Representative Matters
- Woodruff v. Port of Tacoma & Zidell Explorations, Inc., No. 20-2-08044-1 (Pierce County 2021) – Obtained an $11.2 million jury verdict in for a 75-year-old man exposed to asbestos while working at Zidell Dismantling in the early 1970s. Zidell dismantling decommissioned Navy ships that were owned by its Portland-based sister corporation, Zidell Explorations. The jury found that both Zidell Explorations and the Port of Tacoma, upon whose land Zidell operated, were negligent.
- Rublee v. Pfizer, Inc., No. 94732-5, 2018 WL 5732314 (Wash. Nov. 1, 2018) – Served on the appellate team to successfully argue that Washington State should adopt the apparent manufacturer doctrine as set forth in Restatement (Second) of Torts § 400. Reversing the trial court and Court of Appeals, the Washington State Supreme Court held that genuine issues of material fact existed as to whether a reasonable consumer could believe that Pfizer was a manufacturer of the asbestos products that caused Vernon Rublee’s illness and death.
- Leren v. Kaiser Gypsum Co., Inc., No. 15-2-28006-6 SEA (King County 2017) – Served on the trial team that held defendant Elementis, Inc. liable as the successor to Benson Chemical Corporation for Benson’s sale of raw asbestos and asbestos-containing products. Successfully argued that this holding should be given the effect of collateral estoppel in Hoy v. Albany International Corp., et al., 17-2-29851-4 SEA (King County 2018).
- King County Style Order – Successfully petitioned King County Superior Court to abolish a decades-old rule requiring asbestos plaintiffs to submit to a forced autopsy except where they have “ethical or moral” objections.
Education
- Seattle University School of Law, J.D., 2016, summa cum laude
- Note & Comment Editor, Seattle University Law Review
- Central Washington University, Law and Justice, B.A., 2005
Admissions
- Washington
Publications
- Justin Olson & Scott MacDonald, Seattle University Homeless Rights Advocacy Project, Washington’s War on the Visibly Poor: A Survey of Criminalizing Ordinances & Their Enforcement (Sara Rankin ed., 2015), available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2602318 So, Justin Olson, Scott MacDonald & Ryan Mansell, Seattle University Homeless Rights Advocacy Project, Living at the Intersection: Laws and Vehicle Residency (Sara Rankin ed., 2016), available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2776423
Memberships
- Washington State Bar Association
- Tacoma-Pierce County Bar Association
- Washington State Association for Justice
- American Association for Justice
- American Bar Association
Honors
- Washington Super Lawyers 2022
