Last month, Rachel Reynolds, Associate at Preg O’Donnell & Gillett, was appointed by the Defense Research Institute (DRI) Young Lawyers Committee as the State and Local Defense Organization Representative for Washington State.  DRI is the international organization of attorneys defending the interests of business and individuals in civil litigation.

Excerpts of Rachel Tallon Reynolds' article, The Robin Hood Taking and the Court of Standards, have been selected for inclusion in Fundamentals of Modern Property Law, 6th ed. (Foundation Press, forthcoming 2011) authored by Edward H. Rabin, Roberta Rosenthal Kwall, Jeffrey L. Kwall, and Craig Anthony Arnold.

After a 6 day trial in Federal District Court (Tacoma), an 8-person jury returned a defense verdict for partner Lori O'Tool. Lori was defending a high end window manufacturer against UCC-based warranty claims brought by a general contractor concerning 7 vacation homes built on the Washington coast. The general contractor asserted a 6-figure claim associated with repairs and consequential damages from alleged leaking windows. The window manufacturer testified that through its sales and service technicians it had fully addressed all of the general contractor's warranty claims. Additionally, its expert testified that the windows and surrounding building envelope components were not installed correctly and were the source of any leaks into the vacation homes. After deliberating for approximately 1/2 a day, the jury answered "No" to the question of whether the window manufacturer had breached its warranty to the general contractor and did not award any damages to the general contractor.

David Antal of Preg O’Donnell & Gillett obtained a directed verdict for the client, a restaurant and bar in Fife. The case was tried in April in Pierce County. The plaintiff claimed that management had over-served another customer who later assaulted her. Via an earlier filed summary judgment, the liquor liability claim was dismissed and the case proceeded to trial on a negligent supervision theory. The plaintiff had no evidence that the assailant had a history of assaultive conduct that was known to the defendant. Nor could she show that the client's establishment was prone to assaultive behavior. Under cross examination, the plaintiff repeatedly contradicted her direct testimony and ultimately admitted that her then boyfriend initiated the confrontation with the customer who then assaulted her when she attempted to stop the assailant as he was leaving the client's premises. The trial judge dismissed the case and directed a verdict in favor of the defendant at the close of plaintiff’s case.

Shannon McMinimee will be joining representatives from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Center on Reinventing Public Education, Teach for America, and Seattle Public Schools for a panel discussion on Equity and Education on May 10 at 4:00 pm at the University of Washington School of Law. The presentation is sponsored by the Education Law & Policy Society.

Preg O’Donnell & Gillett is pleased to announce that Carlos A. Rasch joined the firm effective May 3, 2010. Carlos practices in Oregon, working out of our Portland office. In addition to his experience in defect law, Carlos has also handled complex mass tort cases involving catastrophic injuries, as well as other personal injury and premise liability matters. Carlos is a graduate of the University of Oregon School of Law.