Recent News

For more than a month now, Washington State’s construction industry has felt the pain of restrictions and prohibitions which shut down vast swaths of industry activity following Governor Jay Inslee’s Proclamation 20-25, known as the “Stay Home- Stay Healthy” order.  On April 24, 2020, the Governor made a monumental announcement that, following weeks of negotiations,… Read More

Like most industries in Washington State, the construction industry has suffered at the hands of the Covid-19 pandemic.  Virtually everyone in the chain from material suppliers, general contractors, subcontractors, individual construction workers, and project owners feel the toll inflicted by risks, obstacles, and uncertainties as they try to preserve and advance construction projects.  On March… Read More

Frequently a plaintiff’s injuries are attributable to the combined effects of the actions of multiple defendants.  In this context, the defendants may be jointly and severally liable to the plaintiff, which means that if one defendant is insolvent, the plaintiff may collect the full amount of the damages from the remaining defendant(s). Under RCW 4.22.040,… Read More

On March 23, 2020, Washington Governor Jay Inslee issued Proclamation No. 20-25 including a “Stay Home – Stay Healthy” Order designed to combat the person-to-person spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Washington State.  Until the order expires or is amended, all people in Washington are ordered to “cease leaving their home or place of residence” except… Read More

When you hear the word “contribution,” you probably think about someone helping others monetarily to accomplish some shared goal.  In the context of litigation, contribution refers to the right of co-defendants to force each other to share in paying damages owed or paid to a plaintiff. In the simplest example, plaintiff (“A”) is harmed by… Read More

Student loans are treated differently than other unsecured debts in bankruptcy.  A debtor seeking to discharge liability for a student loan must demonstrate “undue hardship.”  While this standard is more stringent than for ordinary unsecured debts, the a very high percentage of debtors with lingering student loan debt assume that student loans are by definition… Read More

For decades, Washington State left the its overtime rules essentially unchanged. But recent changes going into effect in July 2020 will dramatically increase the threshold for exemptions to overtime eligibility. When combined with the recent increase in Washington State’s minimum wage of $13.50/hour effective January 1, 2020, these changes will are expected to affect approximately… Read More

A homestead exemption protects homeowners and the equity in their homes from judgment creditors seeking to collect on unsecured debts.  Pursuant to RCW 6.13.010, a “homestead” is real or personal property that the owner uses as a residence.  Washington allows for these homesteads to be protected for up to $125,000 of a home’s value.  In… Read More

Disgruntled would-be heirs frequently attack wills on the grounds of undue influence, particularly when wills contain provisions unfavorable to them.  The dispossessed heir might assume that the will must have been the product of undue influence because the unfavorable provision could not have been what the testator intended.  For example: “Surely, Dad would not have… Read More