Newsletter + Legal Alerts

To read the July newsletter, click here.

To subscribe to our newsletter, click here.

Read More

LEGAL ALERT: Arizona Supreme Court Decides ‘Medical Marijuana’ Includes Extracted Resin

The highly anticipated Arizona Supreme Court opinion in State of Arizona v. Rodney Christopher Jones has been released: By a unanimous 7-0 vote, the Court held on Tuesday that “marijuana”, as used in the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act (“AMMA”) approved by voters in 2010, includes the plant’s dried-leaf/flower form and its extracted resin, including hashish.

What does the Court’s decision mean for the medical marijuana community?  It means registered qualifying patients in Arizona no longer have to worry about being convicted under Arizona criminal code for possessing allowable amounts of cannabis resin in compliance with the AMMA.

Read More

Read the May 2019 Newsletter here.

Read More

Posted  by Camila Alarcon

This year’s Liquor Omnibus Bill (H.B. 2281), signed by Governor Ducey on April 26, 2019, is chock-full of new alcohol licensing opportunities for retail centers. Restaurants and bars will be able to overlap liquor licenses and sell alcohol in shared spaces. For owners and managers of retail spaces of over 400,000 square feet, the Department of Liquor Licenses and Control will establish a pilot program to allow the consumption of alcohol throughout pedestrian common areas.

Both of these changes constitute a complete turnaround from the one business, one license rule.

Read More

Gammage & Burnham partners Cameron Artigue and Chris Hering won an important victory in the Arizona court of appeals on April 5, when the court clarified that hospital lien rights extend to and include “medpay” policies issued by auto insurance companies. Under Arizona law, hospitals have liens on the personal injury claims of their patients, as well as related claims on all types of insurance except for “health insurance.” An insurance company that pays out benefits without first satisfying the lien claim is liable to pay the hospital to satisfy its lien. Farmers Insurance issued a large medpay policy, which it paid to its insured policyholder without first satisfying the lien claim of G&B’s hospital client.

Read More