Around The Firm

Sam B. Franklin and Ketia B. Wick defended Richardson v. H.P., a six-week legal-malpractice trial based on underlying claims of medical malpractice and premises liability. The plaintiff suffered a serious personal injury and asked the jury for just under $5.2 million. The jury returned a defense verdict. Marc Rosenberg assisted in the case ... In Brees v. Beers, Duncan K. Fobes and Marc Rosenberg defended Jefferson County and employees of the county in a federal civil-rights claim. Plaintiff was turned down for a volunteer position as a court-appointed guardian ad litem. He claimed that he was deprived of an opportunity to rebut statements that a sheriff’s deputy had made about him. The federal court agreed with Duncan and Marc that the county had not deprived plaintiff of liberty and property without due process and that the county’s employees enjoyed qualified immunity. The court dismissed the action on summary judgment.

In S.H. v. Corp. of the Archdiocese of Seattle, August G. Cifelli and Marc Rosenberg won a motion on the merits in the Court of Appeals, in which the appellate-court commissioner held that plaintiff’s appeal had no merit and recommended to the three-judge panel that it be summarily dismissed. Plaintiff, a parochial-school student, claimed that he suffered an injury when a tennis ball struck him during a game of “home run derby.” The trial court had dismissed the case on summary judgment because plaintiff had shown no breach of any duty or proximate cause, and the appellate-court commissioner agreed. The three-judge panel affirmed the ruling and ordered dismissal of the action.

Steven G. Wraith and Aaron P. Gilligan won summary judgment of dismissal in Windward Cove at the Lakes H.O.A. v. Windward Cove, L.L.C. The lawsuit involved alleged construction defects at the Windward Cove at the Lakes condominium. Steve and Aaron represented Sung Siding, a fourth-party defendant, which was sued for breach of contract, indemnity, and negligent construction. Steve and Aaron successfully argued that the claim for breach of an oral contract accrued at the time of substantial completion of the project, so that the statute of limitations barred the claim against his client. They also argued that Washington law does not recognize the fourth-party plaintiff’s claims for implied indemnity and negligent construction in construction-defect cases. The court agreed and dismissed all claims against Steve and Aaron’s client.

In Dunkley v. Jain, Philip B. Grennan and Aaron P. Gilligan won summary judgment. Plaintiff sued a real estate agent who represented both the plaintiff-tenant and the seller in the lease of commercial property where plaintiff planned to run a restaurant. Before signing the lease, plaintiff and the real estate agent walked the premises. The agent told plaintiff that the lessor was a “good guy.” At the time of that walk-through, the property was connected to a water supply. But when plaintiff was having the premises built out, the lessor shut off the water supply to the property, which kept plaintiff from opening his restaurant. Plaintiff sued the lessor and the real estate agent for breach of contract and misrepresentation. Phil and Aaron moved for summary judgment, arguing that the real estate agent was not a party to any contract with plaintiff. They also argued that plaintiff lacked the necessary clear, cogent, and convincing evidence to prove a claim of misrepresentation, and the real estate agent’s expression of opinion was not a factual statement that could be the basis of a misrepresentation claim.

Joel E. Wright and Janine E. Leary won the appeal of Williams v. Jones, a legal-malpractice action based on an underlying claim of medical malpractice. Joel and Janine won summary judgment before the trial court because the statute of limitations had run almost a year before she consulted an attorney. The Court of Appeals agreed and affirmed the dismissal.

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
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