Another Victory For Our Clients!

Another victory for our clients—this time at the Court of Appeals. We are proud to have continued to represent the Costa family in this appeal after winning a multimillion dollar verdict at trial over a year ago. We hope that they can finally have closure after losing their beloved family member and a champion for our community, Frank, to horrific injuries caused by the negligence of the defendant. Thanks to the team at Wells Trumbull for their excellent teamwork!

https://www.courts.wa.gov/opinions/pdf/862057.pdf

Client Vs Domestic Insurance Company

More than six years ago, I met a woman who was attacked by her ex-husband in 2014 when she went to her ex-husband’s house to pick up their daughter. The ex-husband attacked her, set her on fire, and left her for dead.

The woman survived but suffered massive injuries including a permanent brain injury and painful scarring over much of her body. The ex-husband was convicted of attempted murder, arson, and assault—all enhanced with a finding of “domestic violence.”

The fire also destroyed the house—a house that the woman had recently left to escape the ex-husband. The house had been awarded to the ex-husband in the divorce a couple months earlier, but the woman remained on the deed and the insurance policy. It was the former couple’s only real asset. One of the motives for the ex-husband’s attack was to avoid the financial obligations he made in exchange for the house.

The insurance company learned about the attack only days later from the fire marshal. They saw immediately that the woman was on the policy.

Yet, after multiple roundtables involving no less than three lawyers, the insurance company denied all coverage to the woman. They internally decided that because the woman and her attacker were divorced, the ex-husband’s attack did not meet the definition of “domestic abuse.”

After fighting at the trial court for years, we had to appeal to the higher courts. That process took yet another year--all the while my client worked two jobs just to barely make ends meet.

She finally won on September 3, 2024--exactly one year ago today. The appellate court ruled the insurance company violated the policy by denying her coverage and finding that violence between ex-spouses is domestic abuse for the purpose of insurance.

The opinion can be found by following this link:

https://www.courts.wa.gov/opinions/pdf/854666.pdf

Even after winning though, the insurance company kept fighting the case, so we pushed and pushed for a trial. Then, earlier this year, they finally broke and we reached a settlement with the insurance company--more than six years after I started working on the case.

There is a saying in the law that "the wheels of justice move slowly, but grind exceedingly fine." That was true in this case.

My client is an incredible, amazing human with unmatched perseverance. I have been so honored to walk beside her in this journey, along with my very good friends and co-counsel, Wells Trumbull, and Jim Sorrels.

Although this video is old and doesn't directly relate to the insurance claim, it tells a bit about the person who has made our state a better place for survivors of domestic abuse:

https://komonews.com/.../bothell-woman-reclaims-life-3...

Everett, Washington — Cascade Law is proud to report a jury verdict of $6.5 million for our client in Snohomish County Superior Court

In a case tried before Judge Anna Alexander, Cascade Law’s team - consisting of Cascade Law founding partner Joseph W. Moore, Joshua Trumbull (Wells Trumbull), and David Nauheim (Law Offices of David Nauheim) - celebrates a positive outcome for its client. The defense counsel, representing the defendant and State Farm, were Jennifer Kim and Christopher Roess.   

Attorney Joe Moore did most of the speaking and trial arguments; attorney Joshua Trumbull drafted jury selection, opening and closing statements (among other things), and attorney David Nauheim conducted the direct examination of the sole doctor to testify. The result could not have been accomplished without the team effort – notably including support staff Ashley Brogan and Kaia Hrachovec. As Joe notes, “Josh was a brilliant strategist, writer, and director, which allowed me to relax and connect with the jurors and witnesses.”   As a result of her 2017 accident, our client - who was only 24 years old at the time - suffers from chronic and permanent pain: pain that that State Farm minimized as a mere “soft tissue” injury. While State Farm’s entire defense essentially painted her a liar, Joe was able to focus the jury on our client’s human pain, loss, and limitations; our client's stories were raw and emotional. Multiple jurors cried throughout her testimony and during closing. It was very obvious to everyone in the courtroom that our client’s life had been devastated by the chronic pain.   

There was an extraordinary amount of work that went into this case before trial that allowed our client to tell her story without some of the typical defense attacks in the way. All three Plaintiff’s attorneys spent numerous hours arguing pretrial motions and spent significant time with our client to discover the truth of her experience.   

Joe says, “While we believe our client deserved more - I am proud at the work we accomplished as a team for the results our client received on a case that most other law firms would have settled early on, for a fraction of our verdict. We believe that our clients’ stories deserve sharing, and we strive to make their voices heard.”  

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Cascade Law PLLC is one of the top Plaintiff’s law firms in the Pacific Northwest, representing only individuals and small businesses who have been harmed by a wrongful death, serious bodily injury, catastrophic loss, wrongful insurance denial, or other serious damage requiring the skills and experience of a complex Plaintiff’s litigation team. Cascade Law was founded in 2021 to serve its core mission of four guiding principles:  Give a Voice | Shine a Light | Hold Accountable | Tell the Story