Renton, WA
Government Lawyer at Renton, WA
Practice Areas: Government, State, Local And Municipal Law
OUTCOME: The district court entered an order in favor of my client that the 2011 Stormwater Amendment to the Clean Water Act was retroactive and sovereign immunity did not apply.
The United States claimed sovereign immunity from payment of Renton's service charges for storm water fees attributable to federal facilities.
OUTCOME: Dismissal on summary judgment of plaintiff's claim.
Successfully defended the City of Renton in a $1 million claim for a compound leg fracture. Plaintiff suffered her injury while walking on a gangway to a floating dock in a city park. Plaintiff claim ... ed the city had violated the Uniform Building Code in the gangway's design and construction, and had negligently maintained the gangway. I successfully obtained summary judgment for the city on the basis of the Recreational Use Immunity statute that was subsequently reversed in the Court of Appeals, Division I. On remand, I approached the case again on summary judgment, arguing that the city had no notice of any defect and had properly maintained the gangway, and that the gangway had been designed and constructed in accord with the relevant industry standard found in the Department of the Navy Design Manual and that the Uniform Building Code did not apply to a gangway as the slope could not be fixed due to changes in lake water elevation and the Uniform Building Code made no specific reference to its application to gangways.
OUTCOME: The U.S. Supreme Court reversed, holding that the City's ordinance was a valid governmental response to the serious problems created by adult theaters and that it satisfied the dictates of the First Amendment.
City enacted an ordinance to regulate the location of adult entertainment businesses from locating within 1,000 feet of any residential zone, single or multiple-family dwelling, church, park, or school ... . The U.S. District Court in Seattle entered summary judgment upholding the zoning restriction for the City. The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals reversed, holding that the ordinance constituted a substantial restriction on First Amendment interests and remanded the case for reconsideration. The U.S. Supreme Court granted the City's petition for writ of certiorari, granting further review.
OUTCOME: Washington State Supreme Court affirmed the judgment.
Action for wrongful death of husband and father of two children. Plaintiff claimed that driver of other car was negligent, but that State of Washington was also negligent for failure to adequately mai ... ntain the roadway and for failing to errect warning signs informing motorists of the hazardous, slippery roadway. This action (at the time) was the largest wrongful death jury verdict alleging negligent roadway maintenance by the State of Washington. The State was required to pay the entire jury verdict of $1.682 million (which due to judgment interest, subsequently grew to $2.5 million) following the Supreme Court affirming the jury's verdict.
OUTCOME: The parties subsequently settled against all defendants and their insurers bringing the total recovery to $3.5 million for each estate.
Two separate actions joined for wrongful death: one action for the death of a 12 year old boy and the other of a father and husband, both by drowning, in an ill-fated river rafting trip when they sepa ... rately became entangled in a "suicide line" (a rigging line running down the center of the raft). I represented the surviving wife and children of the 38 year old father and drowning victim. This case involved multiple defendants and their insurers and a successful dismissal of an action brought by the rafting company in U.S. District Court in an attempt to limit its liability to the value of the raft after the accident (essentially nothing).
OUTCOME: My client received a structured settlement for over $2 million.
Husband and father suffered a traumatic brain injury when he fell 12 feet onto concrete. The fall occurred due to the absence of a guard rail and inadequate hallway lighting in a new multi-residential ... apartment building. The property owner was leasing apartments although no final building inspection had occurred, nor had a certificate of occupancy been issued by the city building department.
Ad
Transform legal challenges into solutions.
Connect now to review your situation.
