| |
Litigation Services
 HCMP
trial lawyers are creative and effective problem solvers.
 The
lawyers in our Litigation Group are skilled advocates who practice in
all areas of dispute resolution, including trial and appellate litigation,
arbitration, mediation, and regulatory proceedings.
Ours is a problem-solving approach. Through careful analysis and planning
at the outset of a case, we advise our clients of the potential benefits
and risks presented by various courses of action. Our objective in each
case is to identify the best means of achieving our client's goals,
and to be forceful advocates of our client's interests.
HCMP trial lawyers have expertise in litigating cases involving corporate
and business matters, employment law, creditors' rights and bankruptcy,
unfair trade practices, securities, product liability, toxic torts,
intellectual property, eminent domain and inverse condemnation, and
land use and real estate.
We have considerable experience in the management of complex cases.
We use state-of-the-art computer litigation support to manage large
volumes of documents and testimony. Our litigation staff includes
experienced legal assistants who perform investigative research, document
review, indexing, and other tasks.
At HCMP, we maintain the cost effectiveness of our representation
through efficient staffing of lawyers working on particular matters,
and appropriate use of paralegals and technology. We believe that
our problem-solving approach to litigation has produced outstanding
results over the years for our clients.
Representative litigation cases handled by the firm include:
- Neuheisel v. University of Washington and NCAA. We defended
the University of Washington in the lawsuit brought by its former
head football coach, Rick Neuheisel, after he was fired by the University.
Following a six-week jury trial, this case was resolved favorably
for our client.
- Cutshaw v. Weyerhaeuser Co. This firm represented Weyerhaeuser
Company in an action brought by 242 residents and property owners
in Aberdeen, Washington, involving Weyerhaeuser's Cosmopolis Mill.
Plaintiffs asserted claims under the Model Toxics Control Act, the
Hazardous Waste Management Act, and Washington air pollution regulations,
along with a variety of traditional tort claims. A jury verdict on
the claims of the first 22 plaintiffs was reached in April 1993, awarding
those plaintiffs less than one-tenth the total amount of damages sought.
Appeals were filed by plaintiffs and Weyerhaeuser, and a settlement
was reached soon thereafter.
- Alakayak v. All Alaskan Seafoods, Inc., et al. We represented
Mitsubishi Corporation and Mitsubishi International Corporation in
this antitrust class action in Anchorage, Alaska. The class plaintiffs
alleged a price fixing conspiracy among purchasers of Bristol Bay
salmon, seeking compensatory damages of $325 million, and treble damages
of $975 million. A settlement dismissing all claims against Mitsubishi
was reached after we filed a motion for summary judgment.
- Bristol-Myers Squibb Company. We represent Bristol-Myers
Squibb in pharmaceutical products liability cases in Washington State,
including class action cases and individual cases. In LaMontagne
v. Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, 127 Wn.App. 335, 111 P.3d 857
(2005), we successfully argued that plaintiffs' claims should be dismissed
on summary judgment because the warnings in the pharmaceutical package
insert were adequate as a matter of law.
- Zymogenetics, Inc. v. Immunex Corporation. We were co-counsel
for defendant Immunex Corporation in this biotechnology patent infringement
case. The case involved the novel use of a neutral expert to provide
the court with a tutorial on the biotechnology involved in the litigation.
The case was favorably resolved pursuant to a license agreement.
- Horizon Air Industries, Inc. v. Dornier Luftfahrt GmbH. We
represented Horizon Air in an arbitration pursuant to the rules of
the International Chamber of Commerce, seeking return of millions
of dollars of deposits, in a case arising out of Horizon's termination
of an aircraft purchase agreement. The case was settled favorably
to Horizon during the course of the arbitration hearing.
- Washington State Investment Board v. The New England Mutual Life
Insurance Co.; In re New England Mutual Life Insurance Company Litigation;
and In re Washington / Ohio Pension Funds Litigation. We were
co-counsel for The New England Mutual Life Insurance Company and its
subsidiary, Copley Real Estate Advisors, Inc., in suits in federal
and state courts arising out of approximately $800 million in real
estate investments. Plaintiffs, the Washington State Investment Board,
the State Teachers Retirement Board of Ohio, and putative class action
plaintiffs, asserted claims totaling $1.2 billion for federal and
state securities fraud, breach of fiduciary duties, breach of contract,
common law fraud, and negligence. The federal class action case was
dismissed on a motion (and the dismissal affirmed on appeal), and
the state court case was successfully resolved through mediation before
trial.
- Cascade Airways v. Horizon Air Industries, Inc. We successfully
defended Horizon Air in this $78 million RICO and securities fraud
case brought in federal district court in Spokane, and in a parallel
case brought in Spokane County Superior Court. The federal case was
dismissed on our motion for summary judgment, and the dismissal was
affirmed by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The state case was
dismissed by the plaintiff after we filed a motion for summary judgment.
- Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals Inc. We defended Merrell Dow
in over 30 Bendectin product liability cases filed throughout Washington
state. Two of the cases were consolidated in federal district court
in Tacoma for a four-week jury trial, which resulted in a defense
verdict.
- Celotex Corp. We managed in excess of 1,100 asbestos cases
for Celotex on a negotiated fee basis. Our approach stressed streamlined
case management and strict application of a settlement matrix. To
enforce the matrix, we took 28 jury cases to verdict in federal district
court and state superior court. We obtained favorable trial or appellate
decisions in 23 of the cases.
- Chilkoot Lumber Co. v. Weyerhaeuser Co. We successfully defended
Weyerhaeuser in a four-month federal jury trial in Alaska, where plaintiff
sought damages of $50 million for alleged destruction of businesses,
based on claims of fraud, misrepresentation and breach of contract.
- Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc.; Citigroup Global
Markets, Inc.; J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.; Edward D. Jones &
Company; CIBC Oppenheimer Corp.; Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC;
and D.A. Davidson & Co., Inc. We handle a wide variety of
securities cases for these and other clients in state and federal
courts and before arbitration tribunals of various regulatory organizations.
Lawyers in the firm regularly serve as arbitrators in securities cases.
- Mitsubishi International Corporation; Weyerhaeuser Company;
Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc.; Citigroup Global
Markets, Inc.; Edward D. Jones & Company; NCR Comten Corporation;
Horizon Air; Princeton Packaging Corporation; Armored Transport;
and JAMCO America, Inc. We have handled numerous employment
matters for these clients, in cases in state and federal courts
and before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, State Human
Rights Commission, and various other administrative and arbitration
tribunals.
- Weyerhaeuser Real Estate Company; Quadrant Corporation; and
Glacier Northwest, Inc. For these and other clients, we have
handled a wide variety of real estate litigation, including ownership
and conveyancing actions; boundary disputes; landlord-tenant matters;
non-disclosure cases; and litigation involving mortgages, deeds
of trust, liens and other encumbrances.
We also have handled many significant Land
Use & Real Estate Litigation cases.
For More Information Contact: Michael
R. Scott.
|
|
