Miscellaneous

• Grates: The Bicyclist's Nemesis

  Ryan Nute | January 17, 2008 4:58 PM | 0 CommentsSeattle, WA

  Well, all right; bicyclists have multiple nemeses. But a recent front page article in the Seattle PI has brought attention to a problem many cyclists have been battling for years: unsafe street drains. Drains covered with grates that have slots parallel to the roadway are dangerous to cyclists as bicycle wheels can get caught - and stuck - in the slots. In 2004 one biker was biking through...

• Save Your Email Messages--Deleted Emails Must be Produced

  Michael Myers | January 15, 2008 5:15 PM | 0 CommentsSeattle, WA

  In a recent federal court case (Benton v. Dlorah, Inc., 2007 U.S. Dist. D. Kan, Oct. 30, 2007), the plaintiff testified at her deposition that she had deleted emails related to the case. The court ruled that deleting emails did not necessarily remove them from the plaintiff's possession. It reasoned that deleted emails should be retrievable from her computer system and thus remain within in...

• New Law Banning Texting While Driving to Take Effect

  Ryan Nute | December 29, 2007 10:37 AM | 0 CommentsSeattle, WA

  Texting while driving officially becomes illegal on January 1, 2008. The law is a secondary violation, meaning that a police officer must first spot another violation (such as a person not wearing a seatbelt or speeding) before someone who is texting can be pulled over. This law and the law against cell phone use while driving (which will be enforced starting July 1, 2008) are attempts to...

• Model Ship Builders Reportedly Fleeced in Internet Commerce Scam

  Ryan Nute | December 26, 2007 9:18 AM | 0 CommentsSeattle, WA

  Dennis Ray Lunde, 60, of Poulsbo, Washington, has been charged with first-degree theft in an alleged Internet commerce scam.  The scam involved Lunde posing online as a Navy captain and selling model ship kits. Buyers of these kits would send money to Lunde but never received the kits.  Several buyers received an e-mail from Lunde's "wife," claiming that Lunde had suffered a heart attack, was...

• Open and Shut Case...Unlikely in Light of the Sudden Medical Emergency Defense

  Michael Myers | December 21, 2007 10:50 AM | 0 CommentsSeattle, WA

  I've written about it before. The defense bar never ceases to surprise. Affirmative defenses--legal tools to avoid taking responsibility--seem to be multiplying and mutating. The sudden medical emergency defense is an example. And it is frequently applied to situations like the really tragic one we blogged about here on December 17th. To recap, a jogger was hit and killed by a motorist last...

• Key Advice for Personal Injury Victims

  Michael Myers | December 21, 2007 8:49 AM | 0 CommentsSeattle, WA

  Lists are popular at the end of the year. Sometimes lists celebrate accomplishments. Other times they record dubious achievements. This one itemizes key advice for personal injury victims: 1. Politely refuse to give recorded statements to adjusters before retaining counsel.2. Take photographs of visible injuries before they heal.3. Take photographs of property damage before...

• Vacation Internationale--Class Action

  Michael Myers | December 16, 2007 2:16 PM | 0 CommentsSeattle, WA

  We recently met with an owner of points in Vacation Internationale. When upgrading his ownership interest from a term of years to perpetual, representatives of Vacation Internationale advised that it owned the various vacation properties in fee simple. Based on information obtained from a former VI employee, it appears that this was a material misrepresentation and VI does not own many of its...

• Principles

  Michael Myers | December 13, 2007 12:01 PM | 0 CommentsSeattle, WA

  I like to write about accidents. They frequently provide good examples of legal principles or issues that we encounter frequently in personal injury cases. But I also write about them with the intent of reaching accident victims or the people who care about them.Recently I received the following link:...

• Injury Aboard Cruise Lines--Falling Overboard Less Likely than Slip and Fall

  Michael Myers | November 28, 2007 9:11 PM | 0 CommentsSeattle, WA

  A recent press release offered the following warning about Holland America and the other major cruise lines:This Christmas break, unsuspecting college students and their parents may discover dangers on some cruise lines including serious injury and death. Newspapers, television and the Internet are reporting a number of injuries and deaths on cruise ships including disappearances and overboard...

• Alaska Crab Fishermen Back in the News

  Michael Myers | November 19, 2007 9:23 AM | 0 CommentsSeattle, WA

  This summer we tried a case against the Wizard (one of the vessels shown on Disney's "Deadliest Catch" television series). Captain Keith Colburn was one of the witnesses in the case.The case arose from a career ending shoulder injury suffered by a crew member when he slipped and fell down the engine room stairs. We prevailed in court and established that the Wizard was negligent and...