Practice Areas
Business
We represent a number of small businesses including general and electrical contractors, manufacturing agents, real estate brokerage companies, restaurants and a small restaurant chain.
Class Action
Crane Dunham, PLLC represents shareholders, consumers, insureds, employees and business owners in complex and class action litigation against companies, and their boards and officers, that engage in unfair, deceptive or harmful conduct in the workplace, marketplace, or environment.
Employment
Crane Dunham, PLLC provides employment law advice and representation in a wide variety of business situations. We represent both employees and employers relating to wage claims, overtime and commissions, and related benefits disputes.
Estate / Probate
Many of our clients have estate planning concerns involving wills, durable power of attorneys, revocable and irrevocable trusts.
Real estate transactions
Crane Dunham’s lawyers have over 100 years of experience in all phases of real estate transactions, whether residential, commercial or vacant land, including negotiations relating to acquisition by purchase and sale agreements, disputes over earnest money deposits, financing, formation of joint ventures and LLCs, sale, and partnership dissolution.
Land Use, zoning and entitlements
The firm represents property owners in obtaining valuable “upzoning” by local governments throughout Puget Sound in the classification of their property, and securing rights already obtained from “downzoning” or unconstitutional “takings”. Founding partner Steve Crane was the Executive Director of the State Council of Environmental Policy that drafted the first state-wide rules for “SEPA” and its provisions relating to environmental assessments and environmental impact statements.
Boundary disputes, easements and encroachments
Landowners with boundary line and easement disputes with their neighbors have obtained successful representation by the firm in resolving such disputes, whether through mediation or, when necessary, litigation. Recent cases involve disputes relating to the location of tideland boundaries, the location and number of allowable parking spaces, and claims of adverse possession.
Property tax assessment disputes
We have successfully challenged County Assessors in their valuation of commercial, multi-family, and high value single family residences, before County Boards of Equalization, the State Board of Tax Appeals, and in court, achieving substantial reductions in tax assessments ranging into millions of dollars.
Mediation / Arbitration
We believe successful non-binding mediation that arrives at a voluntary settlement of a dispute can often result in a better and more complete result than litigation.
Consumer protection
Washington is among the states that have the most consumer friendly laws in the nation designed to protect persons and consumers from unfair practices by businesses. For example, Crane Dunham has successfully represented more than 150,000 cellular phone customers in recovery of money paid in wrongful monthly service charges.