Rita J. Bustos
Partner
Scottsdale Office
8800 East Raintree Drive, Suite 100
Scottsdale, Arizona 85260
Rita J. Bustos is a partner in the Scottsdale, Arizona office of Quintairos, Prieto, Wood & Boyer, P.A. Ms. Bustos focuses in the areas of appellate litigation, medical malpractice, long-term care, and personal injury defense. Ms. Bustos is the appellate attorney in the firm’s Scottsdale, Arizona office, regularly representing clients in the Arizona Court of Appeals and the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Representative Appellate Cases (Lead Appellate Counsel)
- Kopacz v. Banner Health, 245 Ariz. 97 (App. 2018) – Represented physician on behalf on large Arizona medical malpractice insurance company in case involving alleged lack of informed consent. Successfully argued case barred by statute of limitations.
- Yazedjian v. ARC Santa Catalina Inc., 2018 WL 615106 (App. 2018) – Represented large U.S. senior living community in appeal involving enforcement of an arbitration agreement.
- Gullett on Behalf of Estate of Gullett v. Kindred Nursing Centers West, L.L.C., 241 Ariz. 532 (App. 2017) – Represented national healthcare services company in appeal involving enforcement of an arbitration agreement. Successfully argued agreement was not substantively unconscionable.
- Brown v. John C. Lincoln Health Network, 2016 WL 2893739 (App. 2016) – Represented substantial Arizona hospital chain in appeal involving alleged medical battery. Successfully argued patient consent.
Prior to joining QPWB, Ms. Bustos was an attorney providing business and commercial law advice to a Phoenix-based law firm specializing in corporate and business law. She specifically advised on matters relating to UCC Article 2 Sales regarding contract repudiation and breach, including issues of nonconforming goods, “battle of the forms” disputes, and award of damages.
Ms. Bustos received her Juris Doctor from St. John’s University School of Law, Jamaica, New York, in 2007, a Master of Laws in Biotechnology and Genomics from the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, Arizona State University in 2011, and a Bachelor of Arts magna cum laude in Sociology from the State University of New York at Binghamton in 2003.
Ms. Bustos attended law school under a merit scholarship. She was a senior staff member of the American Bankruptcy Institute Law Review and received CALI Awards for Academic Excellence in Legal Research and Writing, and Race and Law Seminar. She served on a judicial internship under the Hon. Lucindo Suarez of the New York State Supreme Court Appellate Division, and was a legal aide in the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit at the New York State Office of the Attorney General in Hauppauge, New York.
While working on her postgraduate law degree, Ms. Bustos was a senior associate at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law where she handled intellectual property agreements and advised on filings with the USPTO. She completed analysis and research on the pharmaceutical industry for new drug-screening technology.
Ms. Bustos is licensed to practice law in Arizona and New York. She is a member of the State Bar of Arizona.
Publications
“Defending the Defense of ‘Prohibitive Expense’ – Arbitration Costs vs. Contingency Fee Agreements,” IADC Committee Newsletter, Alternative Dispute Resolution (April 2014).