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A. Richard Dykstra
Stafford Frey Cooper, PC
3100 Two Union Square
601 Union Street
Seattle, WA 98101-1374
206.623.9900
206.748.9404 Fax
Email:
A.
Richard Dykstra |
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For approximately the
last thirty years, Richard's practice has focused on the
representation of policyholders, insurance companies and insurance
risk pools on issues of insurance coverage and good faith
claims handling. Education
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1973 - Juris Doctor,
Northeastern University School of Law, Boston MA |
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1970 - Bachelor
of Arts, cum laude, University of Washington, Seattle WA |
Recent Representative Cases
Construction Defect Cases
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Residential
Condominium Developer Liability. For the last fifteen years, Richard has served as coverage counsel for several dozen Puget Sound residential real estate developers, advising them in connection with liability insurance coverage for the claims made against them by condominium associations. In the vast majority of cases, he has successfully negotiated settlements for clients to be fully protected by their liability insurance without having to incur the expense of litigation with their insurance companies. He recently won an important case establishing the right of a policy holder to be reimbursed for its deductible before an insurance company shares in subrogation recoveries. Bordeaux Inc. v American Safety Ins., 145 Wn. App 687, 186 P.3d 1188 (2008). Representative clients include Murray Franklyn Family of Companies; Sundquist Homes; Avance Homes; Bennett Homes; Coast Real Estate Services; Cosmos Development; Courtesy Construction Co. (Oregon); HAL Real Estate; HMI Real Estate; English Cove LLC (State Farm Ins v. English Cove LLC, 121 Wn. App. 358, 88 P.3d 986 (2004); First Wellington Co.; Intracorp; The McCaugherty Companies; and The Taylor Group. |
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General
Contractor and Subcontractor Liability. Richard has represented several General Contractors and several Subcontractors in connection with coverage for liability claims made against them, on residential and commercial construction. In most cases he has succeeded in avoiding coverage litigation and negotiating settlements that protected his client without his client having to contribute any of its own funds. Representative clients include Opus Northwest LLC, Tri-State Plumbing, American Heritage Builders, and D.L. Henricksen Co. |
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Owner
Recovery for Damage to Buildings. Richard has represented the owners of buildings damaged by weather conditions, collapse, defective construction and other perils, in many cases seeking recovery of their repair costs and business interruption. Most of these cases are resolved by negotiation, without the necessity of litigation. Representative clients include HAL Real Estate; Holiday Inn at Ocean Shores; James W. Fowler Co.; Dally Properties; Fifth Avenue Development; and Legacy Construction Group. He has also represented commercial contractors seeking recovery under their Builder's Risk policies for fire, landslide, earthquake and other property damage claims. |
Other Insurance Related Cases
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Commercial Liability claims. Richard has represented businesses that have been sued to obtain the benefits of their General Liability, Directors and Officer's Liability, and E & O insurance policies, including coverage for claims of invasion of privacy, misrepresentation, or other breach of duty. Representative clients include Christensen Shipyards; Pinnacle Gaming; Activated Content; and Taco Del Mar Franchising Corp. |
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Professional
Negligence Claims. Richard has represented numerous physicians,
attorneys and architects in obtaining malpractice coverage
for claims made against them. |
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Municipal
Liability Claims. Richard represents the Washington Counties Risk Pool and the Washington Cities Insurance Authority in advising them regarding insurance coverage issues with their members. He has represented directly the City of Spokane, the City of Everett, the City of Tacoma, and Snohomish and Grant Counties in connection with coverage for claims against them. |
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Insurance
Bad Faith. Richard has brought and defended numerous insurance bad faith claims arising out of the investigation and settlement of claims. He successfully represented Maryland Casualty Co in the seminal case Chaussee v. Maryland Cas. Co., 60 Wn. App. 504, 803 P.2d 1339 (1991), in which the Court established the standard for proof of damage in a liability insurance case. More recently he successfully represented the insurance company in Alaska National Ins. Co. v. Bryan, 125 Wn. App. 24, 104 P.3d 1 (2004), where the Court applied Washington and Alaska law to determine that his client did not violate any of the insured's rights. |
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Insurance
Premium Disputes. Richard has handled many cases involving the issue of the correct calculation and collection of insurance premiums, both in Washington and Alaska. |
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Insurance
Agent and Brokers. Richard has represented both insurance agents and
brokers in malpractice claims, and has successfully prosecuted
claims against agents and brokers. |
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Evaluation
of Insurance Programs. Richard has advised many clients on their insurance
programs, going over the insured and uninsured exposures,
and evaluating the costs and benefits of insurance products. |
