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Seattle University Law Review

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Articles 241 - 258 of 258

Full-Text Articles in Litigation

Ex Parte Civil Commitment, Family Care-Givers, And Schizophrenia: A Therapeutic Jurisprudence Analysis, Éva Szeli Jan 2000

Ex Parte Civil Commitment, Family Care-Givers, And Schizophrenia: A Therapeutic Jurisprudence Analysis, Éva Szeli

Seattle University Law Review

First, this Article will discuss schizophrenia and its impact on these individuals and their families. Family variables in the course of the disorder will be highlighted. Then, this Article will review the legal power afforded such families by ex parte provisions in civil commitment statutes using the involuntary examination portion of the Florida mental health code as a model. Finally, this Article will assess this system of civil commitment available to care-giving families in therapeutic jurisprudential terms, with recommendations for maximizing the therapeutic consequences and minimizing the antitherapeutic consequences of ex parte procedures.

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The Short Happy Life Of Litigation Between Tortfeasors: Contribution, Indemnification And Subrogation After Washington's Tort Reform Acts, Stewart A. Estes Jan 1997

The Short Happy Life Of Litigation Between Tortfeasors: Contribution, Indemnification And Subrogation After Washington's Tort Reform Acts, Stewart A. Estes

Seattle University Law Review

Section I summarizes the history and development of tort law in Washington, with an emphasis on the impact of the 1981 and 1986 Tort Reform Acts and their imperfect union. Section II outlines the traditional equitable remedies that are potentially available to a tortfeasor seeking reimbursement for having paid more than its share. Section III sets out the thesis and explains why under current law a tortfeasor's suit for reimbursement should be the exception, not the rule. The need, and the basis, for such litigation is dependent upon the existence of joint and several liability-which now occurs only infrequently.

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Litigation Outcomes In State And Federal Courts: A Statistical Portrait, Theodore Eisenberg, John Goerdt, Brian Ostrom, David Rottman Jan 1996

Litigation Outcomes In State And Federal Courts: A Statistical Portrait, Theodore Eisenberg, John Goerdt, Brian Ostrom, David Rottman

Seattle University Law Review

"U.S. Juries Grow Tougher on Plaintiffs in Lawsuits," the New York Times page-one headline reads. The story details how, in 1992, plaintiffs won 52 percent of the personal injury cases decided by jury verdicts, a decline from the 63 percent plaintiff success rate in 1989. The sound-byte explanations follow, including the notion that juries have learned that they, as part of the general population, ultimately pay the costs of high verdicts. Similar stories, reporting both increases and decreases in jury award levels, regularly make headlines. Jury Verdict Research, Inc. (JVR), a commercial service that sells case outcome information, often is …

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Rediscovering Discovery: Washington State Physicians Insurance Exchange And Association V. Fisons Corporation, Brian J. Beck Jan 1994

Rediscovering Discovery: Washington State Physicians Insurance Exchange And Association V. Fisons Corporation, Brian J. Beck

Seattle University Law Review

Section I of this Article will present a model of the adversarial system and argue that the discovery process, although a component of that system, cannot function under the model. Section II lays out the facts of the Fisons case, the arguments presented by each side, and the court's decision. Section III discusses a survey conducted by the Author, which sought to ascertain the decision's impact on members of the Seattle bar. Utilizing survey results and observations regarding the adversarial system, the section then pinpoints some potentially troublesome issues left unresolved by the court and suggests ways to resolve them.

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The Constitutional Validity Of The Modification Of Joint And Several Liability In The Washington Tort Reform Act Of 1986, Gregory C. Sisk Jan 1990

The Constitutional Validity Of The Modification Of Joint And Several Liability In The Washington Tort Reform Act Of 1986, Gregory C. Sisk

Seattle University Law Review

With the Washington Supreme Court having recently invalidated the statutory cap placed on awards of noneconomic damages to tort plaintiffs as a violation of the state constitutional right to a jury trial, we may expect an increasing onslaught upon other controversial provisions of the Washington Tort Reform Act of 1986. In particular, the modification of the common law doctrine of joint and several liability, which was also accomplished by the Tort Reform Act and is codified at section 4.22.070 of the Washington Revised Code, has already become a target of plaintiffs' attorneys in tort litigation and has also come under …

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Balancing The Right To Confrontation And The Need To Protect Child Sexual Abuse Victims: Are Statutes Authorizing Televised Testimony Serving Their Purpose?, Kimberley Seals Bressler Oct 1988

Balancing The Right To Confrontation And The Need To Protect Child Sexual Abuse Victims: Are Statutes Authorizing Televised Testimony Serving Their Purpose?, Kimberley Seals Bressler

