GROFF MURPHY NEWS

Recent Cases & Developments:

• Groff Murphy argued on behalf of the AGC and succeeded in obtaining the Washington Supreme Court’s reversal of Williams v. Athletic Field, Inc. Read more.


• Groff Murphy successfully defeated a bid protest on a $177 million construction project for Washington State Department of Transportation on behalf of its general contractor client. The disgruntled bidder sought to enjoin the award of the contract to the low bidder based upon the low bidder’s use of the term “mechanical” in its subcontractor listing. The Thurston County Superior Court denied the requested injunction and allowed the contract to be awarded to our client.


• Groff Murphy obtained an order enforcing a subcontract “pay if paid” clause in King County Superior Court. The subcontractor sued our general contractor client for payment. Groff Murphy argued that the subcontractor was not entitled to payment because the general contractor had not been paid by the project Owner and the subcontract included a “pay if paid” provision. The Superior Court agreed, enforced the “pay if paid provision,” and dismissed the claims against our client.


• Groff Murphy established new precedent expanding the scope of an insurer’s liability for bad faith claims handling in Washington. In denying the insurers’ motion to dismiss, the Western District of Washington held that an insurance claims representative may be held individually liable for bad faith claims handling. In addition, the Court granted our client’s motion for summary judgment on its bad faith claims based on the insurer’s failure to honor the “made whole” rule during settlement negotiations

Noteworthy:

• Groff Murphy is pleased to announce that Brittany F. Stevens has joined the firm as an associate. Ms. Stevens is a 2009 graduate of the University of Washington School of Law, where she was Managing Editor of Production for the Pacific Rim Law and Policy Journal. Ms. Stevens was formerly an associate attorney with Paul Hastings LLP in San Francisco. Ms. Steven’s practice will focus on construction, real estate, and commercial litigation.


• Best Lawyers, the oldest and most respected peer-review publication in the legal profession, has named David C. Groff as the “Seattle Best Lawyers Construction Law Lawyer of the Year” for 2012. Read more.


• Groff Murphy is honored to have been named a First Tier National Construction Litigation Firm by Best Lawyers and US News and World Report for 2011-12. “The rankings are based on a rigorous evaluation process that included thousands of clients, highly skilled lawyers and law firm representatives. An unprecedented amount of data was collected, emphasizing the scope of this endeavor and the significance of our recognition for this prestigious status.”


• Dave Groff, Mike Murphy and Steve Parkinson were named 2011 “Super Lawyers” by Washington Law & Politics.


• Marisa Bavand and Dan Carmalt were named 2011 “Rising Stars” in the “Super Lawyers” edition of Washington Law & Politics.


• David Groff has been recognized by Best Lawyers for 2011-12.


• Marisa Bavand was elected to the WSBA Construction Law Section Council.


• Mike Grace was elected chairman of the Legal Affairs Committee of the Associated General Contractors of Washington