Happy New Year! In New Year's Eve decision, an intermediate Washington court of appeals concluded that a county was not liable under a number of theories for injuries and deaths associated with a landslide. The landslide was one of the worst and most devastating in Washington, with 43 people killed. It occurred in an area that had seen previous landslides and took out a small community that had developed in the area. One of the more interesting arguments that might have some interest outside Washington State involved the question of whether a meeting the county held after an earlier landslide "lulled" the residents into a sense of safety for which the county should be liable. While the court found no liability, the facts helped and point out the importance of making clear, fact based statements to a community when holding similar meetings. From a practice standpoint recording those meetings could prove helpful. https://www.courts.wa.gov/opinions/pdf/763768.pdf [cid:image001.png@01D4A2A8.6A8280D0] Charles W. Thompson, Jr. Executive Director/General Counsel International Municipal Lawyers Association, Inc. A 51 Monroe St., Suite 404, Rockville, MD 20850 [cid:image003.jpg@01D4A2A8.6A8280D0]<http://www.facebook.com/IMLA-259977855541/> [cid:image004.jpg@01D4A2A8.6A8280D0] <http://www.linkedin.com/company/international-municipal-lawyers-association-inc./> [cid:image005.png@01D4A2A8.6A8280D0] <http://twitter.com/imlalegal> [cid:image006.jpg@01D4A2A8.6A8280D0] <http://soundcloud.com/internationalmunicipallawyersassociation> P (202) 466-5424 ext. 7110 M 240-876-6790 D (202) 742-1016 W www.imla.org<http://www.imla.org> Plan Ahead! IMLA's Mid-Year Seminar<http://www.imla.org/events/seminars>, March 29- April 1 in Washington, D.C.! IMLA's 84th Annual Conference<http://www.imla.org/events/conferences>, September 18-22 in Atlanta, GA!