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How to negotiate an insurance settlement

Posted on August 6, 2018 by Jolinda Stephens

Should I negotiate my own insurance settlement?

If you have an insurance settlement offer you may be able to successfully negotiate a better settlement for yourself. Your best chance is if your total damages are relatively small or your claim is with your own insurer. Here are some tips.

Don’t accept the first offer. Insurance companies often make low-ball offers.
If they believe the injury has created a financial hardship they may believe you will jump at their first offer.
- Do what you can to cover your expenses during this time. Consistently maintaining health insurance will go a long way toward easing the financial burden of medical expenses.
- Also, if your income has stopped or greatly reduced, consider taking advantage of any sliding scale pricing available from your medical providers. Don’t be afraid to ask.
- Another source of financial help for medical costs are manufacturers of costly drugs. They often have special pricing available for people who can’t afford their drugs.
- If you were in an auto accident take full advantage of any coverage you may have through your own insurance company. Check out the declarations page for coverages such as PIP (Personal Injury Protection) or underinsured motorist. They both offer coverage for your medical bills and generally are paid promptly.
If your claim is with your own insurance company, they will probably name your policy limits and provisions to justify their offer.
- Make sure you know all of the provisions of your policy and ask questions of your agent if you can. In-house agents who only represent one insurance company may not be very helpful but independent agents will want to keep your business.

What is contributory fault or negligence?

Washington State has a contributory fault or contributory negligence law and the insurance adjuster may have information that leads her to believe that you were partly at fault. So, for instance, let’s say your medical bills and pain and suffering total $25,000 by their calculation. If they believe that you were 20% at fault for your injuries they will offer $20,000. All is not lost, however.

Ask them to document the contributory fault. That may be enough to bring the offer up.
If not, get your own evidence to counter their evidence. This will usually involve eyewitnesses.
- If you are not up to the task of tracking witnesses down and questioning them about what they saw, recruit friends and family to do it for you.
- Make sure you and the witnesses thoroughly understand what they will say to the adjuster once he asks questions. Play devil’s advocate with them. Ask questions that probe any weaknesses or alternative interpretations of what they say. Their statements may sound great to you but once an experienced adjuster starts asking questions they may not be much help.

Put our personal injury attorneys’ 40 years of experience to work for you.

Often, however, it takes a law firm to effectively advocate for the insurance company to give you the compensation you deserve. Call or message us for a free case review. We’ll thoroughly review the facts and if we believe we can help you get fair compensation. We stand ready to fight for you. We know all the insurance companies’ playbook and we know how to counter them.

John Groseclose

Chalmers Johnson

Litigators won $332,000 jury verdict for small businessman

Posted on May 15, 2018 by Jolinda Stephens

GSJones Litigators turn the tables on a corporate plaintiff suing a small business owner

GSJones Law Group litigators won a $332,000 jury verdict for Kitsap County cabinetmaker Shannon Wagner. Port Orchard Airport, Inc. filed suit against the small businessman after it evicted him from his shop. In addition they seized most of the business’ tools, materials, and unfinished projects. Sara Humphries, who has worked defending tenants in eviction actions for years joined Chalmers Johnson, who usually represents plaintiffs in lawsuits against corporations. Together they formed a winning team.

And together they turned the tables in this case, causing the hunter to become the hunted by filing counterclaims against the Corporation. It was a David vs. Goliath case. The Corporation, which had started as the unrelenting aggressor, suddenly found itself before a jury being pursued as a defendant by Johnson and Humphries. The trial lasted from Monday morning through the end of the day on Thursday. The Jury reached a verdict Friday afternoon. When reached for comment about the case, Chalmers Johnson said: “It was a long and hard-fought trial. The Jury was fantastic. Maybe the most engaged and thoughtful jury I have ever worked with.”

He added, “To the Corporate Goliaths out there, we’re watching you! Chalk one up for the Davids.”

Meet Kimberly Hammit, our firm’s newest attorney

Posted on May 1, 2018 by Jolinda Stephens

Kim Hammit brings experience in business formation, estate planning, real estate law

“I am passionate about serving each client & love helping them overcome the challenges that bring them to see a lawyer.”

