Williams v. Tilaye

f This case involves two different statutory schemes awarding attorney fees. One scheme, RCW 7.06.050-.060, discourages frivolous appeals from mandatory arbitration. It does so by providing a penalty for parties that appeal a mandatory arbitration decision by requesting a trial de novo and do no better at the trial de novo than in arbitration. The other scheme, RCW 4.84.250-.300, encourages parties to settle before going to court in cases where the amount in controversy is $10,000 or less. It does so in part by allowing a plaintiff to recover attorney fees if the plaintiff makes an offer of…