J. Walter Sinclair

Experience

J. Walter Sinclair has practiced since 1978, developing a well-seasoned trial practice with emphasis on business, corporate and complex litigation matters associated with agricultural product liability, antitrust, class action, complex commercial contract disputes, mass tort, probate disputes, product liability, real estate and securities litigation.

Walt is a partner of the firm. He is a trial lawyer who concentrates his practice in business and commercial litigation. His practice regularly includes complex contract disputes, product liability matters, antitrust issues, securities and class actions. Walt has extensive bench and jury trial experience, with 28 jury trials and 11 bench trials, including, in 2009, acting as lead counsel in a four-month products liability jury trial for DuPont and representing a local agricultural cooperative in a breach of contract/antitrust jury trial. Walt has practiced in courts throughout the United States including federal and state courts in Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Kansas, Michigan, and New York.

Professional Honors & Activities

• Fellow, American College of Trial Lawyers (ACTL), 1996-2009; National Foundation Board Member/Treasurer, 2008-2009; State Chair, 2004-2006; Chair, Jury Committee, 2005-2007
• International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC), 1989-2009, President, 2003-2004
• Dean of IADC Corporate Counsel College, Chicago, 2008
• American Inns of Court, 1995-2009, President Boise ID Inn, 2007-2008
• American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), 2003-2009; Idaho Chapter V. P., 2008-2009
• Lawyers for Civic Justice (LCJ), Board of Directors, 2001-2007, Executive Committee, 2004-2007, President, 2005-2006
• American Bar Association (ABA), 1978-2009
• Idaho, Oregon and Washington Bar Association
• Selected as one of "America's Leading Lawyers for Business" (Idaho) by Chambers USA (Litigation: General Commercial), 2006-2010
• Best Lawyers in America (Currently: Bet-the-Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation), 2007-2011
• Top 75 Mountain States Super Lawyers®
• Martindale Hubbell (A-V)
• Recipient, Idaho State Bar, Fourth District Liberty Bell Award, 2008
• Recipient, Idaho State Bar Denise O'Donnell Day Pro Bono Award, 2004
• National recipient, American Heart Association Gold Heart Award, 2004
• National recipient, American Heart Association Meritorious Achievement Award, 1995

Civic Activities

• St. Luke's Regional Medical Center Strategic Initiatives Committee, 2008–2009
• U.S. Supreme Court Historical Society, State Membership Chair, 2006-2008
• American Heart Association, 1987-2009; National Chair, Board of Directors and volunteer CEO, 1999-2000; National Co-Chair, Tobacco Settlement Review Committee, 1997; National Board of Directors, 1994, 1996-2001
• American Heart Association Gold Heart Award, national recipient, 2004
• American Heart Association Meritorious Achievement Award, national recipient, 1995
• United Way of Magic Valley, 1980-1990, Board of Directors, Campaign Chair, 1990
• Young Family Christian Association, Board of Directors, First Vice President, 1981-1983
• Magic Valley Regional Medical Center Foundation, Inc., Director and President, 1987-1990

Education

• University of Idaho Law School, J.D., 1978
• Stanford University, B.A., economics, 1975

Admissions

• Idaho
• Washington
• Oregon
• U.S. District Court for the Districts of Idaho, Washington, Oregon
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

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• Presenter, "Masters in Jury Selection," ABOTA CLE, Seattle Washington, Oct. 2009
• "Working with Juries—Where Are We?—Jury System Review Since 2003," Idaho Judicial Conference, Oct. 2008
• "Lessons Learned from the 30(b)(6) Deposition," The Advocate, Idaho State Bar, Sep. 2006
• "Code of Trial and Pre-Trial Conduct," American College of Trial Lawyers CLE, U.S. District Court conferences in Boise, Pocatello and Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, 2006
• "Building a Case from Discovery to Trial and Beyond: Examination of Witnesses," Young Lawyers Division, Idaho State Bar, Boise, Idaho, 2006
• "Ada County Electronic Technology in the Courtroom," CLE seminar, Litigation Section, Idaho State Bar, Ada County Courthouse, Boise, Idaho, 2005
• "Technology in the Federal Electronic Courtroom," CLE seminar, Litigation Section, Idaho State Bar, U.S. Federal District Courthouse, Pocatello, Idaho, 2005
• "Electronic Discovery—Today and Tomorrow," CLE seminar, Idaho Paralegal Association, 2004
• "Technology in the Federal Electronic Courtroom," CLE seminar, Litigation Section, Idaho State Bar, U.S. Federal District Courthouse, Boise, Idaho, 2004
• "New Generation of Technology—Practical Tips for the Law Firm," CLE seminar, U.S. District Court's Conference, U.S. Federal District Court, Boise, Idaho, 2004
• "Making Your Case with Technology," Stoel Rives CLE seminar, Boise, Idaho, 2004
• "Amending the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure for Electronic Discovery Issues," The Advocate, Idaho State Bar, Dec. 2004
• "When Litigation Arises, Documents Are Critical," Idaho Business Review, 2003
• "Making Jury Duty a Little Friendlier," The Advocate, Idaho State Bar, Oct. 2003
• "Unfair Competition—Review of New ALI Restatement," CLE seminar, International Association of Defense Counsel, Monterey, California, 1997
• "Unfair Competition"—ALI Restatement of the Law, 1997
• "Fraudulent Business Transactions—Attorneys' Potential Exposure to Liability," 63 Defense Counsel Journal 509, 1996
• "Enforceability of Non-Competition Clauses Affecting Lawyers," 62 Defense Counsel Journal 58, 1995
• "Fraud: Another Name for Greed," CLE seminar, International Association of Defense Counsel, Greenbrier, West Virginia, 1995
• "Enforceability of Non-Competition Clauses Affecting Lawyers," Business Litigation Committee, International Association of Defense Counsel, Colorado Springs, Colorado, 1994
• "The Law of Nuisance and Trespass as They Impact Animal Containment Operations in Idaho," 30 Idaho Law Review 485, 1994
• "Appellate Advocacy," Idaho Law Foundation, Boise, Idaho, 1992
• "Construction of Insurance Contracts in Idaho," 17 Idaho Law Review 476, 1981

