ARTICLES

Today the Oregon Court of Appeals issued its opinion in Estate of James Ritchie v. Helbig, which was argued and submitted in December 2024.  This wrongful death claim arose out of a motorcycle collision.  The jury allocated fault to three defendants (Ritchie 46%), Helbig (40%), and Sauls (14%).  ...

An insured defendant's ability to independently negotiate a settlement where its insurer declines to settle is well established. This involves the insured defendant entering into a settlement agreement with the plaintiff in exchange for a covenant not to execute the judgment against the defendant...

This dispute involved a slip and fall accident between Betsy Johnson and the State of Washington Liquor and Cannabis Board (“WSLCB”). Johnson fell in the entryway of a WSLCB tore on a wet and rainy day in June 2011. Traditionally, under Washington law, “[t]he plain tiff in a slip and fall case ha...

Single Treatment of Mentally Disturbed Patient Insufficient to Create Duty to Control Conduct.   Division One of the Court of Appeals handed down another opinion on February 8, 2021 which involved a tragic set of facts. Zachary Konicke ended his relationship with his wife in California in...

Estate of Jacob Thompson, et al. v. Portland Adventist Medical Center, 309 Or App 118 (2021)   for the estate of her son, Jacob Thompson, and Portland Adventist Medical Center (“Portland Adventist”). In the early morning of August 6, 2012, four-day-old Jacob Thompson accidentally suffocated u...

Abacus Fine Carpentry, LLC v. Vivian H. Wilson and Russel D. Wilson This opinion out of Division One of the Washington Court of Appeals arose out of a dispute between Abacus Fine Carpentry, LLC (“Abacus”) and Vivian and Russel Wilson. (Not that Russell Wilson.) In April 2016, the Wilsons hired A...

In a recent decision, the Oregon Court of Appeals determined a UIM claimant's comparative fault is central to the issue of liability and therefore a defendant can raise the issues and remain under the protection of the safe harbor.[1] Under ORS 742.061 an insured can recover atto...