Laura Hawes Young

Full Profile

Laura Hawes Young advises her clients on complex issues regarding insurance coverage and civil litigation. She has experience defending class action litigation in state and federal court on behalf of insurers and other public and private entities. She also handles complex first party and third-party coverage litigation and bad faith litigation claims. Laura evaluates for and advises insurers on insurance coverage issues and risks under Washington law, from policy inception to trial. She works with insurers to ensure regulatory and statutory compliance, and guides clients through all aspects of litigation, from addressing pre-suit coverage issues for potential early resolution to appeals.

Laura has over a decade of coverage litigation related experience in both personal and commercial lines in Washington. She has argued bad faith issues in front of the Ninth Circuit and appeared before the Washington State Court of Appeals.

Admissions

• Washington State
• US District Courts for the Western and Eastern Districts of Washington
• US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

Education

• J.D., magna cum laude Seattle University School of Law, 2007. Article Editor, Seattle Journal for Social Justice.
• B.A., magna cum laude, Vanderbilt University, 1999
• Studied abroad, University of Edinburgh, 1998

Memberships

• Washington State Bar Association

Experience

• Defended class action against insurer alleging violation of Washington’s personal injury protection statute and terminating benefits based on a standard not identified in the regulation.

• Defended class action Telephone Consumer Protection Act case in King County Superior Court, obtaining denial of class certification.

• Defended putative housing discrimination class action for city agency in federal court.

• Assisted with defense of putative class action against a company that took assignment of credit card debt and its parent company, for civil conspiracy and deceptive debt collection practices in violation of the Consumer Protection Act and Collection Agency Act.

• Obtained Ninth Circuit affirmation of Western District of Washington order granting summary judgment to insurer client on first-party contract and extra-contractual claims.

• Obtained Ninth Circuit affirmation of Western District of Washington order granting summary judgment to insurer client on first-party extra-contractual claims.

• Obtained summary judgment in Eastern District of Washington on coverage claim interpreting “primary residence” under Washington law.

• Drafted and submitted briefing on behalf of client before case certified to Washington Supreme Court.

• Briefed coverage issues on interpretation of “dwelling” before the Washington State Court of Appeals.