Published Decisions

include:

People v. Collins, 26 Cal.4th 297 (2001)

in which the California Supreme Court held that in bargaining with the defendant to secure a waiver of his right to a jury trial, the trial court violated its obligation to remain neutral, which amounted to a “structural error” necessitating reversal of the defendant’s felony convictions;

MONTALVO V. SPIRIT AIRLINES, 508 F.3D 464 (9TH CIR. 2007)

16 consolidated appeals in which the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the U.S. District Court’s holding that claims for personal injury from deep vein thrombosis (a blood clot in a deep vein) against several airlines based on defective legroom configuration are barred due to federal pre-emption, while affirming the district court’s holding that such claims based on failure to warn of deep vein thrombosis were pre-empted.  The challenged district court ruling appears at In re Deep Vein Thrombosis Litigation, MDL No. 04-1606, 2005 WL 591241 (N.D. Cal. March 11, 2005);

Appellants’ Opening Brief in Montalvo v. Spirit Airlines. (PDF document)

October 4, 2007 San Francisco Chronicle article on the Ninth Circuit’s decision in Montalvo v. Spirit Airlines
October 4, 2007 Bloomberg.com article on the Ninth Circuit’s decision in Montalvo v. Spirit Airlines

SANDERS V. CITY OF SEATTLE, 160 Wn.2d 198 (2007)

Over two dissents, the Washington Supreme Court held that a private shopping center did not violate my clients’ rights to freedom of expression by ordering them to lower protest signs, while they used a public easement in the shopping center.  The challenged superior court ruling appears at http://www.metrokc.gov/kcsc/opinions.htm.

Appellants’ Opening Brief in Sanders v. City of Seattle. (PDF document) This case was heard in the Supreme Court, because the Supreme Court, on its own motion, transferred the case from the Court of Appeals to the Supreme Court under Washington Rule of Appellate Procedure 4.4.  No supplemental brief was filed in the Supreme Court.

April 27, 2007 Seattle Post-Intelligencer article on the Washington Supreme Court’s decision in Sanders v. City of Seattle
May 15, 2007 Seattle Post-Intelligencer Op-Ed on the Washington Supreme Court’s decision in Sanders v. City of Seattle
April 27, 2007 Seattle Times article on the Washington Supreme Court’s decision in Sanders v. City of Seattle
April 29, 2007 Associated Press article on the Washington Supreme Court’s decision in Sanders v. City of Seattle
June 14, 2006 Seattle Post-Intelligencer article on oral argument in Washington Supreme Court in Sanders v. City of Seattle
March 12, 2003 Seattle Post-Intelligencer article on suppression of free expression at private shopping center

Pham v. City of Seattle, 124 Wn.App. 716 (2004)

in which the Washington Court of Appeals reversed the trial court’s denial of an attorney fee multiplier, and which established that plaintiffs prevailing under the Washington Law Against Discrimination are entitled to an income tax offset for non-economic damages among other holdings;

Fadaie v. Alaska Airlines, Inc., 293 F. Supp.2d 1210 (W.D. Wash. 2003)

in which the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington held that recently enacted federal protection for whistleblowers in aviation did not pre-empt a whistleblower’s state law claim for wrongful discharge, and thereby denied the defendant airline’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit among other holdings.