Many lawyers treat Federal Rule of Evidence 408 and its state analogues as a blanket confidentiality provision that precludes reliance upon—or even disclosure of—settlement communications.  The language of the rule itself, however, and cases applying it, make clear that Rule 408 is not so broad: not every communication with a “Rule 408 Settlement Communication” stamp is inadmissible. Federal Rule ...

Many lawyers treat Federal Rule of Evidence 408 and its state analogues as a blanket confidentiality provision that precludes reliance upon—or even disclosure of—settlement communications.  The language of the rule ...

In prior blog posts we examined Washington law on noncompete agreements: the current statutory scheme that curtails the use of noncompete agreements in certain contexts [here] and [here], and how Washington courts evaluate the reasonableness of a noncompete agreement to determine its enforceability [here]. A recently proposed rule by the Federal Trade Commission would upend this Washington law.[1] Under ...

In prior blog posts we examined Washington law on noncompete agreements: the current statutory scheme that curtails the use of noncompete agreements in certain contexts [here] and [here], and how ...

Since its adoption by the United States Supreme Court in 1796, the “American Rule” has been a bedrock principle of American law.1 The basis for the rule is the idea that it promotes access to the courts: potential litigants may be discouraged from pursuing their claims if losing would mean they had to pay the other side’s attorney’s fees. ...

Since its adoption by the United States Supreme Court in 1796, the “American Rule” has been a bedrock principle of American law.1 The basis for the rule is the idea ...

An update to our prior post "Baseball Tries An Old Saw: “Let’s not compete on wages….”:  On different grounds, there is a new challenge to Baseball’s antitrust exemption, brought by four of the minor league baseball clubs which lost their MLB affiliation in the recent shakeup of the minor leagues' organization.  See the complaint here.  Antitrust expertise has long ...

An update to our prior post "Baseball Tries An Old Saw: “Let’s not compete on wages….”:  On different grounds, there is a new challenge to Baseball’s antitrust exemption, brought by ...

Virtually all businesses, and not least the professional sports leagues, are looking to cut costs in the era of coronavirus.  Major League Baseball has decided to cut its 2020 draft of amateur players, usually either high school seniors or college juniors, from 40 rounds to 5.  See https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/mlb-agrees-to-reduce-2020-draft-to-five-rounds-with-unlimited-undrafted-signings-for-20k-reports-say/. Eliminating part or all of Baseball’s amateur draft is one thing, ...

Virtually all businesses, and not least the professional sports leagues, are looking to cut costs in the era of coronavirus.  Major League Baseball has decided to cut its 2020 draft ...

Ordinarily, in a dispute over the breach or performance of a contract where the aggrieved party is seeking a monetary award as compensation, the measure of those damages is the party’s “actual damages.”  Actual damages are just that—the measure of the aggrieved party’s actual loss, measured as the difference between the current circumstances and the circumstances that would have ...

Ordinarily, in a dispute over the breach or performance of a contract where the aggrieved party is seeking a monetary award as compensation, the measure of those damages is the ...

Part Two (read Part One here) (This is the second of two articles based on David Bruce’s presentation to the 2018 Annual Meeting of the League of California Cities.  Mr. Bruce is the co-founding partner of Savitt Bruce & Willey LLP and served as a Senior Assistant City Attorney for the City of Seattle.) As discussed in the prior ...

Part Two (read Part One here) (This is the second of two articles based on David Bruce’s presentation to the 2018 Annual Meeting of the League of California Cities.  Mr. ...

A handshake and a promise may be an amicable and honorable way to make an agreement, but is it legally binding? In Washington, the answer is:  sometimes.  Whether an oral contract is enforceable in Washington depends upon the circumstances surrounding the terms of the agreement—most notably, whether the agreement falls under the provisions of the so-called “Statute of Frauds,” ...

A handshake and a promise may be an amicable and honorable way to make an agreement, but is it legally binding? In Washington, the answer is:  sometimes.  Whether an oral ...