marks who, with help from DP&S’s Shelby White and Thad Spalding, won a $21.6 million jury verdict for their client, Odell Edwards, in a civil rights case involving the use of excessive, deadly force. The plaintiff’s 15-year-old son, Jordan, was shot and killed by a Balch Springs police officer, Roy Oliver, as the car Jordan was riding in was leaving a house party. The police officer was criminally convicted of murder in 2018, but continued to claim that his shooting was justified. On April 3, 2023, the civil jury disagreed, finding Oliver liable for using excessive, deadly force, and awarding $10.6 million in actual damages to Mr. Edwards and to Jordan’s estate, and an additional $11 million in punitive damages for the officer’s wrongful conduct.
Congratulations to our 2022 Texas Super Lawyers!
Congratulations to DP&S Dallas partners Leighton Durham, Kirk Pittard, Thad Spalding, and Rick Thompson who were, once again, named “Super Lawyers” in the Appellate category by by Super Lawyers Magazine, a Thomson Reuters publication, for 2022.
Roz Bienvenu moderates NM Appellate Practice Institute!
On September 9, 2022, Santa Fe Partner Rosalind Bienvenu, current Chair of the Board of Directors of the New Mexico State Bar’s Appellate Practice Section, moderated the Section’s 33rd Annual Appellate Practice Institute, a daylong webinar featuring distinguished panel members from the appellate bench and bar.
DP&S welcomes Phil Kovnat to its Santa Fe office!
DP&S is pleased to announce that Phil Kovnat has joined the firm as an attorney in the Santa Fe Office. Phil comes to us from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia where he was an appellate and trial attorney handling all phases of litigation.
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.
Kirk Pittard is a “Best Lawyer” again for 2023!
DP&S is proud to announce that Kirk Pittard is, once again, one of the Best Lawyers in America, in the Appellate Practice category.
Back-to-Back Wins in the Texas Supreme Court!
On May 6, 2022, Dana Levy successfully reversed a court of appeals’ opinion that the plaintiff’s expert report failed to satisfy Chapter 74 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code. The following week, Kirk Pittard successfully reversed a court of appeals’ opinion dismissing an appeal on jurisdiction grounds.
Kirk Pittard featured in Docket Call!
Congratulations to Kirk Pittard who was featured in the Summer 2022 edition of Baylor Law School’s Docket Call. You can read the article here.
Kirk Pittard is a “Best Lawyer” once again according to D Magazine!
Congratulations to DP&S partner, Kirk Pittard, who, for the 11th year, was named “Best Lawyer” in the Appellate category by D Magazine for 2022.
Thad Spalding wins civil rights appeal in the Fifth Circuit!
Congratulations to DP&S partner, Thad Spalding, who successfully defeated a police officer’s qualified immunity appeal to the Fifth Circuit. The case involves the fatal shooting of a teenager, Jordan Edwards, by Balch Springs police officer Roy Oliver. Oliver moved for summary judgment, claiming his shooting–into a car full of teenagers who were leaving a party and driving away–was justified based on his belief that the vehicle was an immediate threat to his partner, Officer Gross. Officer Gross, however, testified that the vehicle was not a threat to him and the officers’ body cam video shows the vehicle passing and driving away from the officers at the time Oliver opened fire into the vehicle. The district court denied Oliver’s motion for summary judgment and Oliver appealed that ruling. The Fifth Circuit rejected Oliver’s appeal, allowing the claims against Oliver to proceed to trial.
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.
Kirk Pittard helps win $1,265,000 jury verdict in Johnson County!
Congratulations to Cynthia Huerta, David Glenn, Reed Morgan, Jake Glenn, and Kirk Pittard for getting a $1,265,000 jury verdict in Johnson County on November 23, 2021. They represented a plaintiff who had worked for BNSF railroad for 37 years until he injured his knee and back while on the job.
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.”
Caren Friedman wins in the New Mexico Court of Appeals!
Congratulations to DP&S Santa Fe partner, Caren Friedman, who, along with trial counsel Kristina Martinez, successfully convinced the New Mexico Court of Appeals to reverse the final decree in a domestic relations case. Representing the Mother in this custody dispute, DP&S argued that the district court violated the Rules of Civil Procedure by failing to conduct a hearing on her objections to a domestic relations hearing officer’s recommendations. In a formal published Opinion, the Court of Appeals stated that “Mother’s interpretation [of the rule] is the most plausible expression of the drafter’s intent, and we adopt it here.”
Roz Bienvenu begins term as President of the New Mexico State Bar Appellate Section!
DP&S is pleased to announce that our Santa Fe partner, Rosalind B. Bienvenu, has taken the helm of the New Mexico State Bar Appellate Practice Section. Roz will serve as the President of the Board of Directors for a one-year term in 2022. She will bring to the Section her exceptional skills as an appellate practitioner, and we wish her well!
Dana Levy defends responsible third party ruling in the Texas Supreme Court!
DP&S’s Houston partner, Dana Levy, was in the Texas Supreme Court again on a case involving responsible third party practice. Dana argued in defense of the trial court’s order, and a Dallas Court of Appeals opinion letting that order stand, which struck a responsible third party designation by the owner of a gas facility of the former minority-interest owner and contract-operator. You can watch Dana’s argument here.