Shawn P. Bailey, Partner

sbailey@peckBAXTER.com

 

Laws are like the structural elements hidden inside the walls of a building. The “building” is our community, and our laws structure how we should act out on the road, in a business deal, or in the millions of other ways we encounter each other each day. Our laws encourage good (loyalty, integrity, caring for others) and discourage bad (betrayal, dishonesty, carelessness) by requiring wrong-doers to compensate victims for their losses.

Shawn fights hard for his clients: decent, hard-working people and companies who have been forced to turn to the civil justice system to solve difficult problems. He listens to his clients. He gets to know them, and he cares about them. He carefully researches and investigates their problems. Shawn is strategic, smart, and aggressive. He works hard to resolve each client’s problems by thoroughly preparing to tell their story to the jury at trial.

Shawn has developed areas of special expertise over the past fifteen years of practicing law:

Corporate Disputes. These cases are about the ownership or control of a company (often a company started by family or friends who no longer see eye to eye). Shawn understands how people feel about ventures they helped build from the ground up. He has seen the same pattern unfold time and again: one faction attempts to seize control and show the other faction the door. There is a right and a wrong way to navigate this complex situation, and Shawn can help.

Intellectual Property Disputes. Your patents, trademarks, trade secrets, and/or copyrights are some of your business's key assets. More than that, they are the culmination of your creativity, skill, and untold hours of hard work. Shawn understands what is at stake, and he vigorously defends his clients' intellectual property rights.

Personal Injury. “Duties of care” govern our daily interactions. Drivers have a duty to be careful. Manufacturers have a duty not to sell dangerous or defective products. Lawyers and doctors have duties to be competent professionals. Insurance companies have a duty to investigate and cover claims. Shawn helps people who have suffered serious injuries or death due to “duty of care” violations.

General Civil Litigation. Shawn has successfully resolved through trial or out-of-court settlement a wide variety of cases in addition to those listed above. Other areas of expertise include: construction, real estate, antitrust, constitutional law, civil rights, and contracts. Shawn would be happy to talk with you about your situation. If he is unable to help you, he will get you in contact with someone who can.

Shawn was born and raised in Utah. He loves to be outside, whether it is running trails, mountain biking, skiing, or paddle boarding. He loves the arts too: he is a voracious consumer of art, books, movies, concerts, and plays. Shawn is also a painter—his work can be seen at spbailey.net.

Significant Cases

Truman v. Johnson, 60 F.4th 1267 (10th Cir. 2023). Reversing the trial court’s summary judgment ruling against Shawn’s client; concluding that Shawn’s client’s civil rights claim (claiming that a prosecutor fabricated evidence that resulted in his wrongful conviction for murder) was not barred by the doctrine of issue preclusion.

Knowlton v. Knowlton, 2023 UT App 16, 525 P.3d 898 (2023). Affirming the trial court’s ruling on all issues in favor of Shawn’s client in a divorce action concerning the division of a large and complex marital estate.

Van Orden v. Downs, 609 Fed. Appx. 474 (9th Cir. 2015). Affirming the trial court's ruling denying summary judgment on  qualified immunity because it "was clearly established, at least as early as 2005, that the Eighth Amendment protects against deliberate indifference to a detainee's serious risk of suicide.”

Van Orden v. Caribou County, 546 Fed. Appx. 647 (9th Cir. 2013). Reversing the trial court’s summary judgment ruling against Shawn's clients; concluding Shawn's clients were entitled to a jury trial on their civil rights claims related to the death of their daughter in an Idaho jail.

Carlsen v. Bd. of Adjustment, City of Smithfield, 2012 UT App 260, 287 P.3d 440. Protecting Shawn's clients’ long-established property right to keep livestock in their backyard.

Stewart v. Bova, 2011 UT App 129, 256 P.3d 230. Enforcing a key notice provision of the Utah Health Care Malpractice Act in favor of Shawn's client.

In re Cooper Tire & Rubber Co., 568 F.3d 1180 (10th Cir. 2009). Enforcing a landmark discovery order compelling Cooper to produce millions of critical documents in a products liability case concerning a failed tire.

P.O. Ventures, Inc. v. Loucks Family Irrevocable Trust, 159 P.3d 870 (Idaho 2007). Upholding Shawn's client’s real estate purchase contract to acquire a large parcel of land in Eagle, Idaho.

Education

  • Juris Doctor, J. Reuben Clark Law School (BYU)

    • Senior Editor, BYU Law Review

    • Hugh B. Brown Barrister Award

  • BA, English and history, University of Utah

Previous Experience

  • Judicial Clerk, U.S. Court of Federal Claims, Washington, D.C.

  • Honors Program Attorney, U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Division, Washington, D.C.

  • Associate, Greener Banducci Shoemaker, Boise, Idaho

Areas of Practice

  • General Litigation

  • Commercial Litigation

  • Corporate Disputes

  • Appellate Practice

  • Personal Injury

  • Auto Accidents

Professional Associations and Memberships

  • Utah State Bar

  • Idaho State Bar

  • Cache Valley Bar Association (Past President)

  • Utah Association for Justice

  • Idaho Trial Lawyers Association

  • J. Reuben Clark Law Society, Cache Valley Chapter (Past President)

Community Service

  • Cache Valley Center for the Arts, Member, Board of Trustees

  • Chamber Music Society of Logan, Member, Board of Trustees

  • Cache Valley Home Builders Association, Member, Board of Directors

Bar Admissions

  • Utah

  • Idaho

Professional Recognition

  • Rising Star, Mountain States Super Lawyers, 2010-2013