At Helsell Fetterman we understand that our success is measured only in terms of our client’s success.
• Admiralty and Maritime
• Construction Defects
• Commercial Disputes and Class Actions
• Employment and Labor
• Environmental and Land Use
• Health Care
• Personal Injury Defense
• Products Liability and Other Personal Injury
• Public Interest and Civil Rights
• Trials and Appeals
• Community Service
At Helsell Fetterman Brad Bagshaw and Scott Collins have prosecuted class action wage cases on behalf of factory trawler crews the American Triumph, Browns Point, Christina Ann, Elizabeth Ann, Highland Light, Katie Ann, Michelle Irene, Northern Eagle, Northern Hawk, Northern Jaeger, Ocean Rover, Resolute and Victoria Ann. We are proud that these class actions have resulted in the recovery of millions in unpaid wages for thousands of seamen who would have otherwise been powerless to challenge the decisions of employers.
In two cases against an American crab fishing company operating a fleet of catcher and processor vessels in Russia, Brad Bagshaw and Scott Collins recovered more than $6 million in wages and related damages for 25 captains, engineers and deckhands. In one of these actions, we convinced the jury that the employer willfully withheld such wages, which opened the door to the fishermen's recovery of double wages.
Brad Bagshaw and Scott Collins’s resumes include well-known discrimination cases such as representing 83 crewmembers of the factory trawler Resolute who claimed their employer gave preferential treatment to Japanese crewmembers; nine American officers of the factory trawlers Saga Sea, Claymore Sea and Heather Sea who claimed their employer gave preferential treatment to Norwegian officers; and 18 Vietnamese processors off the factory trawler Ocean Rover who claimed their employer discriminated against them based on national origin and ethnicity. These cases, one of which the EEOC joined in to support our efforts, have greatly increased awareness of equality and promotional opportunity regardless of race, national origin, ethnicity and gender throughout the fishing industry.
When a British company required counsel for a dispute against a California contractor concerning the loading and shipping of container cranes in Tacoma bound for Singapore, it hired Scott Collins to protect its interests and assert its claims. He carefully guided the client through the International Centre for Dispute Resolution and successfully resolved the matter consistent with the client’s objectives.
A particularly unique area of our maritime practice is representing those who recover long-lost shipwrecks. For one of our clients, Scott Collins secured exclusive recovery rights to the S.S. Admiral Sampson, a large luxury passenger liner that sank in Puget Sound in 1914.
Contractors and their insurers frequently turn to Pauline Smetka, John Bergmann and other members of our construction group to defend claims of defective construction. In one of the first construction defect cases by a developer/general contractor against a subcontractor to go to a jury trial in the Puget Sound area, our client, a large framing subcontractor, was faced with a suit for damages in excess of $1,000,000. After a three week trial, the jury returned a verdict of only $34,300 against our client.
An HVAC subcontractor sued by a developer for construction defects in a large condominium project was defended by Pauline Smetka. Through a series of pretrial motions, the trial court limited the developer’s claim, granted summary judgment in our client’s favor on the remaining claim, and then awarded our client all of its attorney fees and costs incurred in the defense.
In a multi-party construction defect lawsuit over a condominium project, Pauline Smetka persuaded the developer/general contractor to voluntarily dismiss the claim against our client, the deck waterproofing subcontractor, without our client paying anything.
COMMERCIAL DISPUTES & CLASS ACTIONS
At Helsell Fetterman a team led by David Jurca, Jennifer Divine and Richard White filed a class action on behalf of ratepayers challenging Seattle City Light’s practice of shifting payment for the cost of city streetlights from the City of Seattle to the ratepayers. When the lower court initially ruled against the ratepayers’ claims, our team took the case to the Washington Supreme Court, which unanimously reversed the lower court decision ruling that City Light’s shifting of payment for streetlights was an unconstitutional tax on the ratepayers. After lengthy lower court hearings, we obtained a $25 million judgment resulting in substantial refunds to City Light ratepayers.
