Annelise M. Dominguez

Annelise Dominguez has represented many individuals and entities in the areas of general civil litigation, commercial litigation, negligent entrustment, insurance defense, breach of contract and bad faith, premises liability, product liability, construction, breach of contract, wage garnishment, automobile liability, wrongful death, and personal injury in both Arizona state and federal courts. She also has experience mediating through the Maricopa County Justice Courts as well as appellate, arbitration, and trial experience.

Annelise is recognized as a Super Lawyers® Rising Star and One to Watch by Best Lawyers®.

As a native Arizonan, Annelise prioritizes giving back to her community. She is a member of the Arizona Women Lawyers’ Association and Arizona Association of Defense Counsel. She also serves on the Board of Directors of the Arizona Hispanic Bar Association, Los Abogados, since 2022 and is a director of the Latina Mentoring Project.

Annelise earned her Business Communication degree and minor in English summa cum laude from the W.P. Carey School of Business and Barrett Honors College at Arizona State University, making Dean’s List all four years, and her J.D. from the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law. She is admitted to practice in Arizona and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

• Obtained summary judgment on behalf of auto repair shop in a negligence and negligent entrustment action brought by a third-party where an independent contractor of the shop improperly retained a client’s vehicle and was involved in a serious accident with the third-party with whereabouts unknown. The motion successfully argued that the third-party lacked causation between the alleged breached duty and his injuries and claims.
• Obtained full defense verdict in residential premises liability jury trial action where the plaintiff alleged insufficient lighting and a single-step into a sunken living room were unreasonably dangerous conditions causing her cervical fracture. A pre-trial Daubert motion precluded the plaintiff’s liability expert based on a successful argument that he lacked the requisite education, training, skills, or experience to opine on the duty of a residential homeowner when all prior experience was related to commercial property owners. Trial included testimony from experts in photography/lighting, neurology/neurosurgery, and radiology. Successfully proved lighting was more than sufficient and the homeowners did not breach any duty owed to the plaintiff.
• Successfully enforced settlement on behalf of appliance installation company in contentious negligence action arising from the alleged negligent installation of a washing machine in 2017, causing more than $1.5 million in damage to the plaintiffs’ home involving experts in mold and remediation, construction, subsidence, and accident reconstruction. The plaintiffs contested settlement on the grounds of no “meeting of the minds,” which, after extensive briefing and evidentiary hearing, the court rejected.
• Assisted with pre-trial preparation in full defense verdict in wrongful death action arising from a serious house fire involving the contested application of the homeowner’s duty to the relative and decedent, the alleged existence of a landlord-tenant relationship, and the application of the building and fire codes for doors and door locks when the home pre-dated the existing building and fire codes.
• Obtained summary judgment on behalf of a moving equipment and storage rental company in a negligence action brought by a renter who claimed damages and emotional distress damages before the Commercial Tribunal of the American Arbitration Association. Strategically using police records, information from the National Crime Information Center database, and the claimant’s deposition testimony, the summary judgment motion argued that there is no duty to report that property previously reported as stolen has been recovered, and the arbitrator agreed, entering judgment in favor of the client. Defended employer against a National Labor Relations Board 8(a)(1) concerted activities charge until the regional director withdrew the charge without issuing a complaint.
• Represented clients at hearings in Maricopa County Superior Court, creditors’ meetings in Bankruptcy Court for the District of Arizona to question the debtor, and in judgment debtor’s exa­­minations.
• Drafted appellate briefs for filing in the Arizona Court of Appeals and Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals related to insurance bad faith and breach of contract.
• Assisted in obtaining a favorable settlement after the Court granted a complete judgment of dismissal of an insurance coverage dispute seeking more than $700,000 in damages, plus bad faith and punitive damages. The strategy resolved the matter entirely for the client and avoided a lengthy and costly Ninth Circuit appellate proceeding filed by the plaintiff.
• Prosecuted and obtained permanent injunction, damages, and attorneys’ fees and costs against client’s former employee who photographed and published confidential and proprietary information, including social security numbers, medical information and attorney-client correspondence.
• Defended and secured summary judgment in favor of a debt collection agency against a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) claim. Consumer alleged that the client used improper debt collection practices and failed to use proper disclosures in violation of the FDCPA. The successful summary judgment motion proved that the consumer’s claims were both legally and factually unsupported

Super Lawyers®, Southwest Rising Stars List: Civil Litigation: Defense, 2023 – Present

The Best Lawyers in America®, Ones to Watch, Insurance Law, 2023-2025

Understanding the Definition of a “Celebrity:” A Response to the Proposed Public Policy Rationales for Enhanced Celebrity Protection Against Paparazzi and Invasion of Privacy, 4 ARIZ. St. SPORTS & ENT. L.J. 349-55 (Spring 2015).