Mike Palumbo brings more than 30 years of civil litigation experience to assist clients in resolving their business disputes. Although he has participated in more than 40 trials in the Superior Courts of Arizona and District Court of Arizona, in most of which he was lead counsel, Mr. Palumbo is also a strong believer in alternative dispute resolution.
Mr. Palumbo has served as a Judge Pro Tem for the Maricopa County Superior Courts since 1998 and has presided over trials and dozens of settlement conferences since that time. His experience in this regard is very helpful in assessing strengths and weaknesses of cases, and in achieving early negotiated resolution where appropriate.
Mr. Palumbo's practice focuses on commercial and real estate litigation. Particular areas of experience include title insurance, escrow agent and Deed of Trust litigation; and quiet title, adverse possession, homeowners' associations and real estate agent disputes.
He also serves on the firm's Internal Ethics Committee, with the responsibility of assisting the firm's general counsel and firm members in resolving potential ethical issues.
Representative Engagements
- Represented an out-of-state bank in a dispute with an in-state bank relating to the conduct of a trustee sale arising out of the terms of a loan participation agreement
- Represented defendant/counterclaimant Fortune 500 oil field services company in multi-million dollar action filed by lender arising out of guaranty of loan, alleging fraud, racketeering, etc. (Matter settled by dismissal of claim after motion for summary judgment)
- Represented defendant international manufacturer of commercial aircraft engines in product liability suit alleging defective design (Judgment dismissing complaint upheld by United States Court of Appeals for Ninth Circuit)
- Represented defendant international manufacturer of concrete batch plant in producy liability suit alleging defective design (Defense verdict after jury trial)
- Represented plaintiffs against title company in trial court, Arizona Appellate Court and Arizona Supreme Court proceedings in leading cases relating to duties of escrow agents (Supreme Court reversed summary judgment in favor of title company; Jury verdict in favor of plaintiffs on remand)
- Represented and obtained summary judgment in favor of major local grocery chain in $50 million lawsuit alleging breach of contract for sale and leaseback of several of its stores
- Represented defendant major regional shopping center in suit by tenant regarding ability to sub-lease a portion of its space (Settled)
- Represented plaintiff landowner where title company failed to list lis pendens and the lis pendens claimant sought a constructive trust (Settled)
- Represented defendant owner of strip mall where tenant ceased operations and attempted to assign its lease (Settled)
- Represented defendant title insurance company in litigation with posting service alleging gross negligence of posting service in "indexing" property records (Settled)
- Represented plaintiff insurance company in action against insured for rescission based on fraudulent concealment and policy exclusion (Jury verdict for title company)
- Represented defendant title insurance company in breach of contract action filed by party to escrow(Jury verdict for title company)
Presentations
Speaker, Seminar relating to D'Oench Duhme doctrine, Maricopa County Bar Association
Speaker, Seminar relating to Ethical Issues in Litigation, Maricopa County Bar Association
Speaker, Seminar relating to Conflicts of Interest Issues Facing In-House Corporate Counsel, State Bar Corporate Counsel Section
Speaker, Seminar relating to Ethical Issues involved in asset protection plans, Maricopa County Bar Association
Speaker, Seminar relating to Ethical Issues involved with New Technology, State Bar of Arizona
Panelist, "Ethical Afternoon at the Movies," State Bar of Arizona
Speaker, Arbitration Seminar for Jennings Strouss clients
Community Activities
- Arizona Department of Education
Special Task Force on Classroom Discipline,
1989-1990
- Arizona Special Olympics
Board Member, 1983-1986
Rotary Club of Phoenix West, 1990-2008
Board Member, 1992-1994, 1996-2008
President, 1999-2000
- St. Mary's H.S. School Board, 1992-1995
- Academy of Business College
Distinguished Advisory Board, 1992-1995
Honors, Appointments and Awards
AV® PreeminentTM Peer Review Rated
Listed, The Best Lawyers in America® (2013)
Listed, Southwest Super Lawyers (2007; 2009-2013) in the category of Business Litigation
- "Top 50 Pro Bono Attorneys for 2003," The Arizona Foundation for Legal Services and Education
Best of the Bar, The Business Journal (2004)
Professional Affiliations
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American Bar Association
Litigation Section, Member
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State Bar of Arizona
Case Conflict Committee, Chairman, 2002-2011
Fee Arbitration Committee, 2012, Member
Civil Jury Instructions Committee, Member, 1992-1994
Ethics Committee, Member, 1984-1988, 1992-2000
Special Committee on the Unauthorized Practice of Law, Member, 1990
Real Property and Business Sections, Member
Trial Practice Section, Executive Committee, 1992-1994
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Litigation Counsel of America
Fellow, 2008-present
Admitted to Practice
Court Admission
- U.S. District Court, District of Arizona, 1981
- U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey, 1982
- U.S. Court of Claims, 1985
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, 1981
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit , 1982
Education
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J.D., University of Notre Dame Law School
, 1981
cum laude
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B.A., LaSalle University
, Social Studies Education, 1968
