Patricia Premeau

Patricia A Premeau, joined the firm as a Member in 2010.  Ms. Premeau is a three-time graduate of Arizona State University. Ms. Premeau earned her BA in education, and taught emotionally disabled, learning disabled, and autistic students for five years. After finishing her Masters of Counseling degree, Ms. Premeau attended ASU’s College of Law, where she received her Juris Doctor, cum laude. During law school, Ms. Premeau was active in moot court activities and also served as a writing instructor. Following law school, Ms. Premeau clerked for the Honorable E.G. Noyes at the Arizona Court of Appeals.

Ms. Premeau’s practice focuses primarily on real estate and commercial litigation, along with related bankruptcy issues. Based on her clerkship at the Court of Appeals, Ms. Premeau’s practice also includes appellate work. Ms. Premeau has represented clients on such matters as: contract disputes; securities claims; prescriptive easements/adverse possession/title disputes; subdivisions/lot splits; judicial and non-judicial foreclosures/receivership actions/deficiency actions; broker/agent defense; construction defects; commercial and residential landlord-tenant disputes (including forcible entry and detainers and special detainers); homeowners’ association disputes; and Fair Housing complaints.

Ms. Premeau is also a frequent presenter of continuing legal education seminars in the areas of real estate contract law and title disputes. Ms. Premeau also frequently teaches real estate seminars for various real estate groups on topics including: drafting contract contingencies and options; legislative changes in real estate; inspections and due diligence; and related real estate matters.

PRACTICE AREAS / AREAS OF EXPERTISE

• Real Estate Litigation
• Commercial Litigation
• Bankruptcy
• Appellate

EDUCATION / HONORS

• Arizona State University, Juris Doctor (Cum Laude), May 1993
• Arizona State University, Master of Counseling, December 1989
• Arizona State University, Bachelor of Arts in Special Education (Cum Laude), May 1985

COURT ADMISSIONS

• Arizona – State and Federal Courts

AFFILIATIONS

• Ms. Premeau is a member of the State Bar of Arizona, the Maricopa County Bar Association, and the Arizona Women Lawyer’s Association.

REPRESENTATIVE CLIENTS

• Represented approximately 175 homeowners in multiple lawsuits against builders/ developers, and in a class action lawsuit against the Town of Gilbert, for failure to disclose Williams Gateway Airport. Successfully resolved nine lawsuits against builders through mediation.
• Served as lead appellate counsel in a recently published opinion, Maycock v. Asilomar Development, Inc., 88 P.3d 565, 207 Ariz. 495 (App. 2004), addressing the issue of statute of repose as it applies to latent defects and breach of warranty claims against builders.
• Obtained emergency relief setting aside a trustee’s sale and enjoining an eviction proceeding based on an issue of first impression: whether notice of a trustee’s sale can be given to an incompetent person.
• Achieved stipulation for automatic stay relief in bankruptcy court conditioned upon payment of $3 million to client; negotiated settlement of $1.1 million preference action for a creditor for less than 3% of the amount sought in the complaint.
• Provided immediate legal advice to real estate brokers through the Arizona Association of REALTORS® “Legal Hotline” regarding legal issues involving contracts, disclosure and other liabilities, subdivisions, title issues, regulation of brokers, fair housing, financing, and foreclosures.
• Represented clients at administrative hearings before the Registrar of Contractors, the Department of Real Estate, and the Department of Agriculture