Patrick Clifford and Robert Lee of Cozen O’Connor obtained a defense verdict following a 4-week wrongful death/piercing the corporate veil jury trial in Snohomish County before Judge Okoloko, which was the culmination of nearly 8 years of litigation.  This wrongful death claim arose out of a fall incident at the Defendants’ retirement and assisted living facility, which, due to a mistake in attendance by staff, led to the decedent being left on the ground for 15 hours before being discovered, allegedly leading to her death 8 weeks later.  Plaintiffs alleged that systemic understaffing and failed safety practices led to the mistake and that the decedent’s 15 hours on the ground was the cause of her death. Further complicating the matter was the fact that, at the time the incident occurred, the Defendants were in the process of selling the facility.  After amending the purchase and sale agreement to indemnify the purchaser for the claim,  the Defendants purchased an eroding $1M tail insurance policy.  Plaintiffs alleged that the Defendants intended to evade responsibility for the claim by purchasing an undervalued policy, taking all of the sale proceeds, and allowing the LLC to be dissolved.   Despite being informed of the eroding nature of the policy, Plaintiffs nonetheless decided to litigate the matter, initiating suit in 2018.  After 2 years of litigation, the claim was settled for the remaining amount of the policy.  Despite settling, Plaintiffs then backed out of the settlement.  A motion to enforce the settlement was granted by the trial court but then reversed by the Court of Appeals.  At trial, Plaintiffs demanded $69.6M and further sought to have the Defendants held personally liable for the judgment.  The jury, after four hours of deliberation, found that the Defendants were not negligent and returned a complete defense verdict.