We handle appeals at all levels of the Washington appellate courts, in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the United States Supreme Court, and the Alaska, Idaho, and Montana appellate courts. Our experience gives us broad knowledge of the intricacies of appellate practice and procedure.

Members of our appellate team provide the following services:

• Consultation at every stage of litigation: before litigation, during trial, and after trial
• Association to assist in appellate matters
• Complete representation in appeals from the date of judgment to the consequences of the appellate decision

In addition, members of the appellate group are available to make presentations to professional groups and in-house counsel on topics of interest. Please contact, Pamela Okano, or Marilee C. Erickson for more information.

For descriptions of and links to representative cases, see: Representative Cases. For a list of all published opinions, see: Published Opinions. For an explanation of why appellate counsel can be a valuable member of your litigation team, see: Top 10 Reasons.

HEALTH CARE

Reed McClure has lawyers and paralegals who are experienced in defending health care and medical malpractice cases. We represent health care providers in litigation and assist health care providers with licensing, credentialing, disciplinary proceedings, privilege disputes, and risk management. We are also available to advise health care providers on issues involving personnel, discrimination, and labor issues.

INSURANCE

Reed McClure is well known for its experience with the insurance industry. We offer an unsurpassed range and breadth of expertise in dealing with a broad range of insurance-related legal issues. These include:

Agent and Broker Errors and Omissions:

We have expertise in agency law, binding authority issues, and insurer insolvencies. We keep abreast of the statutes and regulations governing the conduct of agents and brokers, as well as the case law in this specialized field. We have represented a number of brokers, both large and small, as well as E&O carriers. Our attorneys are experienced in all areas of the law and the industry--personal and commercial lines, surplus lines, marine, domestic, and foreign.

Bad Faith/Extra-Contractual Liabilities:

In recent years, the law of bad faith and extra-contractual liability exposures has rapidly become more complex. We have helped many of our insurance clients prevent, and defeat, these claims. Some of the challenging bad faith claims we have defended include: an insured's claim that the insurer acted in bad faith by requesting appraisal before valuing the fire loss itself; an insured's claim that his insurer was in bad faith for failing to accept the insured's choice of defense counsel; a claim that an insurer which investigated a first-party claim in bad faith should be estopped to deny coverage, even though the claim was not covered; an insured's claim that the insurer was in bad faith even though the insured had refused to cooperate by insisting that reports on recent developments in his case could not be sent to the company; and an insured's claim that the insurer acted in bad faith by commencing a declaratory judgment action to complete its investigation into whether the claim was fraudulent.

Construction, Defect, Design, and Work-Site Injury:

Our attorneys represent individuals and companies in the design professions and construction industry. They are thoroughly familiar with the practices peculiar to contractors and the terms of art used by architects and engineers.

Our Construction and Design lawyers have extensive experience representing architects, engineers and contractors in resolving disputes through negotiation, arbitration or litigation. These disputes often involve claims for additional compensation due to construction delays, change orders or differing site conditions. Our attorneys handle litigation matters involving a wide variety of construction projects including roads, bridges, dams, schools, hospitals, jails, office buildings, resorts, condominium and other residential projects, stadiums, wastewater plants, nuclear energy projects and other energy facilities. The litigation matters also include defending work site injury claims.

Corporate and Business Issues for the Insurance Industry:

In addition to assisting our insurance industry clients with issues relating specifically to insurance, our full-service practice also allows us to help them with general business issues. For example, in the employment area, we have assisted our insurance clients with the enforcement of noncompetition agreements and employment contracts, with defense of wrongful discharge and discrimination claims, and with solutions to employment benefit and ERISA issues. Similarly, when a claims employee of our insurance company client was suspected of taking part in the submission and processing of fraudulent claims, we helped the company determine the best way to investigate to minimize exposure to claims by the employee. We have assisted insurance clients in collecting unpaid premiums through litigation and through bankruptcy proceedings. We represented another client in a California antitrust suit brought by the insurance commissioners of a number of states, and we have helped our marine clients enforce liens and arrest vessels.

Coverage Evaluation and Advice:

We regularly provide advice to insurance companies on issues of coverage. Our coverage opinions and evaluations enable our clients to make informed decisions on coverage questions with an understanding of their chances of success if their position is challenged in court. Representative coverage issues on which we have recently advised clients include: whether claims for patent infringement and unfair competition are a covered "advertising injury" under a general liability policy; whether and under what circumstances emotional distress is "bodily injury"; when and under which policies employment liability claims are covered; whether there is coverage for construction defects which cause water infiltration; and whether "additional insureds" are covered for independent acts of negligence.

