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g.
val tollefson
education
BA, Univ of Washington. JD, Univ of Washington (member, board
of editors, Washington Law Review)
experience
US Navy pilot, 1964-69. USN Reserve, 1969-74. Lane Powell, 1973-85.
Co-founded Danielson Harrigan Leyh & Tollefson in 1986
contact
info
valt@dhlt.com
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Val Tollefson
is acknowledged as one of Seattle's best trial lawyers, and is
a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. His varied
practice spans complex commercial cases, aviation, product liability,
employment, maritime and insurance litigation. He is also frequently
selected as a mediator or arbitrator. After a rewarding career
at Lane Powell, where he was privileged to be one of youngest
members of the Executive Committee, Val left with other partners
to form Danielson Harrigan Leyh & Tollefson in 1986.
In addition
to his regular practice, Val has for years accepted cases from
the federal Civil Rights Pro Bono Panel, and been involved in
other pro bono efforts. He is also active in civic life on Bainbridge
Island, where he has chaired the Bainbridge Foundation and the
Harbor Commission, was co-chair of the private fund-raising effort
that was instrumental in the creation of Joel Pritchard Park on
50 acres of prime waterfront property, and currently serves on
the Boards of the Bainbridge Public Library and the Bainbridge
Island Land Trust. In his spare time, he pilots his private airplane
in support of the non-profit organizations Angel Flight and Lighthawk.
The
following is a small but representative list of Val's significant
engagements. He would be happy to provide a complete list of significant
cases.
Val was
retained to represent the manufacturer of a product which was
implicated in a fire that destroyed a Red Lion hotel. After protracted
litigation involving multiple defendants and dozens of experts,
he was able to resolve the case against his client on favorable
terms. He was then promptly retained by one of the remaining defendants
to substitute for its counsel, and shortly resolved those claims
as well.
He represented
Fluke Corporation, when its liability insurer declined coverage
in a California malicious prosecution case. An adverse ruling
on summary judgment by the trial court was reversed by the Washington
Supreme Court in Fluke v. Hartford, 145 Wn.2d 137, 34 P.3d 809
(2001), which affirmed the insurability of punitive damages in
Washington.
Val represented
Olympic Pipeline Company in a suit arising from an attempt by
the City of Seattle to force shut down of a spur line running
through the City. He obtained a Preliminary Injunction against
the City, and then summary judgment. The Ninth Circuit affirmed
the trial court rulings on the basis of federal preemption of
pipeline safety regulation.
More generally,
he has represented aviation and marine interests in casualty and
commercial litigation, and in regulatory and business matters,
for over 30 years, during which he has developed a reputation
for time and again finding the innovative route to success. In
the late 1970s, he pioneered the use of mock juries in complex
litigation. His creative use of demonstrative evidence has resulted
in favorable verdicts in case after case.
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