Current News & Events

Old Republic Title, Ltd. Defeats Class Action with Summary Judgment Win

Scott Smith and Gavin Skok won summary judgment on behalf of our client, Old Republic Title, Ltd., dismissing all claims in a consumer class action lawsuit. Plaintiff was represented by a leading class action law firm in this region. On behalf of herself and a proposed class of other escrow customers, Plaintiff claimed that (1) Old Republic improperly earned and kept interest or other financial benefits on money that clients had deposited into escrow, (2) that Old Republic improperly charged courier and wire transfer fees.

The trial court found that Old Republic did nothing wrong and dismissed all claims on summary judgment, prior to considering a motion to certify the class. Plaintiff agreed not to file an appeal and paid a portion of Old Republic's attorney fees.

RW Team Recovers $20.75 Million for Microsoft

In May of 2007, Riddell Williams filed a lawsuit on Microsoft's behalf against Immersion Corporation in the U.S. District Court for Western Washington for breach of a Sublicense Agreement that arose out of the settlement of a prior patent case in California involving XBOX and disputed patents. After a long hard battle, Microsoft settled the Immersion case, with Immersion agreeing to pay Microsoft $20.75 million, which was a recovery of a large majority of Microsoft’s claims.

The team at Riddell Williams included attorneys, Paul Kundtz, Wendy Lyon, Blake Marks-Dias, David Brenner, Jayson Sowers, with assistance from paralegals Kathy Oswick and Kelly Hamilton.

20 RW Attorneys Listed as Washington Super Lawyers

We would like to congratulate the Riddell Williams attorneys who were selected as Washington Super Lawyers, as announced in the Summer 2008 edition of Washington Law & Politics magazine. Fewer than five percent of the more than 27,000 lawyers who practice in Washington state are chosen for this award.

The following Riddell Williams attorneys were selected:

Congratulations!

back to top

Victory for Our Clients, PetroCard Systems, Inc. and Kevin Vallala

We are pleased to announce that after 18 months of hard-fought litigation, extensive discovery battles, and dispositive motions practice, all claims brought against our clients, PetroCard Systems Inc. and Kevin Vallala in AG Stewart Inc. v. PetroCard Systems, Inc. and Kevin Vallala have been dismissed. AG Stewart filed suit against PetroCard and Mr. Vallala in early 2007 making broad allegations of business interference, improper use of AG Stewart's confidential information, and violation of Washington's Uniform Trade Secrets Act, and seeking substantial damages. Riddell Williams' litigation team of Gavin Skok and Courtney Seim successfully obtained summary judgment dismissal in favor of PetroCard and Vallala on the majority of plaintiff's claims earlier this year and obtained complete dismissal of plaintiff's remaining claims in May 2008, resulting in no findings of liability or damages award against our clients.

Congratulations to our clients PetroCard and Kevin Vallala!

Kyle Branum Joins Riddell Williams P.S.

Kyle's extensive experience in real estate transactions, on real estate purchase and sale transactions, commercial leasing, financing, construction and design, and condominium and mixed use development projects will add greater depth to the real estate practice at Riddell Williams.

Kyle also advises clients in a broad range of business transactions, including business formations, mergers and acquisitions, private equity and debt financings, and professional practice acquisition. Prior to joining Riddell Williams, Kyle was a partner at Perkins Coie.

Kyle received his B.A. from Columbia University, cum laude, in 1995 and his J.D. from Seattle University School of Law, cum laude, in 1998.

Mike Carrico FIVE STAR: Best in Client Satisfaction Wealth Manager (2008)

The list, published in the April 2008 edition of Seattle magazine, showcases an elite group representing less than 3 percent of the wealth managers in the Seattle area. The selection process included the sending out of nearly 50,000 surveys to high-net-worth residents and leaders of financial service industry companies in the Seattle area. Recipients were asked to select only wealth managers whom they knew through personal experience, and to evaluate them based upon nine criteria: customer service, integrity, knowledge/expertise, communication, value for fee charged, meeting of financial objectives, post-sale-service, quality of recommendations and overall satisfaction.

Congratulations Mike!

back to top

Riddell Williams Continues its Leadership in the Arts

Continuing its 30 year support for the ArtsFund, Riddell Williams will be a sponsor at the ArtsFund’s annual luncheon on May 22, 2008 at The Westin Hotel.

Riddell Williams principal, David Buck, will host the lunch as ArtsFund's Chairman of the Board for 2007-2008. Dave previously served as Chair of the ArtsFund Workplace Giving Program, as a member of the Executive Committee, and as Vice-Chair.

