Latest news with #2ndJudicialDistrictCourt
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Jury hits Presbyterian with $40 million verdict in medical negligence case
Jun. 4—A jury this week awarded more than $40 million in damages to a couple who argued that personnel at Presbyterian Healthcare Services failed to diagnose a condition that resulted in brain damage to their infant child. The couple argued in a lawsuit that Presbyterian personnel failed to diagnose the infant's low blood glucose levels after the child's birth in April 2019, resulting in permanent developmental effects. The award included $15 million in punitive damages against Presbyterian. Jurors also awarded nearly $25 million to the child, now 6, and a total of $825,000 to the boy's parents, Samantha and Patrick Leonard. Jurors also found that the conduct of four Presbyterian personnel, including two physicians and two registered nurses, showed "reckless or wanton" behavior on the part of the health care system, 2nd Judicial District Court records show. Jurors handed down the verdict on Monday following a two-week trial before state District Judge Denise Barela-Shepherd. Presbyterian called the judgment "excessive" in a statement issued Tuesday. "While we respect the judicial process, we have serious concerns about this outcome and the unprecedented size of the damages awarded," the statement said. "We intend to pursue legal options to address what we consider to be an excessive judgment." "Presbyterian is committed to providing safe, high-quality care to our communities," it said. The verdict comes about six months after a Bernalillo County jury awarded nearly $17 million in damages to a woman who carried a 13-inch metal instrument in her abdomen for two months following a 2019 surgery at Presbyterian Hospital. That Jan. 14 verdict included $15 million in punitive damages against Presbyterian. Earlier this year, lawmakers failed to approve a bill that sought to counter the shortage of health care providers in New Mexico by changing the state's Medical Malpractice Act, including limiting attorney fees in medical malpractice cases. Senate Bill 176 died in committee after drawing strong opposition from trial lawyers and patients injured by medical malpractice. Supporters of the bill argued that New Mexico's medical malpractice laws have made the state a magnet for out-of-state attorneys and discouraged doctors from practicing here. In 2022, New Mexico had the highest medical malpractice insurance loss ratio in the country, according to a recent Think New Mexico report, meaning insurers paid out 183% of the premiums they took in. Indeed, New Mexico was one of only seven states where insurers lost money, making it much more expensive for them to function in this market. Lisa Curtis, an Albuquerque attorney who represented the Leonard family, said jurors awarded $15 million in punitive damages as a warning to Presbyterian. "It's clear they were just trying to send a message — take better care of our children," Curtis said Tuesday. An attorney for Presbyterian Healthcare Services, Colleen Koch, did not immediately return phone messages Tuesday seeking comment. The boy, who was born about three weeks prematurely at Presbyterian Hospital in April 2019, had undetected hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar, due to high insulin levels, according to the 2022 lawsuit. The boy was discharged from the hospital two days after birth. Seven days after discharge, the boy became "fussy and febrile with less active feeding" and was readmitted to Presbyterian. Eight days after the boy's birth, his brain and heart shut down, Curtis said. "They started testing his blood sugar after that," she said. "His blood sugars were super low. They figured it out in a day once he had crashed and they tested him." Presbyterian violated its own policies that require blood-sugar testing for all babies born prematurely within 24 hours of birth, Curtis argued. The boy "suffered undetected hypoglycemia with subsequent seizure activity and respiratory arrest when he was only (8) days old," the lawsuit said. The boy "is suffering the long-term consequences of developmental delay/sensory disorder, abnormal vision and behavioral effects."
