Welcome to The Briefing - a legal podcast by Smith Freed Eberhard. We will provide insight and analysis on new Oregon and Washington case law, litigation innovation and technology, the insurance marketplace, and firm news.

In this week's episode Partner Brian Schiewe publishes Smith Freed Eberhard's latest Legal Alert, "Spoiler Alert! Spoliation Combined with Discovery Violations Are Sanctionable by Default Judgment". A default judgment on liability is an appropriate discovery sanction when spoliation - combined with multiple discovery violations – makes it difficult for the opposing party to uncover the spoliation.

Welcome to The Briefing - a legal podcast by Smith Freed Eberhard. We will provide insight and analysis on new Oregon and Washington case law, litigation innovation and technology, the insurance marketplace, and firm news.

In this week's episode Partner Josh Hayward publishes Smith Freed Eberhard's latest Legal Alert, "When Underlying Conditions Don’t Automatically Prove Causation". The Oregon Court of Appeals examined an appeal by Roberta and Kevin Haas (“Plaintiffs”) who claimed that the trial court erred when it refused to give the substantial-factor jury instruction in addition to the but-for instruction.

Welcome to The Briefing - a legal podcast by Smith Freed Eberhard. We will provide insight and analysis on new Oregon and Washington case law, litigation innovation and technology, the insurance marketplace, and firm news.

In this week's episode Partner Brian Schiewe discusses Smith Freed Eberhard's latest Legal Alert, "Au Contraire: Even the Smallest Contradictions in Deposition Testimony Can Make or Break a Case". Division One of the Washington State Court of Appeals analyzed the testimony of a plaintiff who claimed she was injured when a King County Metro bus clipped her parked car.

Welcome to The Briefing - a legal podcast by Smith Freed Eberhard. We will provide insight and analysis on new Oregon and Washington case law, litigation innovation and technology, the insurance marketplace, and firm news.

In this week's episode Partner Gordon Klug discusses Smith Freed Eberhard's latest Legal Alert, "Arbitration Agreements Trump Elder Care". The Court of Appeals of Washington Division Two, held that the trial court erred in denying an assisted living facilities motion to compel arbitration because RCW 70.129.105 does not prohibit its arbitration agreement with a resident.

Welcome to The Briefing - a legal podcast by Smith Freed Eberhard. We will provide insight and analysis on new Oregon and Washington case law, litigation innovation and technology, the insurance marketplace, and firm news.

In this week's episode Partner Gordon Klug discusses Smith Freed Eberhard's latest Legal Alert, "It’s All in The Fine Print – Are Arbitration Clauses Unconscionable and Do They Apply Retroactively?". The Washington Court of Appeals held that the trial court erred in denying a motion to compel arbitration without first having an evidentiary hearing, because the facts were insufficient to support a finding that the arbitration agreement was unconscionable.

Welcome to The Briefing – a legal podcast by Smith Freed Eberhard. We will provide insight and analysis on new Oregon and Washington case law, litigation innovation and technology, the insurance marketplace, and firm news.

In this week’s episode Partner Cliff Wilson discusses Smith Freed Eberhard’s latest Legal Alert, “First-Party Bad Faith in Oregon? Are the floodgates about to open? Violations of the Oregon Insurance Code Held to Give Rise to the Pursuit of Emotional Distress Damages”. The Oregon Court of Appeals has recently held that a negligence per se claim brought by an insured based on alleged violations of Oregon’s Unfair Claims Settlement Practices Statute (ORS 746.230) can give rise to emotional distress damages against an insurer who denied coverage.

Welcome to The Briefing - a legal podcast by Smith Freed Eberhard. We will provide insight and analysis on new Oregon and Washington case law, litigation innovation and technology, the insurance marketplace, and firm news.

In this week's episode Abby Ferguson, Marketing Manager, discusses Smith Freed Eberhard's latest Legal Alert, "Airbnb and Hot Tub Liability: Read This Before Your Next Vacation".

Welcome to The Briefing - a legal podcast by Smith Freed Eberhard. We will provide insight and analysis on new Oregon and Washington case law, litigation innovation and technology, the insurance marketplace, and firm news.

In this week's episode Abby Ferguson, Marketing Manager, discusses Smith Freed Eberhard's latest Legal Alert, "Silence Isn't Always Golden".

Welcome to The Briefing - a legal podcast by Smith Freed Eberhard. We will provide insight and analysis on new Oregon and Washington case law, litigation innovation and technology, the insurance marketplace, and firm news.

In this week's episode Abby Ferguson, Marketing Manager, discusses Smith Freed Eberhard's latest Legal Alert about Senate Bill 180, "Insurers Downwind of Lawyer Theft: Must Send Notice Directly To Claimant Whenever They Settle Their Claim".

The Court of Appeals held that a plaintiff does not need to produce evidence that shows the plaintiff was exposed to the asbestos-containing product at a particular time and location. Rather, a plaintiff only needs to provide evidence sufficient for a jury to believe exposure occurred. Further, the Court found that a jury can award damages based on the largest numbers that appear in the Complaint—even if the damages alleged in the body of the Complaint do not total the prayed for amount. The Court placed responsibility on defendants to clarify typos or inconsistencies in a plaintiff’s pleading to mitigate any increased damage exposure that may result.