ArtsFund is Puget Sound's preeminent funding organization for the arts. Nearly 500 companies and thousands of individuals as well as foundations in the Puget Sound area show their support of local arts programs by donating time and money to ArtsFund. In 2007, ArtsFund distributed $2,900,000 to more than 65 arts organizations in King and Pierce Counties. Community business leaders serve in a variety of volunteer positions—as trustees governing ArtsFund, on the Pierce County Cabinet or as Associates Program Members. Corporate grant makers and private philanthropists serve on ArtsFund's highly regarded allocations committees, ensuring that all grants are made fairly and responsibly. Riddell Williams has supported ArtsFund for over 30 years.

Another Victory for Our Client, Sprint

After nearly two years of hard-fought litigation, extensive discovery, and multiple dispositive motions, we are pleased to announce that on February 20, Judge Coughenour dismissed all claims brought against our clients, Sprint Spectrum L.P. d/b/a Sprint PCS and Sprint Nextel Corporation, in the certified class action Christopher Hesse, et al., v. Sprint Spectrum L.P.

The Hesse case was brought on behalf of a class of over 500,000 Sprint PCS customers in Washington and challenged Sprint PCS's billing and collection from its customers of a B&O tax surcharge. Sprint PCS and Sprint Nextel Corporation were represented by Riddell lawyers David Brenner, Gavin Skok and Rebecca Andrews. The certified class claimed that Sprint PCS had breached their contracts and violated the Washington Consumer Protection Act, and sought well over $15 million in damages, including treble damages under the Consumer Protection Act. The court granted summary judgment on all claims, agreeing with defendants that plaintiffs had no basis for jurisdiction over Sprint Nextel Corporation and that claims against Sprint PCS were barred under a prior nationwide settlement

Congratulations to our client, Sprint PCS, and to our colleagues at K&L Gates-Boston with whom we partnered in defending this matter.

Karl Quackenbush and Bryce Holland Join Riddell Williams P.S.

Two prominent Seattle attorneys, Karl Quackenbush and Bryce Holland, have joined Riddell Williams as principals, adding new strength to the firm’s intellectual property litigation and corporate transactions and finance practices.

Karl J. Quackenbush has represented public and private companies in federal and state court for almost 30 years, most recently as a partner at K&L Gates. His practice emphasizes intellectual property and class action litigation. Karl has represented clients in several significant intellectual property cases, including Apple Computer v. Microsoft, Valve Software v. Vivendi Universal, T-MobileUSA v. Swenson and Microsoft v. Google.

Quackenbush will join the firm’s well established Intellectual Property Litigation Group. Riddell Williams has a strong track record representing technology companies in a wide variety of litigation matters.

Bryce L. Holland, Jr., joins the firm from Dorsey & Whitney LLP, where he previously served as its Seattle office managing partner. Bryce has nearly 30 years of experience representing businesses in corporate and securities matters. His work includes private securities offerings, venture capital transactions, strategic alliances, and mergers and acquisitions. He also has significant experience in the formation and representation of private equity and venture capital firms.

Holland joins the firm’s Corporate Transactions and Finance Group. In 2007, the group closed transactions in excess of $800 million on behalf of public and private entities.

back to top

David Brenner...National Speaker on Predicted Peril

In a Puget Sound Business Journal article dated January 4, 2008, Emory Thomas, Jr. looks at the coming year's trends and predictions.

"More intriguing and practical, in many ways, are the longer-term predictions that reach well beyond 2008. Consider, for instance, the work of David M. Brenner, an attorney with Seattle's Riddell Williams, where he heads the law firm's insurance coverage and risk management practice....

Brenner's current list of potential risks spans topics such as the potential spread of bird flu, director and officer exposure to the subprime mess, defective products from China, and the corporate-liability implications of global warming. But his most intriguing notion is that the 'next asbestos' just might be...nanotechnology."

"Next; Get ready to be surprised," Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle) - by Emory Thomas Jr.

