Shane and Gwen Douglas have taken their legal battle to the Arizona Court of Appeals, challenging a summary judgment that favored a former county official in a negligence case. The appeal was filed on January 30, 2026, against Steven Richard Lessard, who served as the Chief Probation Officer for Gila County at the time of the incident. The plaintiffs argue that the lower court erred in its decision regarding a vehicle collision that occurred on October 24, 2022.
The lawsuit stems from an accident where Lessard’s county-issued vehicle collided with the Douglases’ car while he was en route to a professional conference in Flagstaff. Lessard contends that he was acting within his employment scope during the incident, thus invoking a one-year statute of limitations under Arizona law A.R.S. § 12-821. However, Shane and Gwen Douglas argue otherwise, suggesting that Lessard had significant autonomy over his travel decisions—such as choosing his vehicle and route—and therefore should be subject to a two-year statute of limitations per A.R.S. § 12-542.
The Superior Court sided with Lessard, ruling that since he was performing duties related to his employment at the time of the crash, the one-year limitation applied. The Douglases are now appealing this decision, asserting that there were genuine issues of material fact about whether Lessard was indeed acting within his job’s scope when the accident happened. They claim that since Lessard had options regarding his travel arrangements and attendance at meetings like those of the Chief Probation Officers’ Association (CPOA), which were not mandatory for employment retention, it indicates he wasn’t under direct employer control.
In their appeal, Shane and Gwen Douglas seek to overturn the summary judgment and pursue their negligence claim against Lessard under what they believe is a more appropriate two-year statute of limitations. They also invoke precedents like Engler v. Gulf Interstate Engineering Inc., arguing parallels between cases where employees had discretionary control over their activities outside regular work hours.
The legal team representing Shane and Gwen Douglas is led by Donald P. Paradiso from Ladah Law Firm based in Las Vegas, Nevada. On behalf of Steven Richard Lessard, Stephanie Elliott and Jennifer Rethemeier from the Arizona Attorney General’s Office are providing counsel. The case is being reviewed by Judge D. Steven Williams alongside Presiding Judge Daniel J. Kiley and Judge Cynthia J. Bailey under Case No. 1 CA-CV 25-0203.
Source: 1CACV250203_Douglas_v_Lessard_Opinion_Arizona_Court_of_Appeals.pdf
