Around The Firm

David L. Martin and Marc Rosenberg won dismissal of a complex legal malpractice case in King County. In the underlying case, plaintiffs sought to rescind a gift of property to a charitable foundation and sought damages for malpractice against professionals who assisted in establishing the foundation. Dave and Marc’s client, along with other attorneys, represented plaintiffs in the first litigation. In plaintiffs’ later malpractice action regarding the handling of that litigation, the court granted three successive summary judgment motions Those orders dismissed claims that the clients had mishandled the plaintiff’s probate resulting in the loss of the claim against the foundation; limited potential damages and held that the client was not vicariously liable for another attorney’s work; and dismissed the negligence claim in its entirety due to plaintiffs’ failure to support their claim with competent expert testimony.

Marc Rosenberg obtained a Rule 12(b)(6) dismissal in a class-action lawsuit alleging violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”) in the federal case of In re Cook. Marc’s client had represented a debt collector who prevailed in an action and requested attorney fees and costs. The court denied an award for certain costs, finding that they were prospective in nature and had not yet accrued. Plaintiff sued alleging that the costs sought were not authorized and violated the FDCPA. The court found that averments contained in pleadings submitted to a court were not “debt-collections activities” within the meaning of the FDCPA and dismissed plaintiff’s claim.

Joel E. Wright and Erin J. Varriano won summary judgment in Wolfgram v. Doe. Plaintiff attempted to bring multiple claims, including legal malpractice, against Ms. Doe who represented a party in guardianship proceedings. The court agreed that Ms. Doe did not owe a duty to plaintiff under any legal theory. The court dismissed the case and found plaintiff failed to set forth cognizable claims, thus entitling Joel and Erin’s client to an award of attorney fees and sanctions against plaintiff. … Joel Wright and Dan Von Seggern won summary judgment on behalf of their client, XYZ, in Trueblood v. Valeo. This products liability case involved an exercise ball that allegedly burst and injured plaintiff. XYZ purchased the exercise balls from co-defendant and resold them to the ultimate users. Joel and Dan successfully argued that their client was a pass-through seller, rather than a manufacturer, and had made no representations to plaintiff regarding the exercise ball. The court agreed and dismissed all claims.

The Lee Smart Quarterly is a publication of the law offices of Lee Smart, 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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