2-Hour Deliberation Results in Complete Defense Verdict for McGraw-Hill and BusinessWeek

A jury took less than two hours to find in favor of Riddell Williams' clients The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. and Michelle Conlin in a recent federal court trial victory for Riddell Williams litigators Jack Lowery and Gavin Skok. The lawsuit arose from a May 10, 2004 article in BusinessWeek magazine (owned by McGraw-Hill) written by Ms. Conlin regarding workplace behaviors. The article quoted an executive at a Fortune 50 company and relayed various anecdotes about his experiences in the workplace. After it was published, the executive began claiming for the first time that he was supposed to be an "anonymous source" who was not to be identified in the article. He filed suit against BusinessWeek and Ms. Conlin in December 2005 after experiencing several unfortunate professional and personal setbacks which he alleged resulted from publication of his name and information in the article. The plaintiff sought up to $10 million in economic and non-economic damages based on various contract and tort claims.

After defendants successfully obtained dismissal of all of plaintiff's economic damages claims prior to trial through dispositive motions, the parties went to trial on December 3, 2007 on the plaintiff's remaining claims of promissory estoppel, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and invasion of privacy. Riddell's defense team mounted a vigorous defense at trial, presenting factual testimony and expert analysis from journalism and psychologist experts, and making efficient and understandable use of extensive documentary evidence. The case went to the jury on December 11, 2007. After deliberating for less than two hours, the jury returned a verdict in defendants' favor on all counts.

Congratulations to The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., to BusinessWeek, to Ms. Conlin, and to Riddell Williams' litigation team of Jack Lowery and Gavin Skok, with assistance from paralegal, Ray Cooper.

back to top

Sprint Sails into a “Safe Harbor” Victory

In a case of broad importance to the mobile telecommunications industry, Riddell Williams attorneys Gavin Skok and Rebecca Andrews successfully obtained dismissal of a statewide class action brought against Sprint Spectrum L.P. d/b/a Sprint PCS and one of its subsidiaries.

Plaintiffs alleged that Sprint was improperly collecting city utility taxes from its customers living outside city limits, claimed that Sprint breached its consumer contracts and violated the Washington Consumer Protection Act, and sought millions of dollars in damages.

Sprint removed the case to federal court in the Western District of Washington, and then moved to dismiss based on a "safe harbor" provision adopted by Washington in implementing the federal Mobile Telecommunications Sourcing Act. Plaintiff's challenge was the first known test of the constitutionality of the safe harbor provision adopted in Washington and several other states. After extensive briefing and argument, the federal district court agreed with Sprint, affirmed the constitutionality of the safe harbor provision, and applied the provision to dismiss the plaintiffs' case in its entirety. Riddell Williams congratulates our client, Sprint Spectrum, on this victory.

When Disaster Strikes

Wind and flood losses in early December has made property and business interruption insurance an important asset for many businesses and residents in the Northwest. An article entitled "When Disaster Strikes: Considerations for Effective Claims Development," highlights important considerations and useful checklists for submitting a claim. David M. Brenner, who heads Riddell's insurance coverage practice, prepared this article for a Washington State Bar program last August, drawing on his work on 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina claims over the past six years.

Congratulations to Our Client, Premera Blue Cross

Named “Best Healthcare Employer” by the Seattle Times/Post-Intelligencer NW Jobs “People’s Picks” competition. For the second year in a row, Premera has swept the major categories: Best Large Employer in Snohomish County, Best Healthcare Employer in Seattle, Best Non-Profit Employer in Seattle, Best Benefits, Most Family-Friendly and Most Eco-Friendly.

We salute Premera and are proud to be among its legal service providers.

Nippon Paper Prevails In Contract Dispute with Former Port Angeles Mayor

Larry Shapero and Scott Smith successfully defended Nippon Paper Industries USA Co., Ltd. in a breach-of-contract lawsuit filed by a Port Angeles financial advisor. The plaintiff, a former mayor of Port Angeles, alleged that Nippon Paper orally agreed in 2002 to retain his services. The lawsuit took years to reach trial in part, because the plaintiff waited over two years before claiming there had been an agreement. The case went to trial in October. As soon as the plaintiff finished presenting evidence and rested his case, the trial judge granted Nippon Paper's motion to dismiss the lawsuit on multiple grounds, including: no meeting of the minds on the material contract terms (compensation, nature of professional services, or term of engagement) and there was nothing in writing. The court also rejected plaintiff's backup claim -- that on equitable grounds he should be paid the value of his services -- because he failed to prove that he provided any information or services of any value to Nippon Paper.

Finally, in response to a post-trial motion by Riddell Williams' attorneys, the court ruled that the entire lawsuit was frivolous and "advanced without reasonable cause" and, therefore, that Nippon Paper is entitled to recover its reasonable attorney fees and costs from the plaintiff.

