W.G. Clark Construction Co. v. Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters, et al.
Mar 20, 2014OUTCOME: On March 20, 2014, the Washington Supreme Court, in a 9-0, en banc opinion, abrogated two of its prior decisions, and held claims under RCW 39.08 and 60.28 not preempted by ERISA.
The case involved an attempt by the Carpenters Trusts of Western Washington to enforce liens under RCW 39.08 and 60.28 against W.G. Clark and its surety on a taxpayer funded project at the University o ... f Washington. At issue were healthcare, pension and other benefits owed to laborers of a subcontractor on that project. W.G. Clark moved for declaratory relief, arguing such claims in Washington state courts were preempted by ERISA, based on two Washington Supreme Court decisions in 1994 and 2000, respectively. On behalf of the Carpenters Trusts, we argued that since the 2000 decision, federal and state courts around the country had reached a consensus that such state law claims do not tread on ERISA and are thus not preempted, and asked the Washington Supreme Court to reverse itself. The Washington Supreme Court agreed to hear the case on direct review, and nine weeks after oral argument, issued a unanimous opinion siding with the Carpenters Trusts.
