In a recent Washington Court of Appeals Division III case, Clarke v. Nichols (35477-6, January 3, 2019)(Unpublished), the Court took the opportunity to review and clarify application of principles of Res Ipsa Loquitur (Latin translated literally as “the…

The King County Bar Association's January 2019 edition of the Bar Bulletin features an ERISA disputes best practices guide by Pivotal Law Group attorney McKean J. Evans. McKean describes circumstances in which attorneys may encounter ERISA benefit…

The Washington Court of Appeals recently decided Poole v. State Farm Fire and Casualty Company, a case about fine print in a homeowner’s policy. After the Pooles' home burned down, State Farm denied coverage under a technical reading of the words…

A federal judge in Texas has ruled the Affordable Care Act (a/k/a "Obamacare") can no longer be enforced. The judge determined the Act cannot function without its individual mandate requiring virtually all Americans to carry minimum health…

Recently, the Washington State Supreme Court heard a case regarding a former Microsoft Employee “who accused the company of laying her off in retaliation for taking prior legal action in a gender-discrimination complaint”. In 2004, Cornwell the former…

In a timely followup to last week’s discussion of how to fight health insurance denials, this week an Oklahoma jury ordered health insurer Aetna to pay $25.5 million for denying coverage for insured’s Orrana Cunningham’s cancer treatment bills. Aetna had…

Many Americans increasingly find themselves dealing with huge medical bills after medical procedures their health insurers should have covered. All too often, the insurance company says "it's not our problem, talk to the hospital;" the hospital…

On September 13, 2018, Washington's Insurance Commissioner entered into a Consent Order with United Healthcare regarding violations of Washington insurance law governing women's health claims. United Healthcare is a health care service contractor that…

A recent appeals court ruling emphasizes that ERISA plan administrators cannot ignore the opinions of a claimant’s treating physicians absent tangible evidence those opinions are wrong. In Hennen v. Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, the appellate…

Attorney McKean J. Evans published a guide to handling insurance claims under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act ("ERISA") in the October edition of the Washington State Association for Justice Trial News.

Are domestic workers like nannies, gardeners and housekeepers entitled to basic worker protections like breaks and minimum wages? The answer used to be no, but under Seattle’s new Domestic Worker Bill of Rights, domestic workers have new and important…

Division II of the Washington Court of Appeals recently addressed a situation where a landowner asserted an inverse condemnation claim against Sound Transit and the City of Tacoma for flood damage which plaintiff claimed was caused by the negligence of…

People make an estate plan because they want certainty about what will happen in the future. This often includes certainty about who will make medical decisions for you if you’re ever unable to do so. For many people, one important future medical…

While most states don’t require you to have an operating agreement (Washington is the one of the states that does not require it), one of the biggest mistakes people make after setting up a Limited Liability Company is not drafting an operating…

Title insurance is a critical part of most real estate deals. In Washington and throughout the U.S., a piece of real estate has likely changed hands numerous times, including typical purchase money mortgage sales, foreclosures, bequests via a will or…

Computer crime and data breaches have become a reality for most businesses. Words like spearphshing or ransomware that were obscure five years ago are now in the headlines on a regular basis. The FBI calculated over $1.4 billion in reported losses from…

When a driver crashes into another vehicle and is sued for damages, the driver's insurer typically has an obligation to defend the lawsuit and act in good faith to protect its insured's interests. When the insurer fails to do so, the driver likely has…

In Washington, civil cases involving claims less than $50,000, which are filed in Superior Court, are referred into the court-sponsored “mandatory” arbitration program. Under this process, an attorney with at least five years of experience is appointed…

Washington's insurance commissioner recently announced a $100,000 fine in response to a consumer complaint that Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, an HMO, ignored consumers' rights in the health claims appeal process. The commissioner found that Kaiser…

In a December 2017 decision, the Washington State Court of Appeals, Division III, addressed a slip and fall personal injury claim where claimant fell in the shampoo aisle of a Walmart in Sunnyside. In McPherson v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., No. 34696-0-III…