Philip M. Ballif

Philip M. Ballif joined the firm in November 2007. As a member of the firm’s Litigation Section, he is based in the Salt Lake City office, and handles cases in Utah and Nevada. His practice concentrates on general civil litigation, including disputes involving contracts, business torts, corporate governance, partnership and limited liability company dissolution, real estate, franchising, intellectual property, trade secret, construction, and election law.  Mr. Ballif maintains an “AV” rating with Martindale-Hubbell, which is the highest rating awarded to attorneys for professional competence and ethics.

Education

George Washington University Law School - J.D. (1984)

Brigham Young University - B.S., Accounting, cum laude (1981)

Admitted to Practice

  • All State and Federal Courts in Utah and Nevada
  • Nevada
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
  • United States District Court, Districts of Utah, Nevada and Colorado
  • Utah

Prior Professional Experience

  • Shareholder, Jones Vargas, Las Vegas, Nevada (1994-2007)
  • Associate, Morton R. Galane P.C., Las Vegas, Nevada (1986-1993)
  • Law Clerk, Honorable Howard D. McKibben, U.S. District Court, District of Nevada (1985-86)

Professional and Civic Activities

  • Nevada State Bar - Litigation Section
  • Utah State Bar - Litigation and Franchise Sections
  • Member, Corporate Alliance, Utah

Representative Cases/Deals

  • Defended a health care company against a multi-million dollar breach of contract action.
  • Defended a multi-level marketing company against unfounded allegations of fraud and unfair trade practices.
  • Defended a startup gaming company and its founder against unfounded allegations of misappropriation and prior inventorship of a new, patented card game
  • Obtained a settlement valued at more than $1 million for a former executive of a publicly traded gaming company in connection with a dispute over his employment contract and stock option rights.
  • Obtained a judgment of more than $1.5 million for a hotel development company in connection with a dispute over pre-development costs for a Las Vegas hotel property.
  • Obtained the dismissal of a class action lawsuit filed by a group of retired firemen and police officers who challenged the validity of legislative amendments affecting retirement benefits and thereby saved the state’s public employees retirement system hundreds of millions of dollars.
  • Obtained dismissals of lawsuits filed against a large Las Vegas retirement community association by disgruntled homeowners who challenged the board’s financial decisions.
  • Obtained a defense judgment for an east coast insurance agency in an insurance bad-faith, fraud action filed by an art dealer who procured insurance for his art collection, filed a fraudulent theft claim and then sued his insurance agent and insurer for denying his claim.
  • Obtained a judgment for a landowner awarding him a prescriptive easement in connection with a boundary dispute with an adjacent landowner.
  • Obtained a judgment for a homeowner against an insurance company for major structural damage to his home caused by a water leak that triggered soil expansion. 
  • Helped numerous businesses and individuals successfully negotiate workout arrangements when they have found themselves unable to complete performance of contractual obligations.

In the early years of my legal career, I had the opportunity of participating in the pretrial, trial and appellate stages of two significant cases:

  • Carson Wayne Newton v. N.B.C., 930 F. 2d 662 (Ninth Circuit 1992) – a defamation action resulting from a series of three network news broadcasts falsely accusing Wayne Newton of having obtained financing for his purchase of the Aladdin Hotel & Casino from the mafia.
  • Stephen P. Shearing, M.D. v. Iolab and Johnson & Johnson, 975 F. 2d 1541 (Federal Circuit 1992) – a patent licensing dispute involving a method patent for the implantation of a compressible open loop intraocular lens into the posterior chamber of the eye following cataract surgery