Washington

Nathaniel Coon felt a “pop” in his knee while playing on ice. Coon received surgery to repair the knee at The Everett Clinic (TEC). Subsequent to the surgery, Coon suffered a serious fungal infection and leg amputation. Group Health Cooperative (GHC) provided health insurance benefits to Coon. Coon filed suit against TEC for potential negligence claims. Coon settled with TEC without involving GHC. GHC initiated a lawsuit, seeking…

Defense attorneys love the words “case dismissed.” Filing a case right before the statute of limitations runs, in a court lacking jurisdiction, often yielded this satisfying result. Until now. Banowski v. Guy Backstrom, DC, — P.3d —-, 2019 WL 3333172 (2019), dissects the controversial issue and concludes courts of limited jurisdiction now have the capability of transferring a case to a court with proper jurisdiction instead of ordering dismissal for lack of…

The Washington Supreme Court granted review of Daniels v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, 96185-9 (2019). In this case, the court discusses whether first party insurer State Farm is required to reimburse its fault-free insureds for the full amount of deductibles, prior to any allocation of subrogation proceeds to the insurer.

The words “negligent” and “intentional” are contradictory. To maintain an action in negligence, the plaintiff must establish four essential elements: duty, breach, proximate cause, and harm. To maintain an intentional tort action, the plaintiff must establish the tort was intentional, i.e., volitional. One action is typically distinct from the other, and a claim will usually sound in one or the other. However, in Beltran-Serrano v. City…

Work product protections often involve a narrow scope in the underlying policies of CR 26(b)(4) (allowing broad discovery while maintaining certain restraints on bad faith, irrelevant, and privileged inquiries).  Statements made by an insured to an insurer following an accident, in light of parties and expectations of the parties, fall under work product protection. In Barriga Figueroa v. Prieto Mariscal, — P.3d —-, 2019 WL 2220288 (2019), the Supreme Court of Washington held work product protections apply where the insured has gained the status of insured by statute, rather than by contract.

An expert witness may be pivotal in determining a win or a loss at trial. Sometimes, one great expert witness may be better than many good expert witnesses. Wisely securing a great expert witness who possesses the proper expertise(s) to propound your arguments will likely ensure safe passage on the journey through trial. And appeal. And review.

Is Mandatory Arbitration favorable or unfavorable for defense attorneys? Harmful or helpful? Dreaded or demanded? It depends. Contractual constraints, or lack thereof, and missed or overlooked opportunity may dictate and preclude choice. The Washington Court of Appeals analyzes these parameters in Lee v. Evergreen Hospital Medical Center, 434 P.3d 1071 (2019).

In an unsuccessful attempt to unseat long-standing Washington landlord-tenant case law, plaintiff Donna Phillips filed suit challenging existing case law pertaining to duties of implied warranty of habitability owed in non-common areas.  (Phillips v. Greco, No. 75911-6-1, 2019 Wn. App (Div. 1 Jan. 16, 2019).)