Congratulations to Nippon Paper, to Riddell Williams' trial attorneys Scott Smith and Larry Shapero, and to the other Riddell Williams attorneys and staff who assisted with this lawsuit, including Steve DeForest, Becky Andrews, Sky Sherwood, Kathy Oswick and Kay Daniels.

back to top

The 97% Solution Becomes the 100% Victory

Our Product Liability practice group recently obtained the dismissal of more than $1 million in claims asserted against our client Branson Ultrasonics Corporation and its AmTech division.

This lawsuit arose out of the sale of six AmTech ultrasonic welders to Unicep Packaging, Inc. Unicep brought suit under the Uniform Commercial Code, seeking to revoke the purchase of the welders and recover claims for incidental and consequential damages--originally exceeding $2 million.

Riddell Williams' Am Tech team removed the case to federal court, conducted targeted discovery, and moved for summary judgment, arguing that Unicep could not revoke its purchase of the welders and AmTech’s terms and conditions barred recovery of incidental or consequential damages. The court granted AmTech's motion as to the sale of five of the six welders and also excluded recovery for incidental and consequential damages. The court left alive one claim, but the result was that approximately 97 percent of the value of Unicep’s case had been dismissed. With its back against the wall, Unicep agreed to dismiss the case in its entirety.

The motion for summary judgment was the culmination of significant work by the AmTech team, which included Pat McVey, Dan Gunter, Charlie Fitzpatrick and Raymond Cooper.

back to top

David Buck Elected Chair of ArtsFund

David Buck, head of the Riddell Williams Nonpofit practice group, was elected on October 15, 2007 to be the 2007 - 2008 Chair of Artsfund. David has been a member of the ArtsFund Board for 10 years and has previously served as Chair of its Workplace Giving Program, as a member of its executive committee and as Vice-Chair.

ArtsFund is Puget Sound's preeminent funding organization for the arts. Nearly 500 companies and thousands of individuals as well as foundations in the Puget Sound area show their support of local arts programs by donating time and money to ArtsFund. In 2007, ArtsFund distributed $2,900,000 to more than 65 arts organizations in King and Pierce Counties. Community business leaders serve in a variety of volunteer positions—as trustees governing ArtsFund, on the Pierce County Cabinet or as Associates Program Members. Corporate grant makers and private philanthropists serve on ArtsFund's highly regarded allocations committees, ensuring that all grants are made fairly and responsibly. Riddell Williams has supported ArtsFund for over 30 years.

Emeritus Corporation and Summerville Complete Transaction With Assistance From Riddell Williams

The Riddell Williams Corporate, Real Estate, Employment and Health Care groups assisted Emeritus Corporation with the completion of its merger with Summerville Senior Living, Inc. The value of the transaction on the date of closing was $230,775,000. With the completion of the merger, Emeritus is one of the largest national assisted living companies, operating 287 communities in 36 states comprising 24,712 units.

The team at Riddell Williams consisted of Pamela Grinter, David Buck, Barbara Shickich, Jim Minorchio, Erin Letey, Josh Piper, Scott Yasui, Matt Pile, Frank Woodruff, Larry Shapero, Rachel Goldberg, Steve DeForest, Jackie Towle and Jeanette Smith.

We Salute Our Client, Brad Smith, GC and Sr. VP of Microsoft

For his leadership in and commitment to social justice, Brad Smith will be presented with the Scales of Justice Award at the Equal Justice Works’ annual awards dinner.

Among his efforts, Brad Smith spearheaded Microsoft’s participation in the Volunteer Advocates for Immigrant Justice Project in Seattle. Riddell Williams is proud to participate with Brad Smith and Microsoft in the Volunteer Advocates for Immigrant Justice Project, and to be one of Microsoft’s Preferred Provider law firms.

back to top

We Congratulate Our Colleague, Ken Lederman

Ken has been selected one of Puget Sound Business Journal’s “40 Under 40,” based on his leadership contributions to our firm and to our community.

Ken is a principal in Riddell Williams’ Environmental and Natural Resources group, and a key player in the firm’s efforts to serve the community through pro bono representation, nonprofit service and civic leadership.

Congratulations to Allstate Insurance Company

Riddell Williams congratulates our client, Allstate, runner-up for Corporate Counsel Best Legal Department, as announced by The American Lawyer. We are proud to be one of Allstate's Premier Law Firms.