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ruling: East Central bookstore must remove encampment or face hefty fine
May 1—A hearing officer ruled that Quirky Used Books must remove a homeless encampment from its parking lot in two weeks or pay a fine of $1,500 to the city of Albuquerque. In the written ruling issued Thursday, City Hearing Officer Ripley Harwood stated he would only impose fines tied to one of several ordinance violations brought against the bookstore, that which prohibits camping on public property, including the use of tents. Harwood dismissed the other violations, which involved weeds and litter and outdoor storage. The dispute dates back to July 2024, when Quirky Used Books began allowing 18 unhoused people with 12 tents to stay in the store's back parking lot at 120 Jefferson NE, just north of Central. After the city received various 311 complaints — at least one from a neighboring business — Code Enforcement issued the violations, leading to an administrative hearing on Monday. Gillam Kerley, owner of Quirky Used Books, said he was "disappointed" the hearing officer could not rule on whether the violations aligned with the New Mexico Constitution. Harwood said, in his decision, that he considered constitutional arguments "to be outside the scope of my review." In his ruling, Harwood said the case is not about the rights or risks of homeless people occupying public property, but rather "a case about the limits of the rights of private property owners to the allowable uses of their property." Kerley said he will be seeking a stay on the enforcement of the ruling pending an appeal to the 2nd Judicial District Court. He said they were appealing to get a ruling "on whether the New Mexico Constitution's right to seek and obtain safety and the right to preserve one's property essentially outweigh the language of the zoning code." The bookstore owner added that he does not expect the decision to be reversed during the appeal. The city's Code Enforcement Department said they were pleased with the ruling. "We're happy with the decision because it moves Quirky Books towards remediation, which is what we always wanted," said Tim Walsh, public information coordinator for the city of Albuquerque Planning Department. "We just want them to come into compliance and hopefully this will get them there." The city plans to stay in contact with the bookstore to ensure they come into compliance. Code Enforcement has another hearing pending with Quirky Used Books over similar violations, but said they will drop the case if Quirky Used Books comes into compliance in the next two weeks. A hearing on that matter has not been scheduled yet. Kerley said he was glad the hearing officer did not agree with a majority of the proposed violations, including the accusation of litter and filth in the parking lot. In his ruling, Harwood left a glowing review of Kerley's character, calling him an "altruistic idealist." "Were the world full of idealists such as Gillam Kerley, humanity would likely solve the broad-based societal problems without the need for the blunt instrument of government," Harwood wrote. "The reality is that Quirky Books cannot solve the enormous public problem of the homelessness and in trying to do so, they have merely caused other harms. The homeless problem is for governments to solve."
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Yahoo
Jurors find Albuquerque man guilty of three counts of second-degree murder in 2023 triple homicide
Apr. 30—Prosecutors told jurors Wednesday that Thomas Clark fatally shot three people with the intention of stealing a car containing at least $90,000 worth of fentanyl. Clark, 34, testifying in his own defense this week, told jurors that he fired the fatal shots in self-defense because a group of drug dealers had planned to kill him and dispose of his body on the West Mesa. Jurors on Wednesday found Clark guilty of three counts of second-degree murder in the Aug. 31, 2023, shooting deaths of Jonathan McGaughy, 31, Genea Oliver, 35, and Randy Lovett, 40. But jurors rejected the more serious charges of first-degree murder in each of the three killings. Jurors deliberated for two hours following an eight-day trial in 2nd Judicial District Court before Judge Clara Moran. Clark faces up to 60 years in prison at sentencing. That hearing has not been scheduled. Clark's attorney, John McCall, said in closing arguments Wednesday that a group of "big money" drug dealers had accused Clark of stealing and were openly discussing plans to kill him. McGaughy was a major drug dealer, McCall argued, who moved 30,000 fentanyl pills a week and had a large number of people working for him. "This is a drug dealer, a serious drug dealer," McCall said of McGaughy. "These are the people around him, the people who will kill people who steal from them because it's bad for business. Thomas Clark was not in that circle of trust." McGaughy had summoned at least a half-dozen of his people to a parking lot in Southeast Albuquerque at 4:20 a.m., which McCall described as "an attempted kidnapping and murder" of Clark. "Everybody is talking about killing him," McCall told jurors. Clark "was exercising self-defense and he did understand that his life was in danger." Clark and others testified during the trial that Clark was in the back seat of a Mitsubishi Gallant at about 4:30 a.m. when gunfire erupted. Prosecutors relied on ShotSpotter gunshot detection recordings to argue that Clark fired nine gunshots in less than six seconds with a 9mm handgun. "This case starts and ends in less than six seconds," Assistant District Attorney Christine Jablonsky told jurors on Wednesday. "Less than six seconds ended the lives of three human beings." Albuquerque police found the three victims lying close to the Mitsubishi in a parking lot outside an apartment building in the 300 block of Rhode Island SE. Jablonsky rejected Clark's self-defense argument and suggested that he may have intended to steal 30,000 fentanyl pills located in the trunk of the car. She estimated the value of the pills at between $90,000 and $300,000 depending on their sale price. "It seems as though he was climbing into that front seat in order to take the car," Jablonsky told jurors. Prosecutors also argued that Clark had been smoking fentanyl and was "freaking out" when he opened fire, which Clark and his attorneys denied. Nine 9mm shell casings were found inside the car, Jablonsky said. "We know he fired nine times within the confines of that car," she said. "He shot until there were no more bullets left in that gun. He ran out of ammo." Testifying in his own defense Tuesday, Clark said he overheard people he knew as dangerous drug dealers discussing plans to kill him and leave his body at Nine Mile Hill, west of Albuquerque. "I was in fear for my life, and by their discussion, I knew that I was going to die that night," Clark told jurors. Clark testified that he was confined to the back seat of a Mitsubishi when he overheard several people accuse him of stealing from the group and urge McGaughy to kill Clark. Clark said he heard Oliver say, "We'll take this fool out to Nine Mile Hill before we go to the casino." The group planned to go to Route 66 Casino after disposing of Clark's body, he told jurors.
