WAPRIMA

8:30am – 1:00pm, Embassy Suites, Tukwila, WA.

Michael Tardif of  Freimund, Jackson & Tardif, LLP – Maria Tegman v Accident & Medical Investigations – Analysis and Practical Application for the Public Risk Management Professional.

The presentation at the quarterly meeting will be on Tegman v. Accident and Medical Investigations (2003). Tegman substantially altered prior law by holding that the intentional conduct of defendants must be “segregated” from the negligent conduct of co-defendants. The result is that there is no joint and several liability for intentional conduct. This is very important to government defendants in deep pocket cases in which they are often co-defendants with criminals, abusers, reckless drivers, and other similar intentional actors.

The presentation will explain the traditional doctrine of joint and several liability in Washington, and how that doctrine was changed by the tort reform acts of 1981 and 1986. The presentation will then explain the complicated history of the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the 1981 and 1986 acts, and how the Supreme Court eventually reached the interpretation in Tegman. There will be a hypothetical that shows graphically how the application of Tegman reduces verdict and settlement values in the typical intentional conduct case. Finally, the presentation will discuss the reasons that trial courts have been reluctant to apply Tegman correctly and will provide guidance to government defendants on how to overcome resistance to the application of Tegman.

Tammy Fellin, Municipal Policy Associate, Association of Washington Cities will provide the Washington State Legislative update.

I’ve updated the WAPRIMA site to this blog format. This allows us to quickly and easily update the membership on meeting dates and industry developments. It also allows members to ask questions or otherwise interact via the comments section. Please be encouraged to submit ideas or questions in this manner.

I’ll continue to fine tune the blog theme and information so check back periodically as I put the finishing touches here.