summary judgment

Subscribe to summary judgment

Donatelli v. D.R. Strong Consulting Engineers, Inc. [Wash. Sup. Ct. No. 86590-6]

A five justice majority in this case continued to develop the “independent duty doctrine” in Washington. That doctrine has superseded the “economic loss rule,” which previously limited recovery of economic damages to contract claims and recovery of non-economic damages to tort claims. According to the majority opinion, described in greater length below, a contracting party can have a duty in tort to another contracting party if and only if the duty is independent of the agreement. If the contract is unclear, then it must be interpreted by a trier of fact before dismissal based on the independent duty doctrine is proper. As explained by the four-justice dissent, this analysis is unnecessary to the independent duty doctrine, cannot be harmonized with the parties’ agreement, and is not supported by settled principles of contract law. Consistent with those legal principles, the dissent would limit the plaintiff to contract damages where, as here, the parties’ agreement encompasses the risk of harm that is claimed.
Continue Reading Washington Supreme Court Breaks New Ground with Independent Duty Doctrine

In Davis v. Fred’s Appliance (pdf), the Court of Appeals held that individuals who suffer workplace discrimination due to perceived sexual orientation are not members of a protected class therefore cannot recover on a hostile work environment claim under the Washington Law Against Discrimination (“WLAD”).  The Court also affirmed dismissal of a claim for defmation, which ruling prompted a strong (and persuasive) dissent (pdf). 
Continue Reading Court of Appeals Holds WLAD Does Not Permit Employment Discrimination Claims Based On Perceived Sexual Orientation

Michael and Theresa Annechino had a long-standing banking relationship with the Bank of Clark County. Before the events at issue, the Annechino had an approximately $1,150,000 balance at the Bank. Additionally, Mr. Annechino was an investor with the Bank. Shortly after the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) increased its coverage for deposit accounts, the Annechinos’…

The City of Seattle, by ordinance adopted in 2010, requires publishers of yellow pages directories to obtain permits and pay a fee for each directory distributed in the city. It also maintains an opt-out registry through which residents can decline to receive directories. Distributors are required by the same ordinance to advertise the availability of…

About the Notice of Appeal Blog

Learn More

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.