Tacoma, WA
Personal injury Lawyer at Tacoma, WA
Practice Areas: Personal Injury, Class Action ... +2 more
OUTCOME: Settlement for $1.1 million
Mary Bryan was hit by a school bus in a cross walk, suffering a mild traumatic brain injury and several broken ribs. The District defended in part by claiming Bryan was also negligent, but this theory ... was dismissed on motion practice. Case settled for $1.1 million.
OUTCOME: Settlement for $70,000
My client was a 12 month old who was bit by a dog while at a family birthday party. The bite left a small scar but no other permanent damage.
OUTCOME: Reversed and remanded
This appeal involved whether a superior court in one county had jurisdiction to hear a lawsuit filed to recover damages caused by the extensive landslides that the 2007 flooding in the Chehalis basin. ... The defendants in the case, the Department of Natural Resources and Weyerhaeuser, argued that only the Clark County Superior Court had jurisdiction because the land where the landslides occurred was located in Clark County. The Washington State Supreme Court disagreed with the Defendants and held that all superior courts have equal jurisdiction under the Washington State Constitution to hear the lawsuit.
OUTCOME: Reversed and remanded in part, affirmed in part
Successfully overturned the trial court's dismissal of economic damages in a wrongful death action where the decedent was disabled and had no statutory beneficiary under the wrongful death statutes.
OUTCOME: Jury Verdict for $1.425 million
Obtained a $1.425 million verdict against the Olympia School District for its negligence in failing to supervise serial pedophile Gary Shafer. The District allowed Shafer to "ride along" on hundreds b ... uses without any oversight. Shafer would target young or disabled children and groom them for sexual abuse. In Gutierrez, the victim was touched inappropriately on one occasion.
OUTCOME: Certiorari to the United States Supreme Court denied.
Our client sued a school district asserting, among other things, civil right violations for locking her minor autistic son alone in a windowless "safe room" that was the size of a closet. The U.S. Dis ... trict Court dismissed for failure to exhaust administrative remedies under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The Ninth Circuit, sitting en banc, held that the constitutional claims we asserted are not subject to the exhaustion requirement. The defendants' petition to the U.S. Supreme Court for review was listed on SCOTUSblog as a "petition to watch." A copy of our brief in opposition can be found here: http://sblog.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Payne-Brief-in-Opposition.pdf
OUTCOME: Settlement for $750,000
A companion case to Gutierrez v. Olympia Sch. Dist., we obtained a favorable settlement on behalf of our clients for $750,000. The lawsuit arose out of a molestation that occurred on a school bus.
OUTCOME: Settlement for $1,200,000
A companion case to Gutierrez v. Olympia Sch. Dist., we obtained a favorable settlement on behalf of our clients for $1,200,000. The lawsuit arose out of a molestation that occurred on a school bus.
OUTCOME: Settlement for $7,500,000
Class action against Hunter Donaldson and Multicare Health System. Defendants illegally notarized thousands of medical services liens and improperly collected money on those defective instruments, in ... violation of the Consumer Protection Act. The class was approximately 4,000-5,000, and the case was settled against MultiCare for $7.5 million.