King County Jury Awards $1.3M for Slip and Fall on Bus
Posted: May 28, 2010 Filed under: Slip and Fall, Trial Leave a comment »A King County jury awarded Keith Knappett $1.3M for injuries he sustained when he slipped and fell exiting the stairs on a bus. The County maintained that the buses were safely maintained and that non-skid material is used on the buses. A complete article can be found in The Seattle Times.
Court May Strike Party’s Witnesses for Failure to Comply with Court Ordered Deadlines
Posted: June 29, 2009 Filed under: Civil Rules, Sanctions, Trial, Witnesses Leave a comment »In Blair v. TA-Seattle East #176, Division I of the Court of Appeals held that a court has the authority to strike a party’s witness where there is a “showing of intentional or tactical nondisclosure, willful violation of a court order, or unconscionable conduct.” The failure of a party to meet court ordered discovery deadlines is a presumptively willful violation of the court’s order.
In Blair, the plaintiff disclosed primary witnesses almost 7 weeks after the initial deadline, and 9 days after the deadline for additional witness disclosure. The plaintiff’s disclosures also lacked summaries of expert witnesses testimony and their credentials. Plaintiff’s failure to timely disclose its witnesses was without excuse