Seattle University Law Review

This Comment begins by providing a brief outline of the procedures regulating the use of televised testimony. Next, against the larger backdrop of the history of the right to confrontation, Part III addresses the treatment of televised testimony as hearsay. This section presents a recent Maryland decision as an illustration of the undesirable analogy of televised testimony to hearsay that leads to a more difficult admission standard. Part III concludes with the argument that televised testimony is the functional equivalent of in-court testimony, and thus, a hearsay analysis is inappropriate. Part IV of this Comment presents a recent Supreme Court …

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Back To The Future: Use Of Percentage Fee Arrangements In Common Fund Litigation, Bennet A. Mcconaughy Oct 1988

Back To The Future: Use Of Percentage Fee Arrangements In Common Fund Litigation, Bennet A. Mcconaughy

Seattle University Law Review

The premise of this Article is that common fund litigation will be most efficiently and beneficially prosecuted if attorney fees are awarded under a methodology that makes parallel the interests of counsel in the fee award and of the class in the recovery. The Article examines the historical uses of the percentage fee, the development of and problems with, hourly based methods of computing fees, and the renewed trend toward the use of percentage fee awards. It concludes that, unlike hourly based methodologies, percentage fee arrangements align the interests of counsel with the interests of both the class and the …

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Twist And Shout And Truth Will Out: An Argument For The Adoption Of A "Safety-Valve" Exception To The Washington Hearsay Rule, George R. Nock Oct 1988

Twist And Shout And Truth Will Out: An Argument For The Adoption Of A "Safety-Valve" Exception To The Washington Hearsay Rule, George R. Nock

Seattle University Law Review

This Article will focus on two decisions of the Washington Supreme Court illustrating the unfortunate expansion of certain hearsay exceptions in order to accommodate truth, show that the expansion could have been avoided had Washington adopted a "general" exception comparable to that found in the Federal Rules of Evidence, and propose the adoption of an exception shorn of the defects of the rejected federal version.

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A Nonsettling Defendant's Perspective On Reasonableness Hearings Under Washington's 1981 Tort Reform Act, Luanne Coachman Jan 1988

A Nonsettling Defendant's Perspective On Reasonableness Hearings Under Washington's 1981 Tort Reform Act, Luanne Coachman

Seattle University Law Review

This Comment addresses the questions that the nonsettling defendant's attorney must answer. Section I sets out the function of reasonableness hearings in light of the policies the hearings are intended to further-avoiding collusion between settling defendants and plaintiffs and equitably apportioning the financial burden among tortfeasors. Section II examines the form of reasonableness hearings, including what evidence should be presented, what standards must be met, and the need for reviewable findings and conclusions. Section III analyzes, in terms of constitutional due process, the notice required by the statute. Section IV considers what remedy should follow a finding that a settlement …

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Precluding Government Relitigation Of Statutory Interpretations: Clark-Cowlitz Joint Operating Agency V. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Bradley Bishop Jones Jan 1987

Precluding Government Relitigation Of Statutory Interpretations: Clark-Cowlitz Joint Operating Agency V. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Bradley Bishop Jones

Seattle University Law Review

This Note explores the issue of the applicability of the preclusion doctrines against the government. Specific focus is placed upon the doctrines’ application in cases where the government has previously litigated a question of statutory interpretation. The exploration begins with the recent case of Clark-Cowlitz Joint Operating Agency v. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Clark-Cowlitz), a classic factual setting for analyzing this issue. The Note then briefly examines the historical developments of the preclusion doctrines and the United States Supreme Court’s recent and continuing struggle with the application of the doctrines against the government. It is the position of …

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Book Review: The Goldmark Case By William L. Dwyer, John N. Rupp Jan 1986

Book Review: The Goldmark Case By William L. Dwyer, John N. Rupp

Seattle University Law Review

The book is about a libel case tried to a jury in the Superior Court for Okanogan County, Washington. You will not find it in the law reports, for it was not appealed. It ended twenty-one years ago, so it is an old case. Yet in the author's mind it is as fresh as the dawn breeze; and, as the wine people say, it has cellared well. The author is a good man and good lawyer who was lead counsel for the plaintiff. He takes us through the background facts and through the fascinating detail of the many tough decisions …

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Ethical Considerations For The Justice Department When It Switches Sides During Litigation, Clifford Freed Jan 1984

Ethical Considerations For The Justice Department When It Switches Sides During Litigation, Clifford Freed

Seattle University Law Review

This Comment briefly discusses the history of Washington v. Seattle School District No. 1, and then demonstrates the difficulties in applying the present ABA Code of Professional Responsibility to certain ethical questions that can arise when the government changes its allegiance in the midst of litigation. The ethical propriety of the Department of Justice's actions is examined, and alternatives are proposed for situations in which the United States, represented in court by the Justice Department, switches sides in the same case.

