Facts: Respondent Eufemia Morgan and other employees of petitioner Gerald Kingen who previously worked for Kingen at Funsters Grand Casino, Inc. filed suit against Kingen in the Superior Court for King County seeking to recover wages that had gone unpaid following the casino’s bankruptcy. The trial court granted summary judgment for Morgan, ruling that Washington Revised Code §49.52.070 entitled Morgan to recover her unpaid wages, and awarded exemplary damages and attorney’s fees but declined to award a multiplier in calculating attorney’s fees. Upon appeal, the Washington Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s decision, ruling that bankruptcy is not a defense to avoid personal liability for unpaid wages under §49.52.070. Kingen appealed this decision to the Supreme Court of Washington.
Question(s): Is bankruptcy a defense to avoid personal liability for unpaid wages under §49.52.070?
If not, should the trial court have awarded a multiplier in calculating attorney’s fees?
Conclusion: Justice Charles W. Johnson’s opinion for the Court affirmed the Washington Court of Appeals, concluding that Kingen was liable for Morgan’s unpaid wages under §49.52.070 despite Funsters Grand Casino’s bankruptcy as the bankruptcy resulted from Kingen’s refusal to infuse sufficient capital into Funsters Grand Casino to satisfy its debts, thus rendering the non-payment of wages to Kingen’s employees willful. However, the Court also ruled that awarding a multiplier in calculating attorney’s fees would not be appropriate insofar as the usual risk associated with contingency fee cases was not present.
Docket No. 81202-1 (from Court of Appeals Division I Case No. 57938-0)
Petitioner: Gerald Kingen, et ux., et al.
Respondent: Eufemia "Emma" Morgan, et al.
Briefs:
- Amici of Seven Statewide Business, Et Al
- Amici of Seven Statewide, Et Al
- Answer to Petition for Review
- Answer to Seven Statewide Amici
- Appellants Brief
- Brief of Respondents and Cross Appellants
- Petition for Review
- Reply of Appellants and Response to Cross Appeal
- Reply of Respondents Cross-Appellants
- Response to Amici of Seven Statewide Business Groups
Argument: Tuesday, January 20, 2009 9:00am
[Source: TVW, http://tvw.org]
Audio: Washington Supreme Court
Decided: Thursday, July 2nd, 2009
Prevailing Party: Eufemia "Emma" Morgan, et al. (Respondent)
Vote: 6-3
Citation: Pending
Alexander
Johnson
(Majority)
Madsen
Sanders
Chambers
Owens
Sweeney
(Pro Tem)
Johnson
Stephens
Note: We post only slip opinion(s) as published at the time of the decision. Please consult Washington Reports printed volumes for the opinion(s) in their final form. Each opinion should appear next to the Justice who authored it.