We are proud to welcome Kimberly Hammit to our firm. She comes to us from a solo practice in Port Orchard where she served small businesses and individuals in estate planning, business formation, and real estate law.

In addition, she looks forward to working with our personal injury and employment attorneys to add those foci to her practice.

Kim is a bit of a maverick. Instead of law school, she chose to study through the WSBA (Washington State Bar Association) APR 6 Law Clerk program. It is based on the venerable practice of reading for the law which predates law schools by centuries. She combined working as a law clerk and intern with studying on her own and with a tutor the same courses offered in law schools. The requirements included reading 12,000 pages of casebooks and 48 monthly exams, all overseen by the state bar association. She took the same bar exam as law school graduates.

She was admitted to the Washington State Bar in 2013. Using the skills she gained as a law clerk, she opened her own law firm that same year.

Kim loves challenges, maintaining high integrity and a sustainable lifestyle

“I decided to join forces with GSJones,” Kim said, “in order to devote more time to practicing law as opposed to managing a law firm and to further develop my skills with a highly-regarded and well-rounded practice.”

Kim, her husband, and three children enjoy the Peninsula outdoor lifestyle—camping, boating and gardening. Avid DIYers, Kim and her husband enjoy teaching sustainable living skills to their three children. The family raises livestock, gardens, hunts and fishes together. And most exciting of all, they are restoring a 1965 Chevy Bel Air. They love to tackle anything they can with their own hands, no matter how great the challenge.

Attorney-client privilege: Is everything I tell my lawyer secret?

Posted on April 19, 2018 by Jolinda Stephens

With the FBI raid on a high profile attorney in the news, you may wonder about your own attorney-client privilege.

Is everything you share with your lawyer secret? Could she tell your family something she thinks they need to know about you? Could he be forced to testify against you or turn over your records to the authorities?

Almost always the answer is no. Laws and ethical rules protect the secrecy of your dealings with your lawyer. And, it’s very important to take advantage of those attorney-client protections to tell your attorney everything they need to know to represent you. There is nothing that will hurt your case more than allowing your attorney to be blindsided in court or negotiations by something you were too embarrassed to tell him.

And yet, sometimes the answer is yes. There are exceptions to the rule that your attorney cannot be forced to give testimony against you or cooperate with authorities.

Crime-fraud exception

You cannot expect secrecy when you consult an attorney with the intention of committing or covering up a crime or a fraud. For instance, sharing plans to take your children in contravention of a court order would lose the protection of secrecy.

Other exceptions

There are a few other situations that keep your conversation and documents from being protected. As an example, you aren’t protected if you walk up to a lawyer at a party and tell her about your case. First, talking with a lawyer with others present takes away the right to secrecy. Secondly, casual conversations are not legal consultations. Both the client and the lawyer must agree that they are in relationship.

Another example of communications that are not privileged would occur if you were consulting Norm Short about starting a new business. The discussion of the various options for business structures is privileged. The privilege ends, however, at the point where you start discussing practical tips that he’s learned over his more than two decades working with businesses. You are no longer discussing the law and its application to your business.

Ask your lawyer, if you have any question about whether a topic is privileged.

What about free consultations?

Movies often depict a lawyer who is taking on a client pro bono (at no charge) asking for a dollar to seal the deal. The implication is that money has to change hands before attorney-client privilege applies. That is not true. Feel free to discuss your case in detail during a free consultation. That is the only way that the lawyer can give you the best advice.

Violating confidentiality

The attorney-client privilege applies mainly to dealings with police, prosecutors, and courts. None of these institutions can compel your lawyer to tell them anything privileged. Yet, there are plenty of other situations in which you want your lawyer to keep your business secret. In general, your lawyer must keep your dealings confidential. The ethics rules governing this are complex, but here are some exceptions.

Unless you specifically forbid it, your lawyer may discuss your case with other lawyers in the firm. In law firms like ours with several lawyers with a variety of legal experience, you benefit from collaboration among our lawyers.
Your lawyer may reveal protected information to save you or others from death or great harm.
Likewise, your lawyer must reveal the fact that you are in the process of committing or about to commit a crime or fraud that will result in severe financial harm.
Your lawyer may consult a lawyer experienced in the rules of ethics about your case, if necessary. The consulting lawyer must also keep your information secret.
If your lawyer is charged with misconduct in representing you, she may reveal as much as is needed to defend herself.

