Around The Firm

The September 12-18, 2003 edition of the Puget Sound Business Journal has recognized Lee Smart, P.S., Inc. as "the fastest growing among large Puget Sound law firms" in the current decade. Lee Smart ranked first in growth on a percentage basis as part of the Business Journal’s annual survey of local law firms. The number of attorneys at Lee Smart increased 32 percent, to 49, between April 2000 and August 2003. This compares favorably to two much larger firms that grew 24 and 22 percent, respectively, and to several large local firms that shrank by as much as 17 percent. … Washington Law & Politics has named Tammy L. Williams and William R. Kiendl as "Rising Stars" again, for 2004. The designation honors young lawyers who are up and coming in the profession. The magazine also recognized several Lee Smart lawyers as "Superlawyers" again this year for their high degree of excellence in the profession, including David L. Martin, Michael A. Patterson, Joel E. Wright, Steven J. Jager, Jeffrey P. Downer, Sam B. Franklin, and August G. Cifelli. … Seattle University Law School has named Lee Smart associate attorneys Eric S. Newman and Aaron V. Rocke as adjunct professors for its trial advocacy team.

Jennifer M. Ilenstine won dismissal of all federal claims against her attorney clients in Rodriguez v. Perez, another legal-malpractice case arising out of the infamous Wenatchee "sex ring" trials in the mid-1990s. Plaintiffs filed civil-rights claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against the owner of the firm, the associate who tried the case, and another employee of the firm under an agency theory. To prove a claim under § 1983, however, plaintiff was required to prove that the defendants were "state actors" at the time of the alleged acts. The judge ruled that the attorney who tried the case as a matter of law cannot be acting on behalf of the state because an attorney’s loyalties are to the client. The court also held that the attorney who owned the law firm was not an administrator for the county and therefore also could not be liable under § 1983. As to the attorney sued under an agency theory, the judge found that plaintiff failed to meet his burden of proof on that issue because he had failed to produce any competent proof to support his claim.

David L. Martin and Frank A. Cornelius won summary judgment of dismissal of Garza v. PCE Enterprises. Plaintiff suffered a serious arm injury while working at a potato-processing plant, when she attempted to pull a piece of tape from a conveyor belt. Her arm was pulled into a roller on the conveyor, fracturing bones in her wrist and forearm, and causing a degloving-type injury to the soft tissue on her arm. PCE was the electrical contractor that performed electrical work as part of a revision to the plant. Plaintiff claimed that PCE negligently installed the electrical system for the conveyor that caused her injury. The court dismissed the action on summary judgment because PCE was not responsible for the design or engineering of the conveyor, including safety issues for the electrical system, owed no duty to plaintiff, and was not negligent. … Dave Martin, Jeffrey P. Downer, and William R. Kiendl won the appeal of Minahan v. Western Wash. Fair Assn., in which a drunk driver hit plaintiff, but she settled with the drunk driver before suing the owner of the Puyallup Fair premises near where plaintiff was standing when the accident occurred. After the trial court denied summary judgment of dismissal, the Court of Appeals agreed with Dave, Jeff, and Bill that the possibility of premises liability was too remote to impose liability and directed the trial court to dismiss the action. … Jeff Downer and Jennifer Ilenstine also won the appeal of Larson v. MOA Hospitality. In that case, a man walked uninvited into a motel, crashed a party in one of the motel rooms, and shot and killed a motel patron. The Court of Appeals agreed with Jeff and Jennifer that the incident was not foreseeable, rejecting plaintiff’s allegations of a history of criminality and inadequate security at the motel and directing the trial court to dismiss the case.

The Lee Smart Quarterly is a publication of the law offices of Lee, Smart, Cook, Martin & Patterson, P.S., Inc. for clients and others. It is intended as general information only and is not to be construed as legal advice. You should consult an attorney if you have any specific legal questions.

Editor: Jeffrey P. Downer	Eml: jpd@leesmart.com
Phone: 206.621.3482	Toll Free: 877.624.7990