Even experienced attorneys can be tripped up by some of the more arcane areas of law. Such was the case when the Court of Appeals ordered attorney Amy Hansen to pay an attorneys fees in an employment dispute she had thought she had settled for $7,500. Paul Lietz, a paralegal and investigator sued his employer [...]
Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ category
Attorney Stung By “Offer of Judgment”
February 15, 2012Supreme Court Announces Insures Must Pay Pro-rata Share of Attorneys Fees When Offsetting PIP Benefits and Failing to Do So May Result in Liability for Bad Faith
February 15, 2012Earlier this week the Washington State Supreme Court held that an insurance carrier that insures both the at fault driver and the injured plaintiff must reduce any offset for PIP payments by a pro-rata share of plaintiff’s attorneys’ fees. Matsyuk et. al. v. State Farm. The result is consistent with a string of other cases [...]
Don’t leave a dead horse in the road…
July 8, 2010Apparently, in Washington, you best not hit a horse with your car and leave it on the road. A Jefferson County jury awarded $2.7 million to a woman who was injured when she hit the dead horse in the road. The horse was left by a telephone company truck driver who accidentally struck the horse. [...]
Division I Decision on the Statute of Limitations for PRA Requests
June 21, 2010The Washington Court of Appeals, Division 1, released a published opinion today in Tobin v. Worden. Under RCW 42.56, the statute of limitations to file suit for a Public Records Act request begins when either (1) the agency last claims an exemption; or, (2) last produces a record on an installment basis. The court held [...]
Are Administrative Court Records Subject to the PRA?
March 10, 2010On March 9, 2010, the Washington Supreme Court heard arguments in Yakima County v. Yakima Herald-Republic regarding whether administrative court records are subject to the PRA. The case involves whether the Yakima Herald-Republic was entitled to receive records regarding billing charges by two attorneys appointed to represent indigent criminal defendants. Given the October decision in [...]
Court Records are not Subject to the Public Records Act
October 16, 2009In Federal Way v. Koenig, the Washington Supreme Court held that the Public Records Act does not apply to court files. David Koenig requested records from the Federal Way Municipal Court regarding correspondence between a then-sitting-judge and the presiding judge. In a 6-3 opinion, the Court reaffirmed its decision in Nast v. Michels, that the [...]