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Memory Restored Or Confabulated By Hypnosis—Is It Competent?, James E. Beaver Jan 1983

Memory Restored Or Confabulated By Hypnosis—Is It Competent?, James E. Beaver

Seattle University Law Review

This article examines the scientific basis of hypnosis and concludes that previously hypnotized witnesses are incompetent to testify concerning matters discussed under hypnosis. Unbiased examination of scientific literature discloses that persons under hypnosis are highly motivated to please the hypnotist and therefore are likely to fantasize rather than accurately recall lost memories. After hypnosis these false impressions are fixed as true and the witness is unshakable on cross-examination. Therefore, the McCormick relevancy test is inadequate, and hypnosis tainted testimony, like other scientific evidence, must meet the stricter Frye standard before being presented to the finder of fact. Hypnosis presently does …

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Manifestation: The Least Defensible Insurance Coverage Theory For Asbestos-Related Disease Suits, Pamela J. Layton Jan 1983

Manifestation: The Least Defensible Insurance Coverage Theory For Asbestos-Related Disease Suits, Pamela J. Layton

Seattle University Law Review

This Note first explains the nature of asbestos diseases, the standard insurance policy language, and the theories of insurance coverage. It then demonstrates the misapplications of medical evidence and contract interpretation principles in Eagle-Picher Industries Inc. v. Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, and concludes with a discussion of the wider implications of the decision and the better theory suggested by Judge Wald. Because the facts and issues involved in Insurance Company of North America v. Forty-Eight Insulations, Keene Corp. v. Insurance Company of North America, and Eagle-Picher are essentially the same, the conclusions drawn from Eagle-Picher apply equally …

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The Discretionary Function Exception And The Suits In Admiralty Act: A Safe Harbor For Negligence?, Kathryn C. Nielsen Jan 1981

The Discretionary Function Exception And The Suits In Admiralty Act: A Safe Harbor For Negligence?, Kathryn C. Nielsen

Seattle University Law Review

This comment will focus on the different circuits' responses to the issue of whether the SIA should be read in light of the discretionary function exception.

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Product Liability Reform Proposals In Washington--A Public Policy Analysis, Howard E. Bundy Jan 1980

Product Liability Reform Proposals In Washington--A Public Policy Analysis, Howard E. Bundy

Seattle University Law Review

The current interest in statutory reform of product liability law presents a unique opportunity for the Washington Legislature to make some principled decisions in furtherance of the policies behind product liability law. The legislature, in deciding the future direction of product liability law in Washington, must look beyond polarized interests to policy considerations for guidance.

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Proposed Citizens Right To Standing Act-Finding The Keys To Unlock The Courthouse Doors, Harold W. Wood, Jr. Jan 1979

Proposed Citizens Right To Standing Act-Finding The Keys To Unlock The Courthouse Doors, Harold W. Wood, Jr.

Seattle University Law Review

Recent Supreme Court decisions severely restrict the right of citizens to litigate in federal courts. The Court's standing requirements not only limit the ability of citizens to successfully invoke federal court jurisdiction, but also confuse lower courts and litigants attempting to apply the requirements. Standing requirements have met with increasing criticism. And Congress is now considering legislative modification of standing doctrine. Unfortunately, the Court's employment of constitutional foundations in establishing current standing requirements imposes substantial roadblocks Congress must avoid to enact remedial standing legislation. This comment examines the constitutional and pragmatic difficulties of statutory modification of standing requirements and recommends …

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A Practitioner's Guide To The Management And Use Of Expert Witnesses In Washington Civil Litigation, Thomas V. Harris Jan 1979

A Practitioner's Guide To The Management And Use Of Expert Witnesses In Washington Civil Litigation, Thomas V. Harris

Seattle University Law Review

The Washington litigation process places a premium on the skillful management of expert witnesses. Testimony presented by such witnesses is both readily admissible and virtually unlimited in scope. Washington's adoption of the new Rules of Evidence can only serve to reinforce the current practice. Since most litigated cases involve substantial factual disputes, the development and presentation of expert testimony should be a major concern of all trial attorneys. The importance of trial examination has never been underrated. That part of the litigation process is one that all attorneys relish. The skillful management of expert witnesses, however, involves far more than …

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