When a manufacturing company in Washington State was sued in Egypt by an Egyptian company seeking $10 million, it hired David Jurca to defend its interests by enforcing the terms of their contract that the Egyptian company sought to escape. That contract included an arbitration clause that would, if enforced, remove the lawsuit from the Egyptian court to the International Chamber of Commerce Court of Arbitration in London, which our client viewed as a more friendly place to litigate than a court in its opponent’s country. David Jurca convinced the arbitration tribunal to uphold the validity of the contract and to confirm authority of the tribunal to adjudicate the parties’ disputes. The arbitration tribunal also awarded our client nearly $1 million in arbitration fees and expenses.
A large Korean company retained Gary Linden and Mark Rising in a commercial dispute arising from an international joint venture that was initially litigated in the International Chamber of Commerce Court of Arbitration in Seoul, where we obtained a $6.5 million award for our client. In subsequent federal court litigation, we obtained a $4.5 million fraud judgment for our client against the owner of the joint venture partner and $7.7 million against two other companies.
When a large insurance company attempted to terminate health insurance for more than 16,000 Washington State residents, Mark Rising and other Helsell attorneys filed a class action against the company to stop that termination. We first obtained a preliminary injunction preventing the insurer from terminating health benefits, and then obtained a judgment holding the company to be in breach of its contracts of insurance with all of the class members. The case resulted in significant remedial measures in favor of class members.
A roof coating manufacturer was forced into bankruptcy in Spokane after the failure of a coating that it had installed on hundreds of roofs across the United States. Hundreds of claims were filed in the bankruptcy against the client totaling well in excess of $100,000,000. John Bergmann coordinated and directed the defense team on behalf of the client conducting discovery across the country regarding these claims, and all claims were either settled or resolved through trial in the bankruptcy court for less than ten percent of the original claim value.
David Jurca and Connie Haslam filed separate lawsuits for breach of contract against two petroleum dealers on behalf of a large corporate client. We obtained summary judgment in both actions dismissing the dealers’ multiple counterclaims, including claims for breach of contract, misrepresentation, and restraint of trade. As a result of the complete dismissal of the dealers’ claims, we were able to reach a settlement with each dealer that was very favorable to our client.
At Helsell Fetterman Phil Noble, Andrew Kinstler and Jennifer Divine regularly advise and represent public school districts in Washington State concerning the full range of employment-related issues and claims. Examples of the firm's successful defense of these school districts include judgments of dismissal in cases where the claimants sought $500,000 for alleged national origin discrimination, $250,000 for alleged race discrimination, $250,000 for alleged violations of constitutional rights, $200,000 for alleged disability discrimination, and $100,000 for alleged “whistleblowing.”
Two employees who lost their jobs and were forced to sue for the severance package owed to them under their employment contracts hired Jennifer Divine to represent them. The employer refused to pay the severances and filed multi-million dollar counterclaims against the employees. After a hard-fought trial, we obtained judgments awarding the employees’ severances and dismissing the employer’s counterclaims. We also convinced the judge to make the employer pay the employees’ attorney fees, and successfully defended these judgments on appeal.
A Vietnamese woman turned to Scott Collins when her boss harassed, threatened and discriminated against her based on her gender, race and national origin. Our first concern was for her safety, and we immediately secured a restraining order to ensure her protection against the boss’s threats. We then brought her discrimination and harassment claims to federal court and, to avoid a trial by jury and the risk of punitive damages, the employer paid a substantial settlement to the woman and ultimately terminated the boss’s employment.
Phil Noble obtained a judgment for an insurance agency against one of its former sales agents and the agent's new employer (a competing insurance agency) because the agent had breached a non-competition agreement. The employee had left our client and, after starting work with a competing agency, started soliciting our client's customers causing many of them to switch their business to his new employer. Because the non-competition agreement prohibited this activity, we were able to recover damages against both the employee and his new agency for the business lost due to this wrongful solicitation.
