In Fergen v. Sestero, Washington’s Supreme Court recently handed an important victory to physicians defending medical malpractice actions. The ruling involved the exercise of judgment instruction, which reminds juries that if a physician exercises the reasonable care and skill generally…
Read MoreThe phase in of the city of Seattle’s minimum wage ordinance began on April 1, 2015. Be aware that the ordinance states that it applies both to employers who are located in Seattle and to employers who have employees who…
Read MoreIn In Re Estate of Bernard, 182 Wn. App. 692, 332 P.3d 480 (2014), review denied 339 P.3d 634 (2014), the Washington State Court of Appeals Division 1 reversed a trial court order invalidating a trustor's estate plan. In upholding…
Read MoreThe Western District of Washington recently ruled that, absent a contrary term in the insurance policy, an insurer does not have the sole power to set the rates it will pay for defending its insured in a lawsuit. The case, National…
Read MoreThis week, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled in Integrity Staffing Solutions, Inc. v. Busk that employees at a Nevada warehouse do not need to be compensated for the time they spend going through security screenings at the ends of…
Read MoreThe IRS recently published Rev. Proc. 2014-61, which announces the annual inflation adjustments for certain federal tax provisions for 2015. Among many other adjustments, the federal estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer tax exemption was increased from $5.34 million to $5.43…
Read MoreMPBA attorney, Scott Feir, will speak at the 2014 U.S. Shopping Center Law Conference in Orlando, Florida on Saturday October 25th, 2014. Scott and San Francisco attorney Martin Orlick will present alternative resolution strategies for the top ten issues in landlord…
Read MoreHow have federal income tax laws changed recently? While the 2012 Tax Act did not change income tax rates for most taxpayers, those individuals with incomes over $400,000 and married couples filing jointly with incomes over $450,000 are now subject…
Read MoreA common issue in insurance coverage matters is the nature of the relationship between the attorney hired to represent the insured and the insurer who pays for the attorneys’ services. A recent case decided by the Supreme Court of Washington…
Read MoreWashington’s Supreme Court recently ruled that even if an employer had a legitimate reason for terminating an employee, the employee can still prevail in a discrimination lawsuit if discrimination played a substantial factor in motivating the employer. The court also…
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