Attorney Robert C Graham's Legal Cases

Litigation

Payne vs. Sanello

Feb 02, 2002

OUTCOME: Settlement in Favor of Client

In the Naked Truth, the Unauthorized Biography of Sharon Stone, author Frank Sanello defamed Sharon Stone and her friend Janice K. Payne. After an interview with a local socialite who had been snubbed ... by Sharon Stone, Sanello printed that Payne and Stone had engaged in a sexual encounter in the women's bathroom during a charity event. Stone and Payne admitted to escaping into a stall to have a private discussion about Payne's pending divorce and Stone was seeking privacy from the Hollywood crowd. The accusation had no basis in fact and even the socialite was vague as to what she had actually seen and heard.

Estate planning

FTC vs. Anderson

Jun 10, 1998

OUTCOME: Recovery for Plaintiffs on a Offshore Fraud Scheme

This is one of the most important estate planning cases involving offshore asset protection and fraud prosecution. This case originated with Attorney Rob Graham when he was retained by investors (Eigh ... t Enterprise v. Sterling Investments) to determine the status of an investment. Because of his background in prosecuting racketeering, Graham immediately determined that the matter was a Ponzi/Fraud scheme and reported it to the FTC. He developed a strategy that the FTC followed in holding some of the parties associated with the fraud liable personally -- including the strategy to place the individuals in jail if they did not cooperate in bringing back money from offshore accounts into the United States and prosecuting the Defendants in the Cook Islands. This case is still widely cited by those litigating over offshore accounts and assets and estate planning. (Las Vegas Review-Journal, Wed, 10 June 1998)

Litigation

First Source Bank v. Nevada Auto Auction

N/A

OUTCOME: Confidential Settlement in Favor of Plaintiff

This case involved notary publics who were releasing liens of First Source Bank off of titles on rental vehicles illegally. Using federal RICO laws, Graham was able to force a settlement as against NA ... A for all the losses of the bank for the vehicles that had been sold free and clear of the liens. This case changed the procedure of how notaries can clear a lien in the State of Nevada.

Administrative law

Nevada Board of Pharmacy vs. P. Goff

N/A

OUTCOME: Reduction in Discipline for Pharmacist

This tragic case involved an error by a pharmacist working for Summerlin Hospital that resulted in the death of a pre-maturely born baby. Due to a miscalculation in a measurement formula, the baby rec ... eived 100 times more potassium than was prescribed. The pharmacist error was clear, but what was more alarming is that five other medical professionals should have also caught the error. After the death of the child, Summerlin Hospital refused to share information with the mother of the infant. In a surprising twist, the originating pharmacist who committed the original error and the mother teamed up to show the Board of Nevada that Summerlin Hospital was primarily responsible for the error because they refused to purchase a simple computer application that would have made the complex calculations certain and that they failed to train their staff on taking steps to intervene with obvious errors -- which if done in this matter would have saved the infant's life (as each of the subsequent professionals dealing with the prescription noted that the dosage seemed high). Mr. Graham represented Ms. Goff and also helped rehabilitate her back into the practice of pharmacy after the traumatic events. Article: http://www.lvrj.com/news/8921512.html

Guardianship

In Re Benson (NV, 8th Circ. Ct.)

N/A

OUTCOME: Protected Client from Exploitation

Dr. Benson came to the law firm originally to obtain estate planning. After several years, his daughter asked the guardianship court to impose a guardianship over him. Dr. Benson accused his daughter ... of exploitation. The court found that Dr. Benson was not incompetent and could handle his own affairs. Later, an independent caregiver exploited Dr. Benson and the State of Nevada intervened and imposed a guardianship upon Dr. Benson. Graham defended the position that though Dr. Benson was in need of assistance, that his care should be comparable to the standard of living to which he had become accustomed and that his earlier choice of Trustee of his Living Trust should be respected. The court improved Dr. Benson's living conditions and allowed the original Trustee to serve and manage Dr. Benson's assets. The parties settled and agreed that the Public Guardian was a suitable neutral party and should continue to serve as the Guardian of Dr. Benson.

Probate

In Re: Zook (NV, 8th Circ. Ct.)

N/A

OUTCOME: Judgment Against Theft in Probate

Ms. Zook was a divorced mother of two daughters who unexpectedly died. One of the two daughters was only ten years old, while the other daughter was in her early twenties. Mr. Graham was contacted by ... the ex-husband who had custody of the young daughter and inquired as to why his daughter had not received anything from the estate. After an investigation, Mr. Graham and his team of investigators found that the older sister had forged a trust and thereby transferred all of the property to herself -- leaving her younger sister nothing. The court found the older sister in contempt and awarded a judgment against her for fraud that she would have to pay off over twenty years.