Brad Bagshaw has won discrimination cases for 83 crewmembers of the factory trawler Resolute who claimed their employer gave preferential treatment to Japanese crewmembers; nine American officers of the factory trawlers Saga Sea, Claymore Sea and Heather Sea who claimed their employer gave preferential treatment to Norwegian officers; and 18 Vietnamese processors off the factory trawler Ocean Rover who claimed their employer discriminated against them based on national origin and ethnicity. These cases, one of which the EEOC joined in to support our efforts, have greatly increased awareness throughout the industry of equality and promotional opportunity regardless of race, national origin, ethnicity and gender.
At Helsell Fetterman we represented a coalition of five south King County cities and a school district concerned about the effects of the Port of Seattle's proposal to add a third runway at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. We assembled a multidisciplinary team of scientific experts and attorneys and, after litigating the longest trial and largest record ever before the Washington Pollution Control Hearings Board, obtained affirmative relief for the coalition in the form of stringent new anti-pollution conditions.
When King County proposed to build a trail along the eastside of Lake Sammamish, neighboring property owners objected, pointing out that development of the new trail would destroy wetlands which the neighbors were required to protect under County's laws. The County prevailed in a series of preliminary court skirmishes, and the property owners hired us to appeal the County's key environment permit. After a lengthy trial, the hearing examiner specially appointed to hear the case reversed and vacated the County's permit. King County has now appealed.
At Helsell Fetterman Katharine Brindley, who has a background in registered nursing, has defended health care clients in medical malpractice matters for 20 years. Most recently, she successfully defended Northwest Hospital in a four-week trial brought by a plaintiff with bilateral leg amputations. The jury returned a unanimous verdict for the defendants finding that the patient received appropriate care.
A popular physician accused of smothering an infant hired Katharine Brindley to defend him against disciplinary charges and licensing revocation proceedings brought by the state of Washington. After months of investigation and a four-day hearing involving complicated issues of what constitutes life and death, the state restored the physician’s license.
Working with a team of attorneys led jointly by Katharine Brindley and Gary Linden, health care facilities frequently turn to us for legal counsel on all phases of medical contract formation and review, on employment matters, and on risk management.
Swedish Medical Center has occasionally turned to us for its defense when faced with allegations of medical malpractice. In two recent cases, David Gross represented the hospital in lengthy trials. In one, a surgical patient sought millions of dollars for alleged malpractice. In the other, a mother asked for millions of dollars when her son was born with birth injuries. At the conclusion of each trial, the jury returned a verdict in favor of Swedish after finding that the hospital provided appropriate care.
At Helsell Fetterman Andrew Kinstler represented a roller skating rink that was sued by a patron who fell and badly broke her ankle. Through an expert brought in from Florida, the patron contended that the rink was dangerous due to poor lighting and a failure to warn of dangers involved in roller skating. Our expert witness refuted that contention and, after the patron’s attorney asked for an award of more than $700,000, the jury returned a verdict in favor of the rink. The case cost the rink nothing because its insurance company paid all attorney fees and costs, including the fees of the expert witness.
For years John Bergmann has successfully represented an elevator and escalator manufacturer in lawsuits throughout the state. This client recently faced trial in a case brought by a plaintiff who contended that he suffered permanent disabling injuries when he was struck on the head by an overhead freight elevator door that allegedly closed without warning. After a seven-day trial, the jury returned a verdict in favor of our client.
We have long defended major hospitals in the Seattle area against claims for medical malpractice. Katharine Brindley, who has a background in registered nursing, most recently defended Northwest Hospital in a four-week trial that resulted in a unanimous jury verdict in favor of the defendants finding that the patient received appropriate care. David Gross recently represented Swedish Medical Center in two separate, seven-week trials which both concluded with jury verdicts in favor of the hospital finding that these patients received appropriate care.