Riddell Williams Represents Premier Industries in Sale of Its Business

Riddell Williams represented Premier Industries, Inc. in the sale of its Insulfoam and Premier Building Systems divisions to Carlisle SynTec Incorporated, a subsidiary of Carlisle Companies Incorporated.

Twenty years ago, Riddell Williams incorporated Premier Industries. Over the next two decades, Riddell Williams assisted Premier with its operations and twenty acquisitions as Premier grew from a Northwest company to one with nationwide presence and plants in a dozen states. In December 2005, Riddell Williams assisted Premier in its sale of its Plastics Division to Captive Plastics.

Premier Industries was assisted in the sale by a great team of attorneys and paralegals from the Riddell Williams Corporate, Real Estate and Environmental Practice Groups. Douglass A. Raff and Erin Joyce Letey led the transaction, with valuable assistance from many Riddell Williams’ attorneys, including Harry Grant, David Weber, Courtney Seim, Joshua Piper, Jeanette Smith and Jackie Towle.

“You have been a great team!”

Jim Johnson, VP/CFO, Premier Industries

back to top

Spokane Catholic Diocese Plan of Reorganization

After 2 years of difficult litigation and 6 months of intense negotiations during an on-going mediation, the Plan of Reorganization for the Spokane Catholic Diocese was confirmed on April 24, 2007.

Joe Shickich and George Frasier represented the Tort Claimants’ Committee, which was appointed by the Bankruptcy Court to represent the interests of victims of sexual abuse who had not yet sued the Diocese. The Tort Claimants’ Committee was a co-proponent of the Plan of Reorganization and Joe Shickich and George Frasier were instrumental in its concept and drafting.

The Plan was unanimously approved by the voting creditors and creates a trust that will distribute approximately $40,000.000.00 to victims of sexual abuse.

back to top

Riddell Williams Offers Solutions for Electronic Records Management

Riddell Williams' litigators have been routinely working with discovery of electronic records since personal computers became a corporate fixture. However, amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure that went into effect last December have made federal and state judges and lawyers litigating before them more conscious of the requirements for effective electronic records discovery. As a result, it is more important than ever to have reliable litigation hold processes that prevent the destruction of responsive email and other e-records, and reasonable processes for retaining and destroying documents in the general course of company operations.

Working with the client's in-house counsel, information technology and records managers, auditors, and risk managers, Riddell Williams' E-Docs Team offers a menu of services, from simple improvements to a comprehensive analysis, to help ensure that the firm's clients have a solid story to tell when electronic records management systems are battle-tested in litigation. Our team understands that this is a management problem requiring processes that are easy to implement, flexible and cost effective. Click here to download an electronic version or email bmarksdias@riddellwilliams.com to receive a hard copy of our menu of services.

back to top

Successful Dismissal for Industrial Properties, Inc.

Mike Pierson and Scott Smith successfully obtained a voluntary dismissal of a minority shareholder lawsuit brought against our client, Industrial Properties, Inc. The trial court has also ruled that because the lawsuit was frivolous and filed in bad faith, the plaintiffs and their attorney shall pay Industrial Properties' attorney fees.

The plaintiffs hold about 40% of the stock in the company and wanted the company to buy back their shares of stock at a higher price than the company was willing to pay. The plaintiffs filed a lawsuit asserting that they had been unfairly oppressed by the company and its majority shareholders and asked the court to break up the company.

On behalf of the company, the Riddell Williams team initiated a vigorous defense strategy. Shortly after the lawsuit was filed, our team filed motions resulting in the dismissal of two of the plaintiffs’ claims. We then defeated a motion for a preliminary injunction that would have significantly interfered with company activities. After successful depositions of two of the key plaintiffs, Industrial Properties filed two additional motions. Barely two months after filing the lawsuit, plaintiffs then voluntarily dismissed the case in its entirety. The trial court then granted our motion that the lawsuit was frivolous, factually and legally baseless, and filed in bad faith and sanctioned the plaintiffs and their attorney requiring them to pay all of Industrial Properties' attorney fees and costs.

Congratulations to the Riddell Williams team, consisting of Mike Pierson and Scott Smith with assistance from Melodi Downs, Janine Fader, and Darryn Quincey.

back to top

Emerson and Microsoft Name Riddell Williams a Go-To Law Firm

In a recent survey conducted by Corporate Counsel magazine for its annual "Who Represents America's Biggest Companies?" issue, General Counsel of Fortune 500 companies were asked to name their "go-to" law firms in a variety of practice areas. In the 2006 survey, Riddell Williams was named by its client Emerson as a Go-To Law Firm® for Litigation and by its client Microsoft as a Go-To Law Firm® for Labor and Employment.

