We are pleased to announce that Artak Paskevichyan has successfully passed the Nevada Bar and was sworn in by Washoe County Chief Judge Scott Freeman on May 16, 2019. Artak graduated from Thomas Jefferson School of Law in 2015 and has been practicing in California since 2016. His practice will include litigation defense in California and Nevada. Congratulations Art!
On May 9th and 10th, 2019, Ray Gates attended the USAA California Defense Counsel Summit in Phoenix, Arizona. The Summit included discussion of the current trends in California law and venues. While at USAA, Ray gave a presentation to USAA managers and adjusters regarding the handling of conditional demands and a reasonable approach to responding to time limit conditional demands. They also discussed the recent holding in Licudine v. Cedars-Sinai Medical Center regarding evaluating cases when an Offer of Judgment has been served.
On March 2 and 3, 2019, Ray Gates presented a case summary of the Barker v. Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe trial to participant members at the Association of Ski Defense Attorneys (ASDA) in Lake Louise, Alberta. ASDA is an international association of defense attorneys recognized for their expertise and experience in defending ski resorts as well as water sports and recreational venues and participants. Ray’s presentation focused on issues peculiar to the Barker trial including in-bound closure operating procedures and mountain operations as well as ski patrol guidelines, regulations, training, signage, and boundary line/gate usage. Ray also discussed the trial presentation of resort online material available to the public as well as ski ticket release of liability language and state and county rules regarding assumption of the risk. Ray also discussed the use of technology and animation as well as photography and videography presented to the jury, consisting of non-skiers, regarding the risks of downhill skiing and why skiers should familiarize themselves with available information including trail maps.
On January 23, 2019, Ray Gates and Artak Paskevichyan presented a case summary of the Barker v. Mt. Rose trial to participants at the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) 2019 Western Winter Conference and Trade Show in Snowbird, Utah. Their presentation examined the legal issues regarding in bound avalanches including closure issues, ski safety and inherent risk, legal issues, snow safety mitigation, guest education, incident investigations, Forest Service permit and relationships as well as applicable mountain operations. The presentation also included guest safety considerations and interplay with the inherent risk of alpine skiing.