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WA Supreme Court

Kelley Drye & Warren LLP

Update on the Wave of CEMA Lawsuits

Last year, the Washington Supreme Court issued a significant decision in a class action lawsuit accusing Old Navy of sending emails that included false or misleading information about the duration of sales....more

Klein Moynihan Turco LLP

Beware of Washington’s Commercial Email Statute!

Enacted in 1998, Washington’s Commercial Electronic Mail Act (“Washington Email Statute”) was aimed at curtailing consumers’ receipt of commercial email at a time when: (1) consumers had limited internet access; and (2)...more

Fenwick & West LLP

Washington Supreme Court Expands Email Subject Line Restrictions Under CEMA

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The Washington Commercial Electronic Mail Act (CEMA), enacted in 1998, prohibits sending deceptive commercial emails and imposes a $500 penalty per violation regardless of an actual showing of damages. Section...more

Akerman LLP

Misleading email subject lines can lead to substantial liability

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In Brown v. Old Navy, LLC, 567 P.3d 38 (Wash. 2025), the Washington Supreme Court recently interpreted the state’s Commercial Electronic Mail Act to prohibit any false or misleading information in the subject line of a...more

Clark Hill PLC

$185 Million Verdict Stands in Product Liability Case After Washington Supreme Court Clarifies Choice of Law Rules

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On Oct. 30th, the Washington Supreme Court (6-3) issued a significant decision that will shape how product liability cases are handled when multiple states have connections to the dispute. ...more

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP

Washington high court reverses lower courts’ legal errors with servicer

On October 9, the Washington Supreme Court reversed a lower court’s decision and remanded a case with an extensive procedural history over a mortgage servicer’s attempts to foreclose on a deed of trust after the respondent...more

Kelley Drye & Warren LLP

Plaintiffs Claim Sketchers Emails Create False Sense of Urgency

In April, the Washington Supreme Court issued a significant decision in a class action lawsuit accusing Old Navy of sending emails that included false or misleading information about the duration of sales. The Court...more

Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani

Washington Supreme Court Eliminates “Bona Fide Applicant” Defense in EPOA Cases

On September 4, 2025, the Washington Supreme Court issued its landmark decision in Branson v. Washington Fine Wine & Spirits, LLC, fundamentally reshaping the landscape of pay transparency litigation in Washington state. ...more

Buchalter

Washington Supreme Court Holds There Is No “Good Faith” Requirement for Job Applicants Who Bring Pay Transparency Claims

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In a ruling with significant implications for any company soliciting job applicants who work in the State of Washington, the Washington Supreme Court held in Branson v. Washington Fine Wine & Spirits, LLC that job applicants...more

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

Applicants Do Not Need to Be “Bona Fide” Under the Washington Equal Pay and Opportunities Act, but Washington Supreme Court Leaves...

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On September 4, 2025, in a 6-3 decision, the Washington Supreme Court held in Branson v. Washington Fine Wine & Spirits that a plaintiff need not prove he or she was a “bona fide” applicant to recover damages under...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

Washington State Supreme Court Broadly Defines Job Applicants Covered by Pay Transparency Law

In a closely watched decision on September 4, 2025, the Washington State Supreme Court ruled that job applicants can sue for violations of the state’s pay transparency law without needing to prove they applied for the job in...more

Fisher Phillips

Washington Supreme Court Allows Any Job Applicant to Sue under Pay Transparency Statute: 3 Steps You Should Take To Reduce Your...

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The Washington Supreme Court just made it easier for plaintiffs to bring costly lawsuits against employers for violations of the state’s highly technical job posting requirements, making compliance more important than ever....more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Branson Decision Finds that EPOA Applicants Need Not Be "Bona Fide"

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The Washington Equal Pay and Opportunities Act (EPOA) has been a hot topic after the filing of hundreds of putative class action lawsuits alleging that employers violated the EPOA by failing to include pay ranges and benefits...more

Lasher

Family Investment Vehicles in Limbo: Awaiting Department of Revenue Guidance

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The legal landscape for family investment vehicles in Washington shifted dramatically after the Antio LLC v. Department of Revenue decision of the Washington Supreme Court. In Antio the taxpayers were a group of investment...more

Benesch

EPOA Amendments to Help Washington Employers Mitigate Liability Amid Forthcoming Decision in Branson v. Washington

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Washington State employers are eagerly awaiting a state Supreme Court decision regarding whether, under the Equal Pay and Opportunities Act (EPOA), a “job applicant” must have a good-faith or bona fide intent to secure...more

Perkins Coie

Washington Supreme Court Lowers Bar for Employee Lawsuits Over Latent Occupational Diseases

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Key Takeaways - - The Washington Supreme Court has relaxed the evidentiary burden for employees seeking to bypass the workers’ compensation tort immunity that typically protects Washington employers. - Employees may now...more

MG+M The Law Firm

PCBs and Precedent: What the Monsanto Settlement Means for Future Toxic Torts - (UPDATED)

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Monsanto has recently settled with families who claimed they were exposed to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) at a school near Seattle, ending what had become one of the most closely watched toxic tort cases in recent memory....more

Husch Blackwell LLP

Washington Establishes New Standard for Deliberate Injury Exception in Latent Disease Cases

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In May 2025, the Supreme Court of Washington overruled previous precedent regarding the deliberate intent to injure exception related to workers’ compensation immunity for employers, finding that an employee may sue its...more

Davis Wright Tremaine LLP

Contractor Registration in Washington State: Why It's an Important Prerequisite To File Breach of Contract Lawsuits

In Dobson v. Archibald, the Washington Supreme Court addressed and confirmed statutory analyses concerning the required contractor registration in Washington. 1 Wash. 3d 102, 523 P.3d 1190 (2023). Contractors and potential...more

Benesch

Time to RE-act: The Washington Supreme Court’s New Email Subject Line Ruling Could Put Retailers on the Hook for Trillions

Benesch on

On April 17, 2025, the Washington Supreme Court sent a message to all companies that participate in email marketing: Send with caution. The Court held that the Commercial Electronic Mail Act (“CEMA”), RCW § 19.190.020(1)(b),...more

Buchalter

Class Action Alert: “Conflict of Interest” Policies Are the Newest Trend for Class Action Lawsuits Against Employers in Washington...

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Following a recent Washington Supreme Court decision, plaintiffs’ attorneys in Washington are targeting a new type of class action claim against employers: alleged violations of Washington’s noncompetition statute based on...more

Kelley Drye & Warren LLP

Washington Supreme Court Expands Scope of Anti-Spam Law

Two years ago, we posted about a proposed class action lawsuit that accused Old Navy of spamming consumers with emails that included false or misleading information about the duration of sales. For example, the complaint...more

BakerHostetler

Not to Change the Subject (Line) ...but Email Marketers May Want to Take Note of a Recent Washington Supreme Court Ruling

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Email marketers will want to take note of a recent Washington State Supreme Court opinion interpreting what constitutes a subject line that is “false or misleading” under Washington’s Commercial Electronic Mail Act (CEMA)....more

Greenberg Glusker LLP

Washington Supreme Court Expands Reach of Anti-Spam Law

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The Washington Supreme Court has just handed down a decision significantly expanding the scope of its anti-spam law to now cover a wide array of false advertising claims relating specifically to commercial emails. The case,...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Washington Supreme Court Rejects Noncompete Provision Barring Employees Competitors

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A recent Washington State Supreme Court decision addressed a simmering conflict between the statutory right of employees earning less than double minimum wage to work a second job, on the one hand, and employees’ duty of...more

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