Finally, if you have any concerns about confidentiality, talk frankly with your lawyer about them.

You have something in common with Stormy Daniels

Posted on April 2, 2018 by Jolinda Stephens

Surprised? You both have arbitration agreements. We all agree to arbitration as the means of resolving disagreements dozens of times. Arbitration agreements are standard to most agreements, including all those times you click “yes” before signing for a new app.

Photo credit: © Glenn Francis, https://www.PacificProDigital.com

Why should I care?

Most arbitration agreements you sign will have no effect on your life. Arbitration clauses in employment agreements, on the other hand, may cause you problems. Moreover, most financial agreements, including your bank accounts and credit card accounts, have arbitration clauses. Perhaps more ominous is the use of arbitration clauses in nursing homes. The recent growth of the use of arbitration clauses also degrades the quality of American justice.

What’s the problem with arbitration clauses?

Some lawyers refer to arbitration courts as “secret corporate courts” for several reasons.

Most arbitration clauses limit you to individual hearings. It puts the brakes on class actions. While they usually result in small individual settlements, they have a much stronger impact on the way businesses operate in the future. Studies show that few people pursue small violations through arbitration. When many small legal violations are combined in a class action lawsuit, the size of the settlement sends a strong message to the business. As a result, businesses are much more likely to abandon unfair and illegal practices.
Indeed, in 2014 attorneys general of 14 states sent a letter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau warning that “unlawful business practices” could flourish with the growth of arbitration clauses.
Arbitration essentially shields the wrongdoer from the public exposure that a trial in open court brings, hence the “secret corporate courts” designation. Many times the most potent tool the injured person has is the threat of exposure of the wrongdoer.
Arbitration rules favor businesses who can often steer cases to friendly arbitrators.

What can I do about the arbitration clauses in my life?

There are some situations in which you may be able to negotiate and different means of resolving contract issues. In addition, there are a few situations in which you can have your case heard in court. There are not many. If the money amount or the issue is significant, do explore the options with an experienced employment or personal injury attorney. At GSJones Law Group check out Chalmers Johnson and John Groseclose.

A few states are beginning to enact laws that limit the use of these clauses. If you are concerned about the creation of a separate legal system in the U.S. find out if your state has laws to address the issue and talk with your representatives about the issue.

Want to know more? Check out this excellent deep dive into what’s happening with arbitration clauses in the New York Times.

Time for Paycheck Checkup: IRS Calculator

Posted on March 12, 2018 by Jolinda Stephens

by Norman Short, Tax and Business Law Attorney

IRS Withholding Calculator

You can now check your IRS paycheck deduction, using the new IRS Withholding Calculator. The new tax law has several major changes and it has been implemented on an expedited schedule. It is possible that the IRS guidelines your employer uses to calculate your withholding don’t address how the new law applies to your individual situation.

So take a few minutes to do this paycheck checkup. It could save you the shock of a big tax bill next year. Or it could guide you to lower your withholding and have more money in the bank now.

Best IRS planning for business owners and complicated tax situations

Small business owners and those with complicated tax situations: I help people like you with tax and business decisions and representation regularly since 1995. If the new tax laws affect you, I’m happy to work with you to develop the best tax plan.

Personal injury attorney sues Port Townsend for retired reporter

Posted on January 17, 2018 by Jolinda Stephens

GSJones Law Group personal injury attorney Chalmers Johnson sues Port Townsend, the police department and the officer who injured his client, a retired newspaper reporter.

Port Townsend police officer threw retired reporter Stephen Patch to the sidewalk and ground his face in the concrete in December 2014. Mr. Patch ended the encounter face down in a pool of his own blood with a broken wrist. The officer was responding to a report from a third party in which Mr. Patch was the alleged victim in an argument with his disabled son. The officer, who can be heard on the police dash-cam recording, explained to Mr. Patch’s outraged son at the scene that he was only trying to protect Mr. Patch from injuring himself. He changed his justification for the attack when he later wrote a report that stated Mr. Patch, a slight 64-year-old man, was threatening the police officers.

