For Christopher (Chris) Love, the more difficult the case and the higher the stakes, the better. He dives headfirst into the most-complex legal issues and thinks through all of the strategies needed to help secure a win for his client. Chris focuses on appeals in both state and federal courts, class action litigation and complex trial-level litigation throughout Washington State. He pushes the limits of the law to secure justice for the injured and victimized. Thanks to this impressive reputation, Chris also provides legal and appellate consultation services for other law firms in multi-million-dollar matters.
Chris has leveraged his years of appellate experience to help his clients successfully take on school districts, educational institutions, state government entities, medical providers, and multinational corporations in their pursuit of justice, including the Washington State Supreme Court’s landmark decision in W.H. v. Olympia Sch. Dist. holding that school districts are strictly liable for employees’ sexual abuse of students under the Washington Law Against Discrimination; the Washington State Supreme Court’s decisions in Ralph v. State of Washington Department of Natural Resources overturning over 100 years of outdated law and upholding property owners’ choice of venue in property damage lawsuits; and successfully defending on appeal a $1.45 million verdict against the Olympia School District in a student sex abuse case.
Chris also helps spearhead PCVA’s Class Action, Multidistrict Litigation, and Complex Litigation practices, obtaining tremendous results for his clients, such as a $7.5 million settlement with MultiCare on behalf of patients victimized by improper medical services liens; PCVA’s Error 53 lawsuit prompting Apple to issue a software fix and an apology to consumers worldwide within days of filing; a $1.5 million class action settlement for over 900 restaurant workers wrongfully denied pay for overtime and missed meal and rest breaks, tip pool violations, and automatic service charge violations; and a consent decree requiring the University of Washington, subject to PCVA oversight, to bring all Seattle campus parking facilities into full ADA compliance for individuals with mobility impairments. Although he is at home in the midst of intensely complex legal issues, Chris’s down-to-earth and effortless way of explaining the often-complicated legal process to his clients puts them at ease.
An Alabama native, Chris knew the “what” of his future—law school—but not the “where.” Armed with nothing more than a paper Rand McNally road atlas and the old adage, “Go West, young man,” Chris crossed the Mississippi, the Mojave and the Cascades in search of his destination. At his first glimpses of the Gorge, the Columbia, the Mountain and Puget Sound, Chris immediately knew he had found a home in Washington State.
Chris’s interest in appellate law developed during law school when he served as a judicial law extern at the Washington State Court of Appeals, Division II. After graduation, he was hired as a judicial law clerk at the Washington State Court of Appeals, Division III, sight-unseen and based solely on the recommendations of the Division II judges. In all, Chris served as a judicial law clerk for seven different judges.
Outside the office, Chris enjoys low and slow smoking on his pellet grill; back-country hiking; and supporting local industries by sampling from Washington’s farmers, fishermen, ranchers, brewers, vintners, coffee
roasters and cheesemakers. His adventurous spirit leads Chris to travel the globe with his wife.
Honors
• Top 25 Verdicts & Settlements of the West, 2020 (The Recorder)
• Rising Star, Washington Super Lawyers, 2018–2020
• Appellate Externship Service Recognition Award, Honorable J. Robin Hunt
• CALI Excellence for the Future Award®, Federal Courts, 2008
• CALI Excellence for the Future Award®, Advanced Constitutional Law: First Amendment and the Internet, 2008
• CALI Excellence for the Future Award®, Comparative Juvenile Justice and Criminal Law, 2007
Representative Cases
• W.H. v. Olympia Sch. Dist., ___ Wn.2d ___, 465 P.3d 322 (2020)
• Hamaker v. Highline Med. Ctr., 8 Wn. App. 2d 1012 (2019)
• Ralph v. State of Washington Department of Natural Resources (Ralph II), 187 Wn.2d 326 (2016)
• Steel v. Olympia Early Learning Center, 195 Wn. App. 811 (2016)
• Walker v. Hunter Donaldson, LLC, 196 Wn. App. 1037 (2016)
• Gutierrez v. Olympia School District, 184 Wn. App. 1059 (2014)
• Ralph v. State of Washington Department of Natural Resources (Ralph I), 182 Wn.2d 242 (2014)
• $7.5 million consumer protection class action settlement with MultiCare on behalf of thousands of motor vehicle accident victims who suffered deceptive collection practices regarding their medical bills and improper medical services liens
• $6 million settlement with Kiwanis International for failing to protect children from sexual abuse at Kiwanis Vocational Home
• $1.5 million class action settlement for more than 900 restaurant workers wrongfully denied pay for overtime and missed meal and rest breaks, tip pool violations and automatic service charge violations
• Confidential class action settlement that included full reimbursement and additional payment for 169 clients whose Apple devices were made inoperable by the Error 53 bug
• Consent decree for individuals with mobility impairments requiring the University of Washington, subject to PCVA oversight, to bring all Seattle campus parking facilities into full ADA compliance
Published Works
• Foreign Products, Products Liability Deskbook, Washington State Association for Justice, September 2020
• Boyer v. Morimoto: Ensuring Your Nonresident Medical Experts Are Up to Washington’s Standards, WSAJ Trial News, Washington State Association for Justice, May 2020
• Offers of Judgment, Employment Law Deskbook, Washington State Association for Justice, October 2017
• Medical Liens, Subrogation Deskbook, Washington State Association for Justice, November 2016
Classes & Seminars
• Speaker, “Strictly Speaking: Strict Liability for Sexual Abuse Under the Washington Law Against Discrimination, W.H. v. Olympia Sch. Dist., and Beyond,” Washington State Association for Justice Fall Webinar Series, Washington State Association for Justice, November 17, 2020
• Speaker, “Wrongful Death Cases: The New Statutory Changes,” Tacoma-Pierce County Bar Association Annual Tort Law Seminar, Tacoma-Pierce County Bar Association, October 25, 2019
• Speaker, “Wrongful Death Cases: Overview, Recent Amendments, and Interactions with Other Laws,” WSAJ Summer Webinar Series, July 9, 2019
• Speaker, “Playing the Long Game: Trial and Beyond from an Appellate Perspective,” Washington State Bar Association Personal Injury Bootcamp, September 6, 2018
• Speaker, “Hunter Donaldson Lessons About Medical Services Liens: Sharpening Our Practices,” WSAJ Summer Conference Call Seminar Series, May 2015
Professional Associations
• Washington State Association for Justice
• Washington State Association for Justice , Court Rules Committee, Chair, 2018-present
• Washington State Association for Justice , Court Operations Task Force, Legal Subcommittee, Chair, 2020-present
• American Association for Justice
• American Bar Association
• Supreme Court of the State of Washington
• Supreme Court of the State of Washington , Court Recovery Task Force – Civil Litigation Subcommittee, 2020-present
• Supreme Court of the State of Washington , Court Recovery Task Force – Jury Trial Alternatives and Six Person Jury Incentives Subcommittee, 2020-present
• Supreme Court of the State of Washington , Rules of Appellate Procedure Workgroup, 2018
