David C. Richards
Shareholder
Dave Richards has been with Christensen & Jensen for 33 years and has been a shareholder and director of the firm since 1998. He is the former president of the firm and a member of the firm’s executive management committee. Dave currently chairs the firm’s Hiring Committee. Dave has been a litigator during his entire tenure with the firm, having represented both plaintiffs and defendants. His practice involves an unusual blend of governmental defense, water law, commercial litigation, and representing people pursuing vaccine injury claims against the federal government in a program created by Congress more than three decades ago. Dave loves the “spicey” blend of these practice areas, which keeps his practice diverse and fascinating. In 2023, Dave was recognized as a Mountain States Super Lawyer in the area of “State, Local and Municipal Law.”
AREAS OF PRACTICE
Government Law
Dave has represented numerous governmental entities, including water districts, cities, fire departments, road departments, and police officers. He has handled a variety of cases for governmental entities, such as water disputes, development disputes, employment cases, civil rights litigation, and flooding cases. In 2023, Dave was recognized as a Mountain States “Super Lawyer” in the area of State, Local and Municipal Law.
Water Law
Dave has represented scores of canal and irrigation companies, water conservancy districts, and public water entities. Such cases include issues such as water rights disputes, water delivery systems, forfeiture claims, interference claims, condemnation proceedings, contracts, and liability cases based on flooding or personal injury. He also handles many cases involving canal safety issues.
Business & Commercial Litigation
Dave represented The Utah Newspaper Project/Citizens for Two Voices in an antitrust lawsuit over the future of the Salt Lake Tribune. Dave has also represented one of the country’s largest environmental assessment companies. Most recently, Dave obtained a jury verdict for his client in a shareholder derivative suit.
Vaccine Injury Law
About 30 years ago, and quite by accident, Dave was asked by a partner in his firm to represent the parents of a baby who died within hours of receiving standard childhood vaccinations. He successfully obtained a large award of compensation and over the following years slowly began receiving more calls from others who had suffered vaccine-related injuries. Dave is now handling dozens of vaccine injury claims, which are litigated in the United States Court of Federal Claims, which administers the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Dave is the only Utah attorney listed on that court’s website as handling vaccine injury claims.
Dave very much enjoys handling these complex cases, which frequently involve hearings featuring prominent competing experts in fields such as neurology, immunology and genetics. Dave loves how this area of his practice is unlike any other area of law and how it provides a strange balance to his successful practice representing governmental and water-related clients. “It’s a weird blend of practice areas but I like the spicey variety of my cases. I never feel like my practice is boring and that means a lot after 30 plus years of practice.”
People injured by certain vaccines have a legal right to seek compensation for their injuries. In 1987, Congress created the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (“VICP”). The VICP provides compensation for a variety of adverse reactions, such as certain auto-immune responses or shoulder injuries resulting from vaccine injections that unexpectedly cause an inflammatory response that often results in the need for shoulder surgery. The program is funded by a surcharge paid by the person or insurer who pays for the vaccination. Importantly, clients pay no attorney’s fees or costs for Dave’s representation because the program reimburses attorneys for such fees and costs as long as the claim is brought with a good faith and reasonable basis.
https://www.chrisjen.com/Practice-Vaccine
DISTINCTIONS
ADMITTED TO PRACTICE
- Utah State District Courts
- Federal District Court for the District of Utah
- 10th Circuit Court of Appeals
- The United States Court of Federal Claims
- United States Supreme Court
EDUCATION
- B.A., Business, University of Utah, 1984, cum laude.
- Juris Doctorate, University of Utah, 1991, William P. Leary Scholar, Law Review Development Editor, Teaching Assistant for Legal Writing.
LECTURES & PUBLICATIONS
- Environmental Impact Statement Mitigation, Journal of Energy Law and Policy, 1989
- The Utah Fit Premises Act, Utah Law Review, 1991
- Utah EMS Annual Convention, Operation of Vehicles and Emergency Management, 2002-2004
- Canal Safety and Officer/Director Liability, Uintah Basin Water Summit, 2010
- Author, Utah Chapter of National Compendium of Construction Law, ALFA 2007-present
- Governmental Immunity Act, Annual Utah Governmental Risk Conference 2021
- Limitations of Landowner Liability Act, Annual Utah Governmental Risk Conference 2023
SELECTED RULINGS & OPINIONS
- •Pyle v. Woods, 874 F.3d 1257 (10th Cir. 2017). Successful federal trial court and appellate defense of governmental client against claims alleging civil rights violations relating to access and use of Utah’s Controlled Substances Database as well as alleged violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
- Brown v. South Salt Lake City, 653 F.App’x 577 (10th Cir. 2016)(unpublished). Successful federal trial court and appellate defense of peace officer accused of federal and state civil rights violations arising out of injuries sustained by a prisoner in an automobile accident during transport of the prisoner between the court and jail. (This case was selected by the 10th Circuit as one of the six cases to be argued before it and law school students at the University of Utah SJ Quinney School of Law during the court’s annual visit to that law school.)
- Haik v. Town of Alta, 176 F.3d 488 (10th Cir. 1999). Successful federal trial court and appellate defense of town regarding development disputes over available water.
- Blackner v. Town of Alta, 48 P.3d 446 (Utah 2002). Successful representation and appellate defense of town marshal regarding peace officer immunity.
- DeVillier v. Utah County, 882 P.2d 1161 (Utah App. 1994). Successful representation and appellate defense of county regarding county’s liability and immunity.
- Lyon v. Burton, 5 P.3d 616 (Utah 2000). Successful appellate defense of fire chief, avoiding personal liability of fire chief for accident that occurred in course and scope of his employment.
- Steenblik v. Rasmussen, 906 P.2d 872 (Utah 1995). Successful representation at trial and appellate defense of client regarding violation of Utah Securities Act.
- DuBois v. Grand Central, 872 P.2d 1073 (Utah 1994). Successful appellate defense of trial court’s dismissal of all claims against client on a wrongful termination claim.
- Qwest Corp. v. Tetra Tech, 438 F.Supp. 1321 (Utah 2006). Obtained dismissal of all claims against client, an international engineering/construction company, related to its work on large fiberoptic system.
- Doyle v. Lehi City, 2012 UT App 342. Successful appellate defense of trial court’s dismissal of civil rights claims against clients, city officials, based on qualified immunity.
- Haik v. Town of Alta, 567 Fed. Appx. 621 (10th Cir. 2014). Successful appellate defense of trial court’s dismissal of civil rights and civil conspiracy claims against client, the Town of Alta, and the town’s administrator.
- Jenkins v. Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District, 2013 UT 59. Successful appellate defense of water conservancy district against property damage claims, overturning Utah Court of Appeals.
- Salt Lake City v. Big Ditch Irrigation Co., 2011 UT 33. Successful appellate defense of irrigation company, allowing company to seek changes to its use of water.
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