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Yahoo
Life sentence handed down in 2022 killing of ABQ massage parlor owner
Apr. 17—A man convicted by a jury last year of fatally shooting an Albuquerque business owner as she fought off he and another attacker was sentenced Thursday to life plus 18 years in prison. Jorge Rivera-Ramirez, 22, was found guilty of first-degree murder, kidnapping, armed robbery and other charges in the 2022 shooting death of 45-year-old Sihui Fang. The sentence requires Rivera-Ramirez to serve at least 30 years in prison before he begins serving the remaining 18 years. Prosecutors told jurors that Rivera-Ramirez and a co-defendant shot Fang at least 10 times after entering her business, Wonderful Massage, on Jan. 24, 2022. His co-defendant, Juan Carlos Hernandez, was convicted by a jury in August of first-degree murder, kidnapping, armed robbery and conspiracy in Fang's death. His sentencing has not been scheduled. Fang, a native of an impoverished village in China, operated massage businesses in California and New Mexico and obtained U.S. citizenship. She was killed amid a string of robberies at Asian massage businesses that had many business owners in fear. Prosecutors told a 2nd Judicial District Court jury that the violent encounter began when Hernandez knocked on the front door of the business and asked for a massage before the two entered a room. Jurors viewed security video from the business that captured a portion of the struggle between Fang and her attackers. At one point, Fang unlocked the door and attempted to escape, but encountered Rivera-Ramirez standing outside the business, who pushed her back inside, prosecutors said. Fang desperately grabbed onto the door frame, but the two attackers pulled her back into the business, prosecutors said. Hernandez pushed Fang to the floor, then grabbed her hair and dragged her down the hallway. At some point, Fang was able to grab a handgun and exchanged gunfire with the pair, shooting Rivera-Ramirez before dying from multiple gunshot wounds.
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
AG files lawsuit against ABQ company accused of defrauding hundreds
Mar. 12—New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against an Albuquerque contractor, accusing the firm of defrauding hundreds of customers by taking money for home remodeling work that was never completed. The attorney general accused Flawless Results LLC and its three listed operators — John Steven Georges Sr., Robert Dean "Bobby" Murphy Jr. and Jacob Chalmer Tryon, as well as a New Jersey-based bank — of defrauding customers of more than $700,000, according to the complaint filed in 2nd Judicial District Court. "Flawless Results took money from hardworking New Mexico families with promises of service that were never fulfilled," Torrez said in a news release. "This lawsuit is about more than just accountability — it's about ensuring that deceptive business practices are addressed and that every consumer who was misled receives the justice they deserve." The attorney general is asking a judge to permanently ban Flawless Results from operating in New Mexico, void contracts and require full refunds to affected consumers, hold Cross River Bank accountable for issuing loans without proper legal disclosures and impose civil penalties of up to $5,000 per violation. A news release also asked anyone affected by the situation to contact the state Department of Justice. Flawless Results did not respond to the Journal's inquiries, and no attorney was listed for the firm or the defendants in court filings. New Mexico secretary of state records indicate that Georges formed Flawless Results in December 2021. The company operated out of New Mexico with locations in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and El Paso, Texas. The lawsuit alleges Flawless Results collected large down payments from consumers and failed to complete the work they paid for. When customers couldn't afford the large down payments, the company would pressure them into taking out loans with New Jersey-based Cross River Bank. According to the lawsuit, Cross River Bank lacked required consumer protection disclosures, which is considered a best practice. In one example outlined in the lawsuit, Flawless Results agreed to replace a customer's siding and window and door trim in their home. The consumer paid Flawless Results more than $15,000 to start the work. "Flawless began removing the consumer's siding at the end of October 2024 and twelve days later stopped work and stopped all communication with the consumer," the lawsuit said. That same month, according to the complaint, Flawless Results fired its employees, closed its storefronts and stopped answering calls. "Consumers with pending contracts with Flawless were given no warning and no refunds of their down payments," the lawsuit said. Other lawsuits filed in 2nd Judicial District Court, all from customers in 2024, allege that Flawless Results agreed to do work on their homes but never did. One of the claims totaled over $31,000, but most were in the $10,000 to $14,000 range. Colorado court records indicate that a supplier is suing Flawless Results for over $100,000.