We regularly defend against claims arising from motor vehicle accidents. In one such case, our client rear-ended another car and, when she was sued by the other driver, she had to admit that she was at fault for this accident. Andrew Kinstler defended the lawsuit on the basis that the other driver was not injured as she contended and, after the other driver forced the case to trial, the jury dismissed all of the plaintiff’s claims. In another case, our client drove the wrong way down a one-way road and collided head on with an oncoming vehicle and, when she was sued by the other driver, she too had to admit fault for the accident. Faced with a claim by the other driver for more than $900,000, we successfully defended the lawsuit. The jury returned a verdict awarding the plaintiff nominal damages of merely $6,000. In a third case, a 17-year-old driving a car collided with an 8-year-old riding a bicycle, and the bicyclist’s parents sued, insisting the driver was at fault for the accident. Polly Becker-Johnson defended the driver and his parents and, after trial, obtained a defense verdict in which the jury found that the collision was an accident and that the driver and his parents did nothing to cause the accident.
PRODUCTS LIABILITY & OTHER PERSONAL INJURY
At Helsell Fetterman Larry Setchell has recovered millions of dollars in wrongful death, brain injury, quadriplegia, paraplegia and other tragic cases when a product’s failure or design defect caused injuries. He routinely takes on the manufacturers of SUVs that flip over too easily; indeed, our national prominence in this area was recognized by Consumer’s Union when it selected him to be part of its legal team in its defense against Suzuki Motor Corporation in a California lawsuit. Our successes include challenging automakers that equip vehicles with flimsy seat backs that fail in certain rear-end collisions, allowing people, even those wearing seatbelts, to be ejected from the vehicle; in proving defects in a variety of seatbelts and related hardware that fail in accidents for which they are designed; and in challenging vehicle crashworthiness in all respects including roof structure safety, airbags and structural design. Our successes also extend to lawsuits involving ATVs (rollovers, flip-overs, and brake and throttle failures), pleasure boats (propeller accidents and operator error) and aircraft (helicopter and small plane crashes).
Andrew Kinstler has succeeded in bringing claims on behalf of seriously injured clients. In one case, our client was involved in a severe car accident, but initially she did not show any injury. A year later, however, she noticed that her analytical abilities had diminished and we coordinated a team approach to her care that led to a diagnosis of traumatic brain injury. The defendant paid a six-figure settlement to avoid trial. In another case, a car hit our client while he was riding his bicycle on a sunny Sunday afternoon. Without filing a lawsuit, we accomplished a six-figure settlement with the driver’s insurance company when it paid the full limits of the policy within weeks of the accident, and another six-figure settlement with our client’s insurance company under his underinsured motorist coverage.
PUBLIC INTEREST & CIVIL RIGHTS
At Helsell Fetterman a team led by David Jurca, Jennifer Divine and Richard White filed a class action on behalf of Seattle City Light ratepayers challenging that utility’s practice of shifting payment for the cost of city streetlights from the City of Seattle to the ratepayers. We took the case to the Washington Supreme Court where it unanimously ruled that City Light’s shifting of payment for streetlights was an unconstitutional tax on the ratepayers. After lengthy hearings back in the lower court, we obtained a $25 million judgment resulting in substantial refunds to City Light ratepayers.
We represented a coalition of five south King County cities and a school district concerned about the effects of the Port of Seattle's proposal to add a third runway at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. We assembled a multidisciplinary team of scientific experts and attorneys and, after litigating the longest trial and largest record ever before the Washington Pollution Control Hearings Board, obtained affirmative relief for the coalition in the form of stringent new anti-pollution conditions.
When a group of same-sex couples brought a highly publicized challenge to the law that barred them from marrying, it was Brad Bagshaw who argued successfully in the superior court that the law was an unconstitutional infringement of fundamental rights. A team of attorneys led by Brad Bagshaw and Jennifer Divine worked with Northwest Women’s Law Center and Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund to complete the voluminous legal briefing required to support their argument. The case remains pending before the Washington Supreme Court.
We have staunchly defended the rights of churches to operate free from governmental interference. When the City of Seattle wanted to use zoning laws to shut down the homeless ministry of Trinity United Methodist Church, Mark Rising was there to show that the City was violating state and federal protections for the free exercise of religion. We are nationally recognized for our defense of churches, and when New York City tried to stop a Manhattan church’s homeless ministry, we were called in to assist in successfully defending against the city’s efforts, one result of which was confirmation of church rights by the Second United States Court of Appeals.
