KSSJ is pleased to announce that our managing partner,  Martin J. Kravitz, has been selected as a Fellow of the American Bar Association. This honor is afforded to only one third of one percent of all lawyers in the United States, and is in recognition of one whose professional, public and private career has demonstrated outstanding dedication to the welfare of the community, the traditions of the profession and the maintenance and advancement of the highest objectives of the American Bar Association.

KSSJ recently won three significant cases before the Nevada Supreme Court, and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals which have far reaching implications for the resort industry:

Smith vs. Mahoney’s Silver Nugget, 127 Nev. Adv. Opn. 76 (2011) The Nevada Supreme Court issued a landmark decision clarifying the proof necessary to hold a casino hotel liable if a crime occurs on the premises. In affirming summary judgment against the estate of the decedent who was shot to death by a perpetrator carrying a concealed weapon, the Court concluded that a lower court may find that no duty exists to protect a patron where: 1) there were no prior “similar” happenings on the premises; and 2) the hotel had taken “basic minimum precautions” to protect the safety of its guests. The Court made it clear that the proof of any prior  crimes had to be of a similar nature in a similar location in order to satisfy the standard. The decision therefore overcomes the customary arguments that the hotel had other criminal activity (ie. knifings vs. shootings or petty crimes in other locations) to satisfy the “similarity” test. Finally, the Court noted that there was no evidence to suggest that the Casino’s security should have known that the perpetrator was carrying a concealed weapon.

Rodriguez  vs. Primadonna, 125 Nev Adv Opn 45 (2009). The Nevada Supreme Court affirmed the dismissal of suit by a quadriplegic plaintiff who claimed that he had been wrongfully evicted from a hotel after causing a disturbance with other customers. After the eviction, Plaintiff was injured in a rollover accident caused by an intoxicated driver who had also been evicted. The Court found security had an absolute right to evict Plaintiff and his drunken, misbehaving friends from the premise; and that the hotel had no obligation to restrain or prevent a clearly intoxicated driver from putting plaintiff in peril.

Fayer vs. Vaughn, et. al., --- F.3d ----, 2011 WL 1663595  (9th Cir. 2011). The Federal Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of a false arrest, battery, and defamation suit brought by a gambler against a hotel after he used a false i.d. in a hotel sports book. The court found that the use a false i.d. was a class E felony which justified the arrest and detention based upon probable cause.