Blog & Updates
Join Tom Lether at the Washington State Bar Association Ethics in Civil Litigation Seminar
On September 18, 2018 Tom Lether will be presenting at the WSBA’s Ethics in Civil Litigation Seminar in Seattle, Washington. Tom will specifically be addressing ethical issues for assigned defense counsel in “Reservation of Rights” cases in Washington. This is an...
Oregon Again Limits Defense Obligations on Additional Insured Claims
The Oregon Court of Appeals recently issued an opinion which clarifies an insurer’s defense obligations to an additional insured (“AI”) under an AI endorsement for “ongoing operations”. See Security National Ins. Co. v. Sunset Presbyterian Church, 289 Ore. App. 193...
Join Lether & Associates at West Coast Casualty’s 25th Annual Construction Defect Seminar
Lether and Associates will be presenting at West Coast Casualty’s 25th Annual Construction Defect Seminar at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim, California. Lether & Associates will be presenting on: Friday May 18, 2018 from 9:30 AM -10:30 AM --- in the North...
Oregon Supreme Court Unanimously Rules Against Application of Oregon’s Vulnerable Person Statute to First Party Insurance
There have been repeated unsuccessful legislative attempts over the last several years to impose statutory bad faith on first party insurance claims in Oregon. In an unanimous decision published on January 19, 2018, the Oregon Supreme Court declined to take the...
Allstate Makes Bad Case Law In Washington
There is an age-old saying that lawyers - especially appellate lawyers - commonly use. That phrase is “bad facts make bad law”. This statement was proven accurate once again in the decision of Keodalah v. Allstate Ins. Co., et al., Court of Appeals of the State...
No Duty on the Part of Insurance Agents to Recommend Automobile Liability Limits in Washington
The Washington Courts have repeatedly held that insurance agents and brokers do not have any legal duty to recommend specific policy limits to an insured absent what is commonly referred to as a “special relationship.” Washington case law on this point is one of the...
Lether & Associates Welcomes its New Employees!
Lether & Associates would like to extend a heartfelt congratulations and welcome to its new attorneys and staff. Over the past winter, Lether and Associates hired two new attorneys, Ms. Julia Norwood and Mr. Leighton Bowman. Both Julia and Leighton have joined...
Tom Lether on Mediation
Tom Lether was recently interviewed and featured in the True Neutral Newsletter in regard to his perspective on mediation. Tom was specifically asked about what makes for a successful mediation and how he sees the role of mediation in the current litigation climate. A...
Case Law Update – Washington
Several of our recent updates have involved the Washington State Supreme Court’s ruling in Zhaoyun Xia v. ProBuilders Specialty Ins. Co. RRG, 188 Wn.2d 171, 393 P.3d 748 (2017). In Xia, the Supreme Court held that a pollution exclusion did not bar coverage for...