At Helsell Fetterman a team led by David Jurca, Jennifer Divine and Richard White handled a class action on behalf of ratepayers challenging Seattle City Light’s practice of shifting payment for the cost of city streetlights from the City of Seattle to the ratepayers. When the lower court initially dismissed the ratepayers’ claims, we took the case to the Washington Supreme Court, which unanimously reversed the lower court ruling and concluded that City Light’s shifting of payment for streetlights was an unconstitutional tax on the ratepayers. After a trial and other lengthy hearings back in the lower court, we obtained a $25 million judgment resulting in substantial refunds to City Light ratepayers.
When a Washington manufacturing company was sued in Egypt by an Egyptian company seeking $10 million, it hired David Jurca to enforce the terms of their contract that the Egyptian company sought to escape. That contract included an arbitration clause that would, if enforced, remove the lawsuit from the Egyptian court to the International Chamber of Commerce Court of Arbitration in London, which the Washington company viewed to be a more friendly place to litigate than a court in the country of its opponent. We convinced the arbitration tribunal to uphold the validity of the contract and to confirm authority of the arbitration tribunal to adjudicate the parties’ disputes. The arbitration tribunal also awarded our client nearly $1 million in arbitration fees and expenses.
A team led by David Jurca, Phil Noble and Richard White is well known for serving as lead counsel for 18 Pacific Northwest electric utilities, and related parties, in more than 20 consolidated nationwide class actions in federal courts in Washington and Arizona involving the Washington Public Power Supply System (WPPSS), widely regarded as one of the largest, most complex securities fraud cases in United States history.
In eastern Washington a team led by David Jurca, Mark Rising and Polly Becker-Johnson obtained a defense judgment in favor of a federal contractor facing claims of more than $250 million for alleged radioactive contamination of a commercial irradiation plant in Georgia, resulting from an alleged leak of a nuclear waste storage capsule containing radioactive waste byproduct from the manufacture of plutonium in nuclear weapons. We then successfully defended this judgment on appeal to the United States Court of Appeals.
A large Korean company retained Gary Linden and Mark Rising in a commercial dispute arising from an international joint venture that was initially litigated in the International Chamber of Commerce Court of Arbitration in Seoul, where we obtained a $6.5 million award for our client. In subsequent federal court litigation, we obtained a $4.5 million judgment for fraud for our client against the owner of the joint venture partner and $7.7 million against two other companies.
Our commitment to excellence and success extends outside our firm. For decades we have served our community through leadership roles in civic, non-profit and bar organizations; hands-on participation in community and pro bono projects; and financial giving to organizations that make a real difference. We are proud of the accomplishments we have achieved in giving back to the Puget Sound region. The following are examples of our service:
For more than ten years we have coordinated and staffed the Downtown Seattle Legal Clinic, providing free legal advice and referral to low-income persons. Several of our divorce attorneys volunteer their time at Family Law and Domestic Violence clinics also sponsored by the King County Bar Association. Our attorneys also provide pro bono (free) legal services to a number of other programs and projects around Puget Sound.
Annually a large group of our attorneys and staff volunteer an evening at one of FareStart’s Guest Chef nights. There we serve meals prepared under the guidance of a renowned area chef by homeless and disadvantaged persons participating in a comprehensive job training and placement program in food preparation and service. By volunteering our waitperson services, we help ensure that all monies paid for the meal that evening go to FareStart’s programs.
The many councils and boards on which our attorneys serve include the Bellevue City Council; American Bar Association House of Delegates; Allied Arts Foundation; Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) – Northwest; King County Law Library; World Association for Children and Parents (WACAP); National Episcopal Cursillo Committee; Downtown Seattle YMCA; Patrons of Northwest Civic, Cultural and Charitable Organizations (PONCHO); and Little Red Schoolhouse of Snohomish County.
