Author: george3apple3

While using a kitten filter is still not generally acceptable for a legal proceeding, the Zoom platform does offer substantial advantages which cannot be replicated in a courtroom. This begs the question: are pants-optional legal presentations from the comfort of one’s office the best way forward. My vote is, resoundingly, yes.  Having tried two cases…

Wilson Smith Cochran Dickerson is proud to announce that attorney Miguel Duran has recently been appointed by Governor Jay Inslee as a Snohomish County Superior Court judge.  Duran will fill a newly created judicial seat in the county.  Duran joined WSCD in 2019 as a civil litigator with a focus on personal injury, premises liability,…

In a lawsuit where Dylan Jackson and Jeff Sbaih defended a large nationally recognized refrigeration company, a Pierce County judge dismissed the plaintiff’s product defect claims and awarded our client all its attorney’s fees and costs incurred in defending the case under Washington’s frivolous lawsuit statute.  The plaintiff claimed a defect in a refrigerator caused…

Recently, Judge Bastian for the United States District Court, Eastern District of Washington, issued an opinion in favor of Country Mutual Insurance Company, holding that the pollution exclusion in two Country Mutual policies issued in Washington and Idaho, precluded liability coverage.  At issue was whether the Country Mutual commercial general liability policies provided coverage for…

More traumatic brain injury (TBI) cases are being tried based on new controversial brain imaging studies.  The plaintiffs’ theory is that the new imaging allows the jury to see the brain injury through ominous appearing color-coded brain maps and diagrams/charts.  But a large majority of the medical community has concluded these new studies are not…

– By Dylan E. Jackson and Jeff M. Sbaih  Along with my law partner Jeff Sbaih, we successfully completed the defense of two civil jury trials for large commercial transportation carriers in King County in the last half year – both of which had jury selection through Zoom.  With King County still doing the same—even…

The Washington State Court of Appeals (Division 2) recently issued an opinion that favored the defendant driver, who caused an accident after he had a sudden loss of consciousness due to a heart attack while driving a bus.  The sudden medical emergency defense is alive and well in Washington.  Alonzo McPike, a bus driver for…

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and Governor Inslee’s  Stay-at-Home order, our physical offices are closed at this time but our attorneys and staff are working just as diligently remotely to ensure seamless representation for our clients. If you need to reach any of our attorneys, there may  be a delay in response if you leave…

Under Washington law, when a plaintiff sues multiple defendants in tort, the fault of each defendant is determined and each defendant is normally liable only for its proportionate share of the plaintiff’s damages. RCW 4.22.070(1). Several liability is thus the default, with joint and several liability being the exception. Recently, in Afoa v. Port of…

Last week, in Keodalah v. Allstate Insurance Company, No. 75731‑8-I, 2018 WL 1465526 (Wash. Ct. App. Mar. 26, 2018), Division One of the Court of Appeals of the State of Washington held a policyholder can bring a “bad faith” lawsuit against an individual adjuster employed by an insurance company even though the adjuster’s actions were…

In a recent decision in IDS Property Casualty Insurance Co. v. Pickens, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 142638 (W.D. Wash. Oct. 20, 2015), the United States District Court for the Federal District of Washington held a UIM insured was not entitled to two per-accident UIM limits when he was struck by a vehicle that had previously…

In a decision issued on January 14, 2016, the Washington Supreme Court confirmed that, in most situations, whether UIM coverage applies to injuries caused by a gun fired from an uninsured or underinsured motor vehicle is a question to be decided by a jury. In Kroeber v. GEICO Insurance Co., No. 91846-5 (Wash. Jan. 14,…

We are pleased to announce that our new Managing Partner, Whitney Smith, will be presenting at the upcoming Annual Conference of The Claims and Litigation Management Alliance (CLM).  Whitney’s presentation is entitled:  “PRODUCT LIABILITY – The Future is Now:  3D Printing.”  The conference takes place in Palm Desert, California, March 25-27, 2015.  For more information…

We at Wilson Smith Cochran Dickerson are pleased to share that one of our founding members, Bob Dickerson, was recently honored in an official report from the U.S. Congressional Record, where Congressman Adam Smith took the floor to honor Bob for his 25 years of leadership of an organization called RESULTS, which has the humble…

Wilson Smith Cochran Dickerson is pleased to have helped amplify the voices of missing and exploited children in the Washington courts.  Alongside the national law firm of Kaye Scholer, our partner, Kathy Cochran, had the honor of assisting in the filing of an amicus brief on behalf of the National Center for Missing and Exploited…

In Johnson v. Safeco Insurance Company of America, 176 Wn. App. 1022 (2013), the Washington Court of Appeals upheld the trial court’s Summary Judgment dismissal of the insured homeowner’s claim for property coverage, bad faith, and alleged violations of the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) and Insurance Fair Conduct Act (IFCA) because the insured fraudulently misrepresented…

In National Surety Corp. v. Immunex Corp., the Washington Supreme Court held, in a 5-4 majority opinion, that a liability insurer cannot unilaterally condition the defense it affords its insured under a “reservation of rights” on the insurer’s recoupment of defense costs in the event there is a finding of no coverage.  Absent policy provisions…

In Cedell v. Farmers Insurance Company, decided on February 21, 2013, the Washington Supreme Court has held: “In first party insurance claims by insureds claiming bad faith, other than UIM claims, there is a presumption of no attorney client privilege” to protect attorney communications and work product in the insurer’s claim file.  The insurer may…

In the article accompanying this honor, UW Law Professor, William S. Bailey retired from Fury Bailey, PS cited Cochran’s work in his publication, “Show the Story: The Power of Visual Advocacy”. “She is one of the most creative lawyers in practice today, a talented visual artist who draws upon these skills in putting together her…