Emerson Litigation Victory

Our Product Liability Practice Group recently obtained the dismissal of more than $100 million in claims asserted against our client Emerson Power Transmission Corporation (“EPT”).

This lawsuit arose out of a massive fire at the Double Eagle Steel Coating Company facility, the world’s largest electrogalvanizing plant. The plaintiffs—a group of insurers led by Lloyds of London—and U.S. Steel argued that the fire was caused by the failure of a $129 bearing manufactured by EPT.

Through approximately two years of litigation, we developed a vast body of evidence showing that the Double Eagle facility had suffered hundreds of bearing failures and dozens of “bearing fires.” Those bearing failures and fires involved bearings manufactured by EPT as well as other bearing manufacturers. In short, the evidence showed that the problem was in the application—not in the EPT bearing.

We filed three motions for summary disposition, arguing that there was no evidence of defect and that the claims against our client were barred by the Uniform Commercial Code and Michigan’s “economic loss” rule. In an order that quoted extensively from the arguments made by our team, the court granted our motions and dismissed all claims against Emerson.

The motions for summary disposition were the culmination of significant work by the Double Eagle team, which included Attorneys Pat McVey, Ward Morrison, and Dan Gunter; Paralegal Darryn Quincey; and Executive Assistant Chanda Smith.

back to top

McGraw-Hill Victory

A Riddell Williams litigation team successfully defended our client, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., against a breach of contract lawsuit filed in federal court in Seattle.

The lawsuit arose out of the purchase of a line of educational software products by The Wright Group, an educational publishing company. The Wright Group agreed to pay the sellers royalties on sales of the acquired software for 5-1/2 years after the acquisition. The Wright Group was then acquired by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

The sellers of the software brought suit against McGraw-Hill in June 2002, alleging that McGraw-Hill breached the contract by failing to properly market and promote the software, and failing to pay royalties owed to plaintiffs. Plaintiffs sought damages of up to $2 million. The Riddell Williams litigation team aggressively defended McGraw-Hill through four years of litigation. On July 28, 2006, the Court granted a complete defense summary judgment to The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. and entered judgment in favor of McGraw-Hill and against Plaintiffs on all claims.

This victory was the culmination of significant work by the McGraw-Hill litigation team, which was comprised of Attorneys Jack Lowery and Gavin Skok.

back to top

Alcoa v. Alcan Verdict

On May 22, 2006, Riddell Williams' trial team obtained a $59.6 million verdict for our clients, Alcoa Inc. and Reynolds Metals Company, after a three week jury trial in the U.S. District Court for Western Washington. Paul Kundtz served as co-trial counsel and led the Riddell Williams team, which included Dan Gunter, Wendy Lyon, Courtney Seim, Becky Andrews and assistance from Kathy Oswick, Paralegal.

A division of Reynolds purchased an aluminum alloy from Alcan Inc. and Alcan Aluminum Corporation, and resold it to 54 boat builders in the Pacific Northwest. Alcan's aluminum later failed in more than 300 vessels. Alcoa settled numerous claims with boat owners and builders, and sued Alcan to recover its losses. Alcoa pursued claims for breach of the implied warranties of merchantability and for particular purpose, and for failure to disclose changes in the manufacturing process and the sensitivity of the product. Litigation extended over two years, with thousands of documents being produced and depositions throughout the United States and Canada. Alcan vigorously defended itself, arguing that it warned of the limitations of its products, that the product met industry specifications, and that the plaintiffs had not properly tested and certified the materials.

Trial extended for more than three weeks, and included the presentation of 26 witnesses and 160 exhibits. The jury found for Alcoa, Inc. on all claims presented and awarded all damages requested. With prejudgment interest added, the final judgment will be $75.7 million, one of the largest verdicts in the State of Washington. The Riddell Williams team worked closely with Alcoa's in-house and Pittsburgh based attorneys to achieve this great result.

back to top

Riddell Williams 2008 Breakfast Briefing Series

SAVE THESE DATES:

September 24 - A Look Behind the Curtain: A Plaintiff Counsel's Perspective Regarding Discrimination & Harassment Cases

November 12 - 50 Ways to Take a Leave of Absence: Making Sense of Federal and State Laws

Seating is limited so please reserve your space by calling 206.389.1710 or sending an email to ktran@riddellwilliams.com.

back to top

Current Events

Current News