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June 2025

Jennifer Hohnstein Discusses Residential Landlord-Tenant Act Changes for 2025 with Washington REALTORS®

by Jennifer K. Hohnstein
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Article

Washington Federal Court Finds Liability Insurer Owed No Duty to Defend Behavioral Health Facility from Allegations of Abuse Under EPL and D&O Policy
by Eliot M. Harris

With the rise of abuse lawsuits in the past decade or so, and various insurers including additional language in liability policies to limit, or outright exclude coverage for such claims, Washington Courts have been faced with an increasing number of coverage lawsuits for abuse claims. One of the most recent decisions on this issue is...
Article

Washington State Court of Appeals Finds that Covenant Judgment Not Binding on Insurer Without Notice and Opportunity to be Heard Prior to Reasonableness Hearing
by Eliot M. Harris

Washington courts have long held that an insured may enter into a stipulated (or “covenant”) judgment with the plaintiff in a lawsuit. Whether the insurer is liable for the amount of the stipulated judgment usually is decided in a subsequent bad faith lawsuit.  However, before that happens, the insured and the plaintiff must conduct a...
Northwest Insurance Law

Washington Federal Court Enforces Endorsement Allowing Insurer to Recoup Defense Costs for Uncovered Claims
by Eliot M. Harris

Quarterly Newsletter Winter 2019 In 2013, the Washington Supreme Court rendered a decision in Nat’l Sur. Corp. v. Immunex Corp., 297 P.3d 688, 691 (Wash. 2013) that an insurer could not seek recoupment of defense costs incurred for uncovered claims when it defended an insured under a reservation of rights.  While the Immunex decision rejected...
Northwest Insurance Law

Washington Federal Court Find Insurer Cannot Refuse to Cover Defense Costs Without Showing of “Actual Prejudice”
by Eliot M. Harris

Quarterly Newsletter Winter 2019 Washington, like many states, requires an insurer to show that its rights have been prejudiced before it can refuse to cover costs incurred by the insured without the insurer’s consent.  Defining prejudice under the circumstances is an often debated (and litigated) topic. Recently, a Washington federal judge weighed in on this...