Firm News
May 6, 2024
We are thrilled to announce a major triumph for our team at Johnson Bakken Greely Smith, P.C.! Attorneys James Johnson and Aaron Bakken, alongside our paralegal and tech specialist, Kallie Taft, recently secured a resounding victory for our client, Tsar Construction, in a hard-fought, six-day trial in Broomfield County District Court.
After over a year-and-a-half of litigation, Tsar Construction emerged victorious, prevailing on breach of contract and negligence claims brought by Plaintiff, a single-family residential homeowner, who claimed Tsar and its design professional, who was a Co-Defendant, had designed and performed defective work before walking out on the job. Not only did our team obtain defense verdicts on both of Plaintiff’s claims, we were successful on our own counterclaim for unjust enrichment, which resulted in the jury awarding Tsar Construction all of its claimed damages.
This victory is a testament to the dedication, expertise and unwavering commitment of our team to deliver justice for our clients.
March 25, 2024
We are pleased to announce that we have hired Steve Phillips as Special Counsel. Steve is a seasoned attorney with over fifteen years of experience in the areas of insurance coverage and complex civil litigation. He will continue his practice focusing on insurance coverage and litigation of construction defect, bad faith, commercial disputes, personal injury and general tort defense cases. Steve can be reached at sphillips@johnsonbakken.com or (720) 921-2070 Ext. 110.
March 25, 2024
Ryan Greely and Jack Hardwick prevailed on a Motion to Dismiss filed by a municipal school district against their client, a former employee, on a civil rights First Amendment Retaliation claim filed in the Federal District Court of Colorado. The Complaint alleged that the Firm’s client was retaliated against when she was terminated for merely questioning the school district’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate, even though she ultimately complied with the mandate, and for voicing concerns regarding the school district’s protection of confidential vaccine information under HIPAA. The school district’s Motion to Dismiss primarily argued that our client’s speech was not a matter of public concern and was made pursuant to her official job duties and, therefore, was not protected under the First Amendment. The District Court rejected the school district’s arguments, ruling that a municipal entity’s policies regarding COVID-19 and vaccine mandates, as well as its protection of confidential health information, “are very much matters of public concern”, and that the speech was not made pursuant to our client’s official job duties. The Court denied the school district’s Motion to Dismiss in its entirety.
January 25, 2024
Josh Smith recently secured a complete dismissal for a municipal landscaping client from a multi-million dollar dispute involving allegations of fraud, civil conspiracy, and multiple declaratory judgment claims related to misappropriation of tax funds. The Firm’s client was accused of perjury and engaging in a conspiracy to defraud the taxpayers of a municipal district related to the calculation of damages associated with landscaping work and its categorization of the same across occupied and vacant lots in a development. The client paid nothing in settlement to resolve the claims against it and was voluntarily dismissed after Plaintiff was presented with a brief of an anti-SLAPP Motion to Dismiss before filing.
January 9, 2024
Ryan Greely, James Johnson and Jack Hardwick prevailed on a Motion for Partial Summary Judgment for the firm’s plaintiff security client in the Federal District Court of Colorado. The Court entered liability judgments in favor of our client for two separate breach of contract claims by ruling as a matter of law that the defendant breached its duty to procure the insurance required under the parties’ contract, and breached its duty to defend our client in a third-party personal injury lawsuit filed in Los Angeles County, in which the Plaintiffs issued a $10 million demand.
November 10, 2023
Josh Smith obtained a favorable settlement for a national oil and gas company in a suit arising from an auto-accident involving the client’s semi-truck and a small sedan. The driver of the semi-truck was cited for reckless driving and an illegal lane change, and liability was uncontested. The primary issue in the litigation involved more than half-a-million dollars in damages claims by Plaintiff as a result of the collision. Plaintiff claimed injuries including a traumatic brain injury, severe exacerbation of cervical neck and back issues and a broken hip. Plaintiff had substantial medical history prior to the accident, and had been treating continuously since the crash in 2018. After a thorough investigation into the claims, consultation with medical experts and following the deposition of the Plaintiff, the case was successfully resolved for less than 15% of the total damages claimed.
February 1, 2023
Attorneys James Johnson, Aaron Bakken, Ryan Greely and Josh Smith left an established litigation law firm and founded Johnson Bakken Greely Smith, P.C. on February 1, 2023. With them came Senior Associate, Jack Hardwick, and experienced Litigation Paralegals Janet Werner and Kallie Taft. Our attorneys have been working together for over four years and have a natural synergy that allows us to achieve amazing success in and out of the courtroom for our clients. We founded Johnson Bakken Greely Smith, P.C. to build a firm from the ground up that could capitalize on the strengths that we had seen in each other and to operate under a framework where we utilize our individual talents in a team setting to the ultimate benefit of our clients.
Have Any Question?
Free Case Evaluation
We offer free initial consultation to all new clients, where you can get your questions answered without obligation.
Let Our Legal Team Help You With Your Case
If you need a team of legal professionals with experience in complex litigation cases, Johnson Bakken Greely Smith, P.C. is here for you. Let us help you navigate the legal process and achieve success. Contact us today to schedule a consultation.
