Recent News

Clients often express concern that if they attempt to settle a dispute, the offer to settle will be seen as admitting fault or guilt, or admitting the validity of the other side’s position.  While there can be good strategic reasons not to offer a settlement, settlement offers are generally inadmissible to prove liability.  The primary… Read More

Lawyers and parties involved in disputes should give careful consideration to whether a given strategy in seeking a resolution may give rise to criminal liability in Washington.  Specifically, beware of criminal liability for blackmail, or as referred to in RCW 9A.56.130, extortion in the second degree. But first, here is some interesting etymology:  Many hundreds… Read More

Many people assume that every clause in a contract is enforceable, so long as it was agreed to.  But that is not true, and parties who make that assumption without further analysis do so at their peril. Typical contract scenarios could include the following: Scenario A:  A and B enter into a contract that A… Read More

In most cases, it is easy to figure out which court is the proper one in which to file a lawsuit.  Parties to a lawsuit usually reside in reasonably close proximity to one another, and statistically, the events giving rise to the lawsuit also happen in close geographic proximity to each other and the parties. … Read More

Most litigation ends in some form of settlement without a trial actually taking place.  But one critical question becomes, “At what point in time does a party enjoy protection from further litigation via a settlement agreement?”  A recent unpublished decision illustrates the perils of assuming a settlement is a done deal when there are still… Read More

Most people when they hear the term “real estate contract” probably think of a purchase and sale agreement, but there are actually important distinctions, no matter how similar the two terms may sound. In the real estate contract, a purchase and sale agreement is a contract under which, in exchange for a purchase price paid… Read More

Last month, I discussed how the discovery rule can give a plaintiff extra time to file a claim within the applicable statute of limitations.  In this blog post, I discuss a related topic known as “equitable tolling”. Statutes of limitations bar plaintiffs from bringing claims after too much time has elapsed since the cause of… Read More

Most people have heard of something called a statute of limitations.  Generally speaking, a statute of limitations is a law which specifies a period of time within which a claim may be brought, before it becomes time barred.  There is no one statute of limitations for all possible claims.  Rather, each specific claim is governed… Read More

It is common for real estate to be encumbered by more than one mortgage or deed of trust.  Contexts vary greatly, from construction loans to borrowers just wanting to pull out equity using a home equity line of credit or traditional second mortgage.  In most situations, there is little question about which lender or lienholder… Read More