$60,000 in Medical Costs

“Once he had broken [Patch’s] wrist and smashed his face into the concrete, Officer Fudally, still lying on top of the injured man, used one hand to grab [Patch] by the head and force [his] face into the concrete walkway and into the pool of [Patch’s] blood,” the lawsuit alleges. Mr. Patch’s treatment cost $60,000.

In response to a letter to the City, Port Townsend’s insurer turned down the claim, insisting that the officer had done nothing wrong. Chalmers Johnson sued in Jefferson County’s Superior Court, which is seated in Port Townsend, but the City, the Department, and the officer opted to exercise their right to remove the case to Federal Court in Tacoma, avoiding the potential for a local trial with jurors exclusively from Jefferson County. It still remains to be seen whether Mr. Patch receives compensation and justice in this case.

Defendants move the case from a local court to federal court

A case may be removed from State Court to Federal Court when a case involves a federal claim. Practicing in Federal Court requires a separate license. In addition, the procedures in Federal Court are often more complicated than the State Courts. Chalmers Johnson has been admitted to the federal bar for the Western District of Washington and the Federal Appellate Court. He is one of a small percentage of attorneys to be admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court. Thus, he is comfortable pursuing cases under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. He litigated civil rights cases in the Federal Courts for many years.

Mr. Patch worked for several Washington newspapers, including the Port Townsend Leader.

Settle Your IRS debt

Posted on November 8, 2017 by Jolinda Stephens

In the past several months three of my clients were able to settle their IRS debt through the Offer in Compromise program. If you owe back taxes this is a good time to explore this option.

What is an Offer in Compromise?

An Offer in Compromise can allow a taxpayer with IRS debt to offer to pay what you can afford. Corporations, LLCs, and other entities can also take advantage of Offers in Compromise. If the IRS believes the Offer amount is equal to or more than what the Service could otherwise collect from the Taxpayer it will accept the offered amount to compromise the remaining tax liability. Last year we got an Offer through for a client who did not have any equity in his assets and did not have any income over and above his monthly necessary living expenses. The IRS accepted a onetime payment of $300.00 to compromise over $80,000 in tax liabilities. Tax liabilities that can be compromised include income taxes (1040), payroll taxes (941), trust fund recovery penalties, and more.

$281,000 IRS debt settle for $19,000.

Another example, one recent case involved a client who owned a business and had equity in his home. He was able to demonstrate and the IRS agreed that his monthly necessary living expenses equaled or exceeded his monthly income. In that case, the amount that the IRS determined was collectible was just over $19,000. The IRS accepted the client’s offer of $19,040.00 to compromise over $281,000 in taxes.

I have been doing Offers in Compromises for more than 24 years, essentially since the program first began. Without a doubt, this is one of the most favorable times to get an offer accepted that I have experienced. If you want to explore this option, give me a call.

by Norm Short, J.D., LL.M. Taxation

Is joint ownership a good substitute for a will?

Posted on October 13, 2017 by Jolinda Stephens

The short answer is probably not.

Joint ownership is sometimes called the poor person’s will or the lazy will, although it is the most common form of estate planning. Its chief advantage is that it avoids probate. Yet, it brings with it a host of problems. Keep in mind that there are different kinds of joint ownership and all have their problems.

Here are the main ones:

1. The joint owners can be responsible for each other’s debt.

Creditors for your co-owners may attach your jointly owned property to satisfy their debts. Bankruptcy, a legal judgment against a co-owner, or a tax lien are most likely to cause problems. For example, suppose you add your daughter as a joint-owner of your home. If she defaults on a personal debt, your home could be sold to satisfy the debt. You will likely receive half the proceeds of the sale of the house, but you are out of a home with only half the funds you need to replace it. In some states tenancy by the entirety will protect each person from the debts of the other.

2. Your survivor is not bound by your wishes in passing on the joint property after your death.

Your survivor can do anything he wants to with the jointly-owned property he inherits. If you want to control how property is distributed to your children or charities, you need a will.