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Expert Consultant. Richard frequently consults with many of the Northwest's prominent attorneys on evaluation and strategy of insurance coverage and bad faith issues of their clients' cases. |
Miscellaneous Insurance Matters
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Disability
Insurance -- Successfully represented a dentist who recovered
under a disability policy. |
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Commercial
Crime insurance -- Successfully represented Expeditors International
in obtaining coverage for funds embezzled by former employees. |
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Maritime
P & I
Insurance -- Successfully represented vessel
owners seeking coverage for claims of injured parties against
them. |
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Reinsurance
disputes -- Several times successfully represented ceding insurance companies recover on their reinsurance treaties in reinsurance arbitrations. |
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Homeowners
Insurance -- Successfully represented the seller of a home obtain
coverage for defective construction claims made by the buyer. |
Professional
Experience
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1979-Present,
Shareholder, Stafford Frey Cooper (President 2005-2007) |
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1975-1979,
Associate, Stafford Frey & Mertel |
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1973-1975, Law Clerk,
Judge Frank James, Washington State Court of Appeals |
Professional
Associations
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American
Bar Association |
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Insurance
Coverage Committee of the Tort and Insurance Practice Section |
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Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee
of the Litigation Section of the American Bar Association |
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Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS) |
Other
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"AV" rated
("preeminent") via Martindale Hubbell, by peer
attorneys and judges. |
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Selected for inclusion in Washington
Law & Politics Super Lawyer list in 2000, 2003-2009. |
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Selected for inclusion in 'Best Lawyers in America' 2009 in the area of insurance law. |
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Selected for inclusion in League of Justice,
Washington's Most Amazing Attorneys, Washington CEO Magazine
March 2006. |
Publications
And Speaking
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Managing Litigation Against the Corporate Executive, (The Seminar Group, May 8, 2009) |
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"TGINE (Thank Gawd it's Not ERISA)" (Washington State Assocation for Justice, January 29, 2009) |
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Overview
of Liability, Property and Builders Risk Issues for the
Construction Professional,
Annual Conference on Washington Construction Law (The Seminar
Group, September 2000-2009). |
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Overview
of Liability and Builder's Risk Insurance Issues for the
Construction Professional, Analyzing, Pursuing and Resolving
Construction Claims in Washington (Professional Educations Systems Institute
LLC, December 16, 2005). |
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Twelve
Myths and Realities of Insurance Coverage for Construction
Defect Claims (Co-Author with Ron Dinning) (Washington Defense Trial Lawyers,
February 11, 2005). |
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Reading
the Policy -- How to Get It and How to Read the Declarations
Page, Insurance Law Basics: Covering the Basics (Washington State Trial Lawyers
Association, September 22, 2004). |
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Speaker, Bad Faith
Litigation in Washington (NBI, Inc. August 13, 2002). |
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A
Policyholder's View of Defense Counsel's Ethical Duties, Annual Ethics Seminar
(Washington Defense Trial Lawyers, December 2002). |
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Common
Insurance Coverage Issues in Professional Liability Claims,
Insurance Coverage -- An Analysis of the Critical Issues
(Washington State Bar Association, April 1999); and in Suing & Defending
Professionals in Washington (Washington State Bar Association,
March 1998). |
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Staying
out of Court and in Business, Co-Author (Archipelago Publishing,
1997). |
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Litigating
with Insurance Companies, Eighth Annual Nuts and Bolts of
Insurance Coverage Seminar, Part I (King County Bar Association,
May 1996); 18th Annual Insurance Law Seminar (Washington
State Trial Lawyers Association, January 1996). |
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Liability
Insurance and the Contractual Allocation of Risk, Nuts & Bolts
of Insurance Coverage, Part 2A (King County Bar Association,
May 1995). |
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Insurance
Coverage for Derivative Liabilities of Successor Corporations,
Litigating the Coverage Claim II: Pretrial Procedures and
Strategies (American Bar Association -TIPS Section, 1993). |
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Notice
and the Right to be Heard: the Significance of Old Friends,
Harvard Civil Rights Civil Liberties Law Review, (May 1974)
(Co-author with Professor Steven N. Subrin). |
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| Washington
State Bar Association (1973) |
| Federal
District Court, Western District of Washington (1975) |
| Ninth
Circuit Court of Appeals (1975) |
| Alaska
Bar Association (1987) |
| Federal
District Court for District of Alaska (1987) |
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