Super Lawyers recently announced its 2024 honorees. Once again, all of the firm’s attorneys have been named to the Washington Super Lawyers list.
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After discovering ongoing hidden damage behind the exterior walls and roof of its building, a Madison Park Condominium Association contacted Harper│Hayes to assist it in making a claim to its property insurers. The insurers denied coverage and the firm filed a lawsuit on the Association’s behalf. On a motion for…
A home located on Perkins Lane in Magnolia was damaged by a large set of concrete stairs that was negligently dropped by a contractor on a steep hillside above the home. The homeowner’s property insurer paid for some, but not all, of the damage. When the homeowner sued to the…
The owner of a large mixed-use project asserted claims against the project’s general contractor. The general contractor then made a request for “additional insured” benefits to its subcontractor’s liability insurer. The insurer denied both defense and indemnity benefits, asserting that the general contractor was not an additional insured and that…
A general contractor tendered a claim as an “additional insured” to its subcontractor’s liability insurer. The insurer denied any duty to defend or indemnify on grounds that the general contractor was not an additional insured and that the insurer had no coverage obligations until the subcontractor satisfied a $500,000 self-insured…
A liability insurer failed to take a coverage position for over a year after its policyholder requested a defense. Two weeks after being sued, the insurer offered to defend, then argued its belated offer “cured” any breach of its duty to defend. On summary judgment, a Western District of Washington…
Homeowners at a condominium in downtown Seattle recently discovered water damage inside the roof of their condominium. The condominium association retained Harper│Hayes to file a lawsuit against the association’s property insurer, which had denied coverage. Soon after the firm launched a summary judgment motion—arguing the loss was covered and the…
A commercial general liability insurer refused to defend its policyholder even though the complaint against the policyholder alleged potentially covered claims. A year later, after a default judgment was entered against the policyholder, the insurer reconsidered its denial and tried to assume the policyholder’s defense. A judge in the Western…
A King County Superior Court judge recently ruled that a condominium association’s property insurance policies cover “faulty maintenance,” “wind-blown rain,” and “faulty construction.” The Court also decided that because the policies lacked a so-called “inverse efficient proximate cause” provision, “the Policies cover damage resulting from the combination of excluded and…
The Washington State Bar Association published an article by Harper│Hayes attorney Thom Williams in the December 2017 issue of its “NW Lawyer” magazine. The article—“Fortune Favors the Insured: The Wide-Reaching Impact of Xia v. ProBuilders”—analyzes a recent coverage decision from the Washington Supreme Court. It’s available at: http://nwlawyer.wsba.org/nwlawyer/dec_2017_jan_2018?pg=23#pg23
