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In Schmidt v. Coogan, the Washington Supreme Court addressed two questions of first impression, whether collectability of the underlying judgment is an element of the plaintiff’s claim for legal malpractice and whether emotional distress (ED) damages are recoverable in a malpractice action.  The Court held that collectability is not an element of the plaintiff’s…

In O.S.T. v. Regence BlueShield, the Washington Supreme Court held that Regence’s exclusion of neurodevelopmental therapies (NDT) in individual policies violated the mental health parity act, RCW 48.44.341.  The Court rejected Regence’s reliance on an earlier statute,  RCW 48.44.450, which mandates NDT to children under seven in group plans only.  The named plaintiffs were…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

In today’s Johnston-Forbes v. Matsunaga decision, the Washington Supreme Court reiterated the rule that expert testimony is admissible if (1) the expert is qualified, (2) the expert relies on theories that are generally accepted in the scientific community, and (3) the testimony would be helpful to the trier of fact. The trial court has to…

The Rules of Professional Conduct: A Basis For Civil Action Or Remedy?

The Washington Supreme Court’s recent decision in LK Operating, LLC v. The Collection Group, LLC calls into question the extent that a violation of the Rules of Professional Conduct (“RPCs”) may be used as a basis for civil action. Ultimately, the Washington Supreme Court affirmed the rescission of a contract based on a violation of RPC 1.8(a).

This case involved a joint venture transaction regarding a debt collection business. The parties to the joint venture included LK Operating, LLC (“LKO”) and The Collection Group, LLC (“TCG”). The members of LKO, Leslie Powers and Keith Therrien, are both Washington attorneys who worked for the same law firm (the “Law Firm”). One of the members of TCG, Brian Fair, initially asked Mr. Powers and Mr. Therrien if they, along with their Law Firm, would be interested in investing in TCG and operating a joint venture. The proposal involved each party to the joint venture contributing fifty percent of all required funds, Mr. Fair providing administrative and management services, and the Law Firm and Mr. Powers providing legal services.Continue Reading The Rules of Professional Conduct: A Basis for Civil Action or Remedy?

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Welcome to the Stoel Rives Appellate Law blog, dedicated to providing those in appellate law practices regular updates on significant decisions from courts of appeal within our regions of practice. It is our goal to build out this blog to be a handy resource for both keeping up to date on new decisions and quickly locating information about past decisions.