Around The Firm

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Charles P.E. Leitch and Daniel G. Lloyd won summary judgment in Bush v. Tacoma School District, a premises-liability case. The plaintiff was a student’s mother, who claimed she slipped on a pool of water in the basement area of a Tacoma elementary school. She suffered a fractured tibia, which required three surgeries. The trial court agreed with the defense, finding that the District had no notice of any alleged dangerous condition, and dismissed the action.

Mike Patterson, Duncan K. Fobes, Philip A. Gigler, and Dan Lloyd won summary judgment of dismissal in Gustason v. Peninsula Regional Support Network. Plaintiffs claimed that they were denied culturally competent mental health care by the State and Peninsula Regional Support Network when mental health counseling was offered to hearing impaired individuals via a sign language interpreter. The court agreed with the defense that, among other things, the statute of limitations for one of the plaintiffs had run and that no duty to provide out-of-state long-term residential care existed for the other.

Charles Leitch and Brian P. Waters won an arbitration in Heritage v. Tacoma School District. Plaintiff was a paraplegic who was struck in his wheelchair by a school bus after he entered a crosswalk as the bus was turning. Plaintiff alleged that he suffered reduced arm strength and damage to his wheelchair. The arbitrator agreed with the defense that there was a lack of credible evidence to establish liability or damages and found that the District had not violated any duty of care.

August G. Cifelli was successful in Drippon v. Transportation Ins. Co., a three-arbitrator UIM arbitration. Plaintiff was injured while operating a tow truck. He settled with the liability carrier and pursued a UIM claim, alleging permanent disability and more than $500,000 in damages. The L & I liens alone totaled nearly $100,000. Gus contested the nature and extent of injuries and won a net award of only $5,000.