In In re Estate of Hambleton, No. 89419-1 (consolidated with In re Estate of MacBride No. 89500-7), the Washington State Supreme Court upheld the “Bracken fix,” a retroactive amendment of the 2005 Estate and Transfer Tax Act, Chapter 83.100 RCW. (Prior to 2005, Washington did not have an independent estate tax and instead participated
The Long Reach of Washington’s Long-Arm Statute
In Failla v. FixtureOne Corp., No. 89671-2, the Washington Supreme Court adopted a broad interpretation of the Washington long-arm statute. It concluded that the founder and CEO of a non-resident corporation, which had a single employee in Washington state, was subject to personal jurisdiction. “We hold that employing a Washington resident to perform work
Investor in Mortgage-backed Securities Cannot Deduct Interest Earned
In Cashmere Valley Bank v. WA Dept. of Revenue, No. 8937-5, the Washington Supreme Court interpreted the state tax deduction statute, RCW 82.04.4292 (1980). The statute, prior to being amended in 2012, provided that banks and financial institutions could deduct from their income “amounts derived from interest received on investments or loans primarily secured
No Private Right of Action Under Deeds of Trusts Act
In Frias v. Asset Foreclosure Services, Inc., the Washington Supreme Court held that the state law does not recognize an independent cause of action for monetary damages based on alleged violations of the Deeds of Trust Act (DTA), Chapter 61.24 RCW, when no foreclosure sale has been completed. However, under some circumstances DTA violations may
TEDRA Statute of Limitations Does Not Run Against A Minor Without a Guardian Ad Litem
In Anderson v. Dussault, the Washington Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeals, which had affirmed dismissal of a 20-year old plaintiff’s breach of trust action against the trustee and her malpractice action against the attorney responsible for the trust accounting. A special needs trust had been set up for the plaintiff after she
Debt Buyers Who Solicit Claims are “Collection Agencies” Subject to WCAA
In Gray v. Suttell & Associates, the Washington Supreme Court answered the question certified by the District Court for the Eastern District of Washington, whether debt buyers who purchase defaulted consumer obligations can pursue, as plaintiffs, collections actions in Washington. If the debt buyer directly or indirectly solicits claims for collection, the debt buyer
Police Dash Cam Footage Subject to Public Disclosure (with exceptions)
In Fisher Broadcasting v. Seattle, five Supreme Court justices held that the Seattle Police Department violated the Public Records Act (PRA) when it denied a KOMO TV reporter’s request for “a list of any and all digital in-car video/audio recordings that have been tagged for retention” by officers, including “officer’s name, badge number, date, time and location when the video was tagged for retention.” The SPD denied the request because it was “unable to query the system in the way [the KOMO reporter] requested.” However, the SPD later granted a similar request by another party and produced logs of retained dashboard documents in their original Microsoft SQL Server format.
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Washington Supreme Court Affirms Firefighter’s $12.75 Million Verdict Against City of Seattle
Last week, the State Supreme Court affirmed a $12.75 million verdict (including $2,422,006 for future care and $10 million in noneconomic damages) against the City of Seattle in favor of former Seattle firefighter, Mark Jones, who was injured when he fell 15 feet down the “pole hole” in a fire station at 3 a.m. on December 23, 2000. The case captured media attention when the press reported that post-trial surveillance videos showed Jones engaging in physical activities (e.g., playing horseshoes) the City alleged were inconsistent with his testimony at trial. The trial court refused to grant a new trial. The Court of Appeals affirmed in an unpublished opinion. The City petitioned the Washington Supreme Court for review based on the surveillance video and the new evidence that Jones was an alcoholic and that his drinking interfered with his recovery.
Continue Reading Washington Supreme Court Affirms Firefighter’s $12.75 Million Verdict Against City of Seattle