SEATTLE APPELLATE ATTORNEYS

 
Carney Badley Spellman’s appellate practice group represents clients in matters with significant legal, financial, and business consequences. The group handles appeals involving multimillion-dollar verdicts, commercial disputes, insurance coverage, constitutional questions, healthcare issues, election matters, medical-malpractice claims, product-liability claims, regulatory disputes, and other high-stakes matters. 

Our clients include some of the country’s leading companies, including Providence Health & Services, U-Haul, Bright Horizons, J.B. Hunt, Safelite, Allied Universal, Volkswagen, Graco, Pep Boys, Comcast, Nationwide Insurance, Allstate Insurance, Ross Dress for Less, Topgolf, and FedEx. 

Many of these matters have ramifications beyond the parties involved. The resulting decisions have clarified legal standards, influenced future litigation, and shaped how courts evaluate recurring legal issues. 

An Established Appellate Practice 

Appellate advocacy has been a core component of Carney Badley Spellman’s litigation practice for many decades. Our attorneys regularly appear before the Washington and Oregon appellate courts, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and other appellate courts. We handle appeals on the merits and submit amicus curiae briefs in cases that affect our clients’ interests. 

Our appellate lawyers also help shape appellate practice. They have chaired appellate sections of local and national organizations, helped establish organizations dedicated to appellate practice, and spoken and written extensively on appellate advocacy. Those efforts reflect a practice grounded in substantial appellate experience and active engagement with the profession. 

Embedded Appellate Counsel 

In many cases, appellate counsel becomes involved long before an appeal is filed. 

Working alongside trial counsel, Carney Badley Spellman’s appellate attorneys help address issues that may affect the outcome of litigation and any subsequent appeal. Depending on the case, that work may include dispositive motions, motions in limine, trial briefs, jury instructions, verdict forms, post-trial motions, and other opportunities to strengthen the record and improve the likelihood of success. 

The scope of that involvement varies. In some matters, appellate counsel advise on a discrete issue. In others, they work alongside the trial team throughout key stages of the litigation. 

As Rory Cosgrove explains: “We are not trying to replace trial counsel. We are trying to put a supercharger on the engine.” 

Representative Appeals 

• Obtained reversal of election-recall charges against a county commissioner. 

• Vacated an $11.2 million jury verdict in a toxic-tort case based on an erroneous spoliation finding and jury instruction. 

• Vacated an $81.5 million jury verdict in a toxic-tort case based on evidentiary error and excessive damages. 

• Reversed a decision permitting insurance-bad-faith claims against claims adjusters. 

• Preserved a $1.6 million sanction for bad-faith litigation. 

• Vacated a $10.2 million jury verdict in a toxic-tort case and established the proper remedy for erroneous admission of expert testimony.