II. Plaintiffs’ Underlying Tort Lawsuits

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 Washington courts going for new technology expenses.” See State of the Judiciary, Washington State Supreme Court, at 16 (2021), available at https://www.courts.wa.gov/newsinfo/content/StateoftheJudiciary2021.cfm (accessed Aug. 9, 2021) (cited in FAC ¶ 5.39, n.39). The Washington Supreme Court authorized resumption of civil jury trials in June 2020, insofar as courts could “observ[e] social distancing and follow[] the most protective applicable public health guidance in their jurisdiction.” See Order

Re: Modification of Jury Trial Proceedings, No. 25700-B-631, at 2 (June 18, 2020)

(lifting previous suspension of jury trials); FAC ¶ 5.75. Nothing in the Supreme Court’s order, however, “limit[ed] the authority of courts to adopt measures to protect health and safety that are more restrictive than th[e] Order, as circumstances warrant.” Order No. 25700-B-631, at 5.

II. Plaintiffs’ Underlying Tort Lawsuits

Plaintiffs have four tort suits pending in Grant, Pierce, and King Counties. See FAC ¶¶ 2.5, 2.20, 5.82-5.84. While the instant complaint is premised on their constitutional rights allegedly being violated in those cases, they spend just a few paragraphs describing those proceedings. FAC ¶¶ 2.3, 2.8, 2.18-2.20, 2.22, 5.82-5.84. This Court can and should take judicial notice of the records in those cases, which are “public documents” that are also effectively incorporated into the amended complaint. See Jackson v. Quality Loan Serv. Corp., 186 Wn. App. 838, 844, 347 P.3d 487 (2015). Plaintiffs Jennifer Ralston and Caleb McNamara are pursuing a wrongfuldeath lawsuit in Grant County against the alleged perpetrator of their father’s murder. FAC ¶ 5.82; Martin Ex. C. The lawsuit was filed in 2015 and has been

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 bitterly contested between the parties. See, e.g., Martin Ex. G at 29 (defining every word in a prior court order, on the theory it “was not clear enough” for opposing counsel). In fact, the wrongful-death suit spawned a separate defamation suit, in which the wrongful-death defendant sued plaintiffs’ counsel for posting information on her firm’s website. See McNamara v. Koehler, 4 Wn. App. 2d 1071 (2018) (unpublished). In September 2020, the defendant moved for a continuance, citing defense counsel’s need for multiple surgeries and outstanding discovery issues. See Martin Ex. G at 4-5. The court granted the continuance and set a new trial date in March 2022. Martin Ex. H at 2. Its order

expressly notes that: “The parties may bring a motion for an expedited trial date.” Id. The record does not indicate that they have done so. See Martin Ex. C. Plaintiff Braeden Simon is pursuing a negligence lawsuit in Pierce County arising from his motorcycle accident there. FAC ¶ 5.83. The accident occurred in February 2020. See Martin Ex. I at 2. Mr. Simon filed his amended complaint in October 2020. Martin Ex. D at 2. The original case schedule set the trial for September 7, 2021. Id. at 1. The case was reassigned to Judge Kirkendoll in February 2021. Martin Ex. J. Because of a scheduling conflict, Judge Kirkendoll continued the trial date shortly after reassignment. Martin Ex. K. The trial was postponed for only five months, received Judge Kirkendoll’s next available trial date, and is now set to occur just seventeen months after Mr. Simon filed his complaint. Id.; FAC ¶ 5.83. Plaintiffs Abie Ekenezer, Jesse Hughey, Tim Kauchak (or Kauchuk, see FAC p. 1), Jordan Pickett, Daniel Pierce, Sean Swanson, Joey Wieser, and Quinn Zoschke are among “approximately 55” plaintiffs who sued the City of Seattle,

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 King County, and the State in September 2020 for injuries allegedly incurred during last year’s protests advocating racial justice. FAC ¶¶ 2.18, 5.84; Martin Ex. E at 5. Their 248-page third amended complaint was filed in April 2021, dismissed in part on June 25, and answered on July 30. Id. at 7-9; Martin Ex. L. In light of the case’s complexity (plaintiffs disclosed more than 550 witnesses) and the extent of plaintiffs’ discovery requests (55 written discovery requests containing nearly 1,000 subparts), the defendants requested a two-year trial continuance and appointment of a special master. Martin Ex. M. The court denied the request for a special master and continued the initial trial date by approximately seventeen months, from September 2021 to February 2023. FAC

¶ 2.19. Plaintiff Jeff Cushman is one of several plaintiffs in consolidated tort suits stemming from an automobile accident allegedly caused by a Lyft driver. FAC ¶ 2.20; Martin Ex. N. The accident occurred in July 2019; the lawsuit was filed in King County in October 2020; and trial was initially set for October 2021. FAC ¶ 2.20; Martin Ex. F. After the court consolidated Cushman’s case with later-filed cases, the parties agreed that a modest trial continuance was warranted, but— unlike the defendants and some of his co-plaintiffs—Cushman believed a two-month continuance sufficed. Martin Ex. O at 7. The court continued the trial

by five months, to March 2022. FAC ¶ 2.20. On August 12, 2021, Cushman and his co-plaintiffs filed an amended complaint to add plaintiffs and claims against a third-party defendant. Martin Ex. P at 5; Martin Ex. N. Plaintiffs do not allege that they have raised any constitutional concerns in their tort cases. See generally FAC. Nor do they allege taking any steps to

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Perkins Coie LLP 1201 Third Avenue, Suite 4900 Seattle, Washington 98101-3099 Phone: 206.359.8000 Fax: 206.359.9000