Law Office of Matthew Vance, P.C., Personal Injury Law Blog

Personal injury plaintiffs can seek to recover compensatory and punitive damages when litigating in New Mexico courts. Recently, a truck driver and the company whose truck he was driving at the time of an accident on I-40 moved for summary judgment, seeking dismissal of the punitive damages asserted against them. The federal trial court adjudicating…

Litigants in New Mexico negligence lawsuits risk losing or damaging their cases if they engage in spoliation, which is the intentional destruction, mutilation, alteration or concealment of evidence. Whether and to what extent to sanction a litigant for spoliation is up to the trial court. In a recent ruling by the United States District Court…

The United States District Court for the District of New Mexico recently handed down a decision granting a motion to dismiss filed by a truck rental agency in a New Mexico personal injury lawsuit. The truck rental agency was sued following the alleged collision of a truck rented from it for commercial use with another…

In some New Mexico personal injury cases the plaintiffs can seek to hold multiple parties accountable for payment of monetary damages. A federal trial court recently handed down a ruling denying a release to a railway after the plaintiffs settled with other property owners. Litigation followed after a car collided with a cow on New…

The United States District Court for the District of New Mexico recently granted a motion to dismiss a cause of action that had been asserted by plaintiffs under the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur. Res ipsa loquitur is recognized in common law jurisdictions including New Mexico as a doctrine that can help establish negligence when…

A New Mexico federal court recently ruled that a homeowner’s insurance policy did not cover a dog bite occurring outside of the homeowner’s premises. A woman was injured after she took two dogs out for a walk on a leash. She and the leashed dogs were allegedly attacked outside of their home in Albuquerque by…

A New Mexico federal district court recently dismissed a personal injury lawsuit against a foreign car maker for lack of personal jurisdiction. The underlying case arose after an accident allegedly causing catastrophic physical injuries. A woman was driving a car in New Mexico when she was struck by another vehicle causing the vehicle she was…

The United States District Court for the District of New Mexico recently ruled against an insurance company, and in favor of the wife of a man who was killed when the motorcycle he was driving was hit by a car. The motorcyclist sustained fatal physical injuries while driving down San Mateo Blvd NE in Albuquerque,…

A person whose truck was stolen sought compensation in New Mexico state court from his automobile insurer on the basis that the theft constituted property damage under the uninsured motorist provisions of the parties’ contract. The insurance company removed the lawsuit to federal court and filed a motion to dismiss, which the court granted. In…

A federal district court recently granted a motion for judgment on the pleadings filed by the defendant in a New Mexico wrongful death case. The court concluded that New Mexico law does not impose a duty to refrain from selling gasoline to an allegedly intoxicated driver, and it dismissed a negligent entrustment claim. The court…