Coverage Litigation:

We frequently litigate coverage issues in declaratory judgment actions at both the trial court level and on appeal. Coverage lawsuits we have recently handled have involved: claims by an insured employer sued by a former employee for wrongful discharge and employment discrimination; attempts by insureds to obtain coverage for liabilities they voluntarily assumed; the scope of coverage available to "additional insureds" under general liability policies; environmental liability claims including contaminated site cleanups, nuisance exposures, and personal injuries caused by toxic fumes; and application of the "professional services" exclusion in a general liability policy to an insured engineer which chose not to purchase errors and omissions coverage.

Insurance Appeals:

Our Appellate Department works closely with our insurance lawyers, and has broad experience handling a full range of insurance-related appeals.

Insurance Defense Services:
Reed McClure attorneys engage in all types of insurance defense litigation. Our litigators concentrate their practices on specific legal problems and services, as well as specific industry groups, reflecting both the growing complexity of the law and of the marketplace to which it is applied. Our experience spans the following:

• Construction litigation, including representation of owners, architects, engineers, and contractors in a variety of situations, from personal injury claims to contract disputes
• Employment litigation, including race, age, disability and sex discrimination claims, comparable worth issues, and at-will terminations
• Environmental litigation, including suits involving allegations of toxic exposures, violations of CERCLA, RCRA, MTCA, and air and water pollution
• Errors and omissions litigation, in which we have represented accountants, attorneys, architects, appraisers, engineers, escrow agents, insurance agents and brokers, real estate agents and brokers, and trustees against claims of professional malpractice
• Health care litigation, including both corporate and malpractice defense matters for both health care providers and hospitals
• Intellectual property litigation, including defense of lawsuits involving copyrights, trade name and trademark infringement, trade secret misappropriation, unfair competition, and defamation
• Maritime litigation, including defense of lawsuits involving seamen's personal injury claims, vessel arrests, and ship and cargo damage claims
• Personal injury litigation involving premises liability, auto accidents, trespass and nuisance, water intrusion, flooding, lateral support removal, adverse possession, fire, industrial and work place accidents, assault and battery, alcohol/liquor liability, and arrests and detentions by law enforcement officers
• Products liability litigation involving products ranging from consumer goods to industrial equipment, elevators to cars, medical devices to heavy machinery

Policy Drafting:

Courts construe insurance polices against the insurer. This judicial approach requires that policy language be unmistakably clear. We frequently assist insurance companies in drafting and revising their policies to avoid ambiguities and adverse interpretations, and to take advantage of recent developments in insurance law. We also assist insurers by advising them of the proper procedures and disclosures necessary under Washington law so as to avoid possible expansion of coverage when, at renewal, policy forms are changed or different coverages are presented.

Regulatory Work:

We represent our clients before the Insurance Commissioner when they seek approval of policy language and rates, confront licensing issues, or are faced with investigations or subpoenas of claims files. Our knowledge of substantive law and procedure in the Insurance Commissioner's office enables us to help our clients spend their time profitably on their real business. Suspicious and fraudulent claims must be approached with a special sensitivity. We regularly assist our insurance company clients in determining the validity of questionable claims. We have experience in investigating these claims, taking examinations under oath and, if necessary, taking fraudulent claims to court. For example, we defeated a theft claim by a car owner who alleged that burglars stole $65,000 in video equipment in the 15 seconds from time of alarm until arrival of police. In another matter, we convinced the court that an insurer is prejudiced as a matter of law and may deny coverage where an insured refuses to produce documents requested by the insurer. We also obtained a judgment that an illegally formed medical clinic that bills insurers violates the Consumer Protection Act.

UIM and PIP Coverage Claims:

These special auto coverages are a favorite target of personal injury lawyers, and in recent years a ripe source of disputes between insurers and insureds. We counsel and represent insurance companies in the handling of these claims, taking matters to arbitration or litigation when appropriate. In PIP and UIM disputes we have recently handled, we have: established that a three-wheeled, all-terrain vehicle was an excluded "motorcycle" or "motor-driven cycle" under a UIM policy; demonstrated that a claim for emotional distress with no related bodily injury was not covered under UIM; defeated a claim for UIM benefits by an insured who claimed a phantom vehicle drove her off the road by showing that there was no corroborating evidence; and successfully arbitrated PIP claims for medical expenses resulting from overtreatment or for unnecessary testing or surgical procedures.