Jury Finds Seattle Fire Department Battalion Chief Commits Arson
Rory W. Leid, III, assisted by Arezou Arefi-Afshar, represented American Commerce Insurance Company in the insurance bad faith lawsuit, Schmidt v. American Commerce Insurance Company.
CWLH Attorneys Successfully Represent Allstate Indemnity Company in an Insurance Bad Faith Claim
Rory W. Leid, III and Arezou Arefi-Afshar successfully represented Allstate Indemnity Company in an insurance bad faith claim, Newkirk et al v. Allstate.
Loss Reserves are Protected as Work Product in IFCA Case
Rory W. Leid, III, assisted by Kimberly Larsen Rider, represented American Family Insurance Company in the insurance bad faith lawsuit, Theresa L. Schreib v. American Family Mut. Ins. Co.
UIM Arbitration Award Not Proper Measure of IFCA Damages
Rory W. Leid, III, assisted by Kimberly Larsen Rider, represented American Family Insurance Company in the insurance bad faith lawsuit, Theresa L. Schreib v. American Family Mut. Ins. Co.
Excess Verdict Not Proper Measure of IFCA Damages
Rory W. Leid, III, assisted by Jean Y. Kang, represented GEICO General Insurance Company in the insurance bad faith lawsuit, Ross, et. al. v. GEICO Gen. Ins. Co., et al.
Marion County Cases - Defense Verdict Rejecting PIP Suit for Medical Bills and Attorney Fees
Ryan J. Hall represented Farmers Insurance in Nancy Reyes v. Farmers Insurance Company of Oregon.
Arbitration Panel Awards Complete Defense Verdict with No Award of Fees or Costs
Ryan J. Hall represented Farmers Insurance in Omar DeLeon Gomez v. Farmers Insurance Company which was a PIP arbitration panel demand from opposing counsel.
Court Upholds PIP Suit Limitation Provision – Grants Directed Verdict Against Chiropractic Clinic
Ryan J. Hall represented Allstate Insurance Company in Auto & Work Injury, LLC v. Allstate et al.
Multnomah County Case – Defense Verdict Rejecting PIP Suit for Medical Bills and Attorney Fees
Ryan J. Hall represented Allstate Insurance in Luis Baez-Hernandez et al. v. Allstate Fire & Casualty Insurance Company.
Defense Verdict
Mr. Leid recently obtained a defense verdict in a weeklong jury trial in Mason County Superior Court.
Appeal of Attorney Fee Award
Attorney fee award overturned on appeal creating new law in Washington State.
New Offices for Cole Wathen Leid Hall P.C.
We are pleased to announce our new office location, effective November 18, 2013.
Jury Awards Less Than Medical Specials in Admitted Liability Case
Mark S. Cole assisted by Jennifer P. Dinning represented the Defendants in a case which arose out of a motor vehicle accident in which Defendants Tharp rear-ended the Plaintiff. April 8, 2013.
Insurance Policy Time Limit Leads to Dismissal of Contractual Claims
Mark S. Cole represented Western National in the case of Jeffries v. Western National Assurance Company, which arose out of a fire to a residence owned by Plaintiff Jeffries. April 5, 2013.
Jury Again Awards Less Than Medical Specials in an Admitted Liability Case
Mark S. Cole, assisted by Jennifer P. Dinning, represented Defendants in Hudson v. Jensen, a case which arose out of an accident where Defendant Jensen rear-ended the Plaintiff’s pick-up truck. April 4, 2013.
Jury Trial Defense Verdict
Rory W. Leid, III tried this case which involved a three car accident, including a FedEx vehicle and a semi-truck. April 3, 2013.
Contentious Discovery Battle With Suspected Arsonist Leads to Complete
Ryan J. Hall represented Allstate Insurance Company in the case of Terrance I. Ross – Joyner and Dominique D. Joyner v. Allstate et al. April 2, 2013.
Arbitrator Hands Down Rare Defense Verdict in Personal Injury Protection Suit
Ryan J. Hall represented Allstate Insurance Company in the case of Ivan Rodriguez, Narcisa Onofre and Narcisa Onofre. April 1, 2013.
CWLH Obtains Defense Verdict in Traumatic Brain Injury Case
Rick Wathen represented the Defendants, the Kelleys, and was assisted by Midori R. Sagara. February 4, 2013.
Can a Tenant be Sued by the Landlord's Insurer?
Mark S. Cole and Rory W. Leid, III, were retained by American Family to represent the defendant tenants. December 4, 2012.
CWLH Obtains Judgment on Behalf of Private Lender
Rick Wathen represented the private lender. September 7, 2012.
Court of Appeals EUO as a Condition Precedent to Filing Suit
Staples v. Allstate, Case No. 64816-1. Rory W. Leid, III, argued for Respondent Allstate and was assisted by Midori R. Sagara. May 16, 2011.
Court of Appeals Rules that Service on a Private Mailbox is Insufficient
Goettenmoeller v. Twist, Case No. 64046-1-1. Rory W. Leid, III , argued for Appellant Twist and was assisted by Midori R. Sagara. April 11, 2011.
News & Press
Jury Finds Seattle Fire Department Battalion Chief Commits Arson
Rory W. Leid, III, assisted by Arezou Arefi-Afshar, represented American Commerce Insurance Company in the insurance bad faith lawsuit, Schmidt v. American Commerce Insurance Company, KCC No.: 11-2-28529-4.
In November, 2011, Mr. Schmidt and Ms. Demeter made a claim to American Commerce for a total fire loss on their family home. Shortly after initiating its claim investigation, American Commerce began to uncover what eventually turned out to be evidence of fraud and arson by Mr. Schmidt.
In August 2011, Mr. Schmidt and Ms. Demeter filed suit against American Commerce asking the court to declare that there is coverage and that American Commerce committed the tort of Bad Faith, violated the Consumer Protection Act, and Violated the Insurance Fair Conduct Act.
After a five-week, jury trial, which commenced on September 8, 2015, the insureds requested that the jury award them nearly $8,000,000 plus attorney fees; they also asked the court for trebling of the jury award under the Insurance Fair Conduct Act.
The jury found that the fire loss was caused by Mr. Schmidt intentionally setting his family home on fire and American Commerce obtained a full defense verdict.
We believe that this is the largest residential civil arson finding in the State of Washington.