3. You may need approval from joint owners to sell or refinance the jointly-owned property, such as your home.

When you share ownership through a tenancy by the entirety, every joint owner you have must agree to major decisions. You may have been the sole decisionmaker of your business that you built from nothing. Yet, if you have made your children joint owners, major financial decisions will require their approval. Lines of credit increases and other routine matters can require a lot of discussion. These transactions can be further complicated if one of your co-owners becomes incapacitated or untrustworthy.

4. You co-owner may be able to make key decisions without your approval.

On the other hand, if you use a tenancy with right of survivorship, your co-owners can use or sell any part of the jointly owned property.

5. It can increase taxes.

Uh oh. You were hoping to save taxes through joint-ownership. To the contrary, you could incur additional taxes and even paperwork.

The gift tax

You can incur gift taxes and extra paperwork if you purchase a home with your money and put it in joint tenancy with a domestic partner. IRS rules consider that to be a gift whose value exceeds the gift limit.

Capital gains tax

IRS calculates capital gains on the sale of a home based on the increase in value from the date of purchase. If you sell a home which is jointly owned, all owners must pay taxes based on the total increase in value, regardless of when they became owners. On the other hand, capital gains accrue for heirs only based on the difference between the value when they inherited the home and the value at sale.

If joint ownership isn’t the answer, what is?

There are a number of options to ensure that your property reaches the people or causes you want with the least waste of time, effort and costs. Wills, trusts, and family-owned entities will serve you much better. Check with one of our estate planning attorneys today. A 30-minute consultation is free.

Norman Short, partner, 24 years experience in estate planning business and tax law

Robert Garrison, 38 years experience, including estate planning, consumer issues, and family law

Sylvia Seybold is often the choice of younger families. She combines estate planning experience with family law

Representing immigrants focus of Kitsap Legal Services benefit

Posted on October 6, 2017 by Jolinda Stephens

Benefit features hero of Travel Ban plus GSJones speaker and MC in evening focused on immigration

Noah Purcell kept

Featured speaker Noah Purcell, Washington State Solicitor General tells of stopping the Travel Ban

the audience rapt with his stories focused on his role in opposing the Travel Ban. Washington State led the nation in opposing the ban that caused such pain and chaos among travelers from seven countries. All seven countries have majority Muslim populations. He is the Solicitor General of the State of Washington. When the Attorney General decides that the state will take a particular position in a legal matter, it is often Mr. Purcell who represents the state. He told of an almost round-the-clock effort of most of the office to meet short deadlines in the case that resulted in a stay on many of the elements of the ban. He indicated that the state has not yet decided what position to take on what he referred to as Travel Ban 3.0.

The setting was the annual benefit dinner for Kitsap Legal Services attended by lawyers, judges and community members.KLS provides free legal services in areas of civil law to those unable to afford them. Many Kitsap area attorneys provide pro bono services through KLS. The benefit was emceed by KLS board president and partner here at GSJones Law Group, John Groseclose. Several GSJones attorneys also volunteer. KLS is always seeking more volunteer attorneys and donations. Contact KLS at 360-479-6125.

Speakers explore immigration issues of DACA and representation of child immigrants

Speakers at the KLS benefit on immigration, Michele Taylor (l) Meghan Casey (c) and MC John Groseclose (r)

In addition to Noah Purcell, GSJones immigration attorney Michele Taylor and Meghan Casey of the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project spoke. Michele addressed the current situation of DACA recipients with the discontinuation of the program. She emphasized the ways that their plight will affect us all. She said that when recipients’ two-year extensions expire most of the 800,000 employers will fire them. Many have, on the strength of government promises, made financial commitments, such as purchasing cars and homes. Without work permits, they cannot work or pay debts. Many, she noted, work in the public sector as teachers, first responders, and police officers. Others are in the armed services.

Meghan Casey focuses on representing children before immigration judges at the Tacoma office of NWIRP. They have no right to representation and often even young children must argue their case against government lawyers by themselves. She shared information about the Special Immigration Juvenile status, as well as the need for private attorneys to represent children. Attorneys do not need to practice immigration law to participate, she said. NWIRP provides training and support. The status is for immigrant children who have been abandoned, abused or neglected by at least one parent.