Carney Badley Spellman, P.S. is a Pacific Northwest law firm located in Seattle, Washington. Our clients will tell you we are known for providing exceptional value in legal services by recognizing case objectives early and obtaining cost-effective results. The Carney firm provides legal services in business, litigation, construction, government affairs and insurance to individuals and to privately-held and publicly-traded companies.

Carney attorneys are involved in toxic tort litigation and long-term exposure litigation that include claims arising out of release of chemicals and contaminants to drinking water, soil, groundwater and the air, chemical exposure, pharmaceutical and medical products, food products and toxic mold. The cases have involved personal injury and economic damage as well as property damage. In particular, Carney has developed an excellent reputation defending thousands of lawsuits seeking damages for asbestos-related illnesses. We have represented local and national manufacturers, distributors, contractors, subcontractors, premises owners and insurers facing the threat of pending or future litigation. We strive to develop effective and novel defense strategies that address, among other areas, the relationships between the alleged exposure and damages, applicable state of the art, industry knowledge of hazards, product warnings, and applicable law and policy. Oftentimes, successful defense is critical to the viability of a company.

Cases of note include:

Lunsford v. Saberhagen Holdings, Inc., currently pending before the Washington State Supreme Court, case of first impression (nationally) seeking to bar retroactive application of modern-era strict liability laws to manufacturers and contractors acting in good faith under prior laws in the 1950s and 1960s
Callahan v. Saberhagen Holdings, Inc., 2008 WL 2231824 (Wash. App. 2008), affirming evidentiary determinations and summary judgment in favor of contractor charged with negligence and strict products liability (asbestos);
Hansen v. Saberhagen Holdings, Inc. (Kitsap Co. Superior Court), defense verdict in asbestos jury trial asserting negligence and products liability claims against contractor at Olympia Brewery; and
Warde v. Rapid American Corp. (King Co. Superior Court), asbestos jury trial resulting in favorable verdict and zero damages for Carney's client, a subcontractor.