In Dobson v. Archibald, the Washington Supreme Court addressed and confirmed statutory analyses concerning the required contractor registration in Washington. 1 Wash. 3d 102, 523 P.3d 1190 (2023). Contractors and potential...more
In a case of first impression in Washington, the Washington State Supreme Court held that a landowner may satisfy its duty to guard an invitee “against known or obvious dangers on the premises by delegating the duty of...more
Under Washington common law, property owners owe a duty of reasonable care to “invitees” (essentially, persons invited onto the land by the owner), which requires owners to inspect for dangerous conditions and to make such...more
Washington’s construction lien statute, RCW 60.04, balances the interests of persons performing work to improve real property with the interests of property owners in avoiding the necessity of paying for the same work twice....more
Courts don’t look kindly upon insurance company shell games. In Preferred Contractors Ins. Co. v. Baker & Son Construction, the Washington Supreme Court slapped down an insurer’s attempt to manipulate the type of general...more
Today the Supreme Court of Washington issued a decision finding a contractual one-year limitation period in a construction contract unconscionable. The decision—Tadychs v. Noble Ridge—arose from the construction of a custom...more
In a 2017 opinion, Xia v. ProBuilders Specialty Insurance Company, the Washington State Supreme Court analyzed whether an insurer breached its duty of good faith and fair dealing in refusing to defend its contractor insured...more
In Nova Contracting, Inc. v. City of Olympia, No. 94711-2 (Wash. Sept. 29, 2018), the Washington Supreme Court, sitting en banc, ruled in favor of a municipality on the issue of whether the general contractor complied with a...more
The Supreme Court of the State of Washington issued its opinion in Nova Contracting Inc. v. City of Olympia, Docket No. 94711-2 on September 27, 2018, which hammers home the need for contractors to review the notice...more
On December 21, 2017, the Washington Supreme Court issued a decision interpreting the private right of action under Washington’s Model Toxics Control Act (“MTCA”), Douglass v. Shamrock Paving, Inc. The decision analyzes three...more
King Cnty. v. Vinci Constr. Grands Projets/Parsons RCI/ Frontier-Kemper, JV, No. 92744-8, 2017 Wash. LEXIS 743 (July 6, 2017) - King County contracted with three construction firms (collectively, “VPFK”) to construct a...more
On July 6, 2017, the Washington Supreme Court confirmed that the equitable rule announced in Olympic Steamship—providing for attorney fees where the insurer compels the insured to take legal action—applies to performance bond...more