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Representative Work

Agriculture-Related Cases

• Lead defense counsel in numerous agricultural products liability cases dealing with sprinkler systems, crop damage and wrongful death
• Lead counsel in feed lot/nuisance case, successfully defended and maintained rights to operate feed lot
• Lead counsel for DuPont in a mass tort agricultural products liability defense
• Lead plaintiff's counsel in a multimillion dollar commercial crop loss case against a major chemical producer
• Lead counsel for Amalgamated Sugar cooperative in an agricultural-related breach of contract/antitrust case
• Lead plaintiff's counsel in a commercial condemnation case dealing with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management

Environmental Cases

• Lead local counsel for a multimillion environmental contamination coverage dispute involving over 20 insurers and overlapping and layered insurance policies
• Lead counsel in several environmental cleanup matters and in several insurance coverage cases for a regional insurance company Class Action/Derivative Cases
• Lead counsel for Albertson's and SUPERVALU in product liability class-action, multidistrict litigation with damages claimed in the multimillions
• Lead counsel for Albertsons defending both a class action and a derivative action case claiming millions of dollars of damages
• Lead local counsel for Albertsons in class action for breach of Board of Directors' fiduciary duty to shareholders and attempting to stop a $17,000,000,000 transaction

Securities-Related, Insurance and Probate-Related Cases

• Lead counsel for Mutual of Enumclaw in several insurance coverage/bad-faith cases
• Lead counsel in attorney general securities lien against client
• Represented Albertsons in breach of securities, contract and employment case with damages claimed in the multimillions of dollars (lead counsel)
• Lead counsel in a million-dollar will dispute, including the primary beneficiary (client), omitted heirs and 42 peripheral beneficiaries

Damages, Injury and Wrongful Death Cases

• Lead counsel in a large utility fire resulting in the destruction of 9 homes, the damage of an additional 9 homes and one fatality
• Lead counsel in two brain injury cases, resolved favorably for our clients
• Lead counsel for defendant in a multimillion dollar, 80-plaintiff wrongful-death claim in New York City
• Lead plaintiffs' counsel for two wrongful-death claims arising from a commercial airliner crash, and member of the plaintiffs' steering committee in Detroit, Michigan which resulted in multimillion dollar recovery for clients

Jury Trials

• Daw v. Amalgamated Sugar Company (crop loss defense)
• Bywater v. Bywater (personal injury defense)
• Hatfield v. McMurray (personal injury defense)
• Bohrn v. Dueker (personal injury defense)
• Jacob v. USF&G/JAB/Bradford (fraud defense)
• Harper v. Magic Valley Potato Shippers (contract dispute)
• Pearson v. Prime, Inc. (personal injury defense)
• Fleck v. Western Realty (fraud defense)
• Henderson v. Jacobsen (real estate mortgage foreclosure)
• Hamilton v. Winslow (fire loss defense)
• Cheney v. Cheney (personal injury defense)
• Brennan v. Shildmyer (collection on promissory note)
• King v. Leffler (personal injury defense)
• George v. Griffin - (destruction of a potato cellar defense)
• Greeninger v. Wood River Auto (personal injury defense)
• Griffith v. Latham & Chrysler Corp. (lemon law defense)
• Latham v. Phillips (contract dispute)
• Payne & St. Leon v. Skaar (nuisance defense)
• U.S.A. vs. 11.24 acres (condemnation action)
• Thompson v. P.S.I. (personal injury defense)
• Mendoza v. Lind (farm personal injury defense)
• Guerrero v. Bob's Farm (farm personal injury defense)
• Wassertrom v. Whitehead (construction defect case)
• Marlin v. MacKelly (personal injury defense)
• Wooley v. Dunbar (commercial property contract suit)
• Bybee v. Amalgamated Sugar Company (antitrust; breach of contract; breach of fiduciary suit)
• Adams v. DuPont (mass agricultural product liability suit)

Court Trials

• Mingo v. Greene (defense of an insurance agent)
• Dick v. Geist (covenant not to compete action)
• Heida v. School Distr. 411 (improper dismissal)
• Squires v. Roy Raymond Ford (negligent repair claims)
• Pohlman v. Tsuga Hata (personal representative estate contest)
• Ginder v. Kelley Nurseries (chemical over spray defense)
• Weaver v. Searle (bad wheat seed claim)
• American Heart Association v. Tierney (embezzlement prosecution)
• Williams v. Bailes (personal injury defense)
• Monsanto v. Pacific Corp (utility contract dispute)

Other Significant Cases Handled

• Happy Land Social Club Fire, New York City (wrongful death mass action)
• Raymond v. Comair, Detroit (aviation wrongful death case)
• University of Idaho Foundation v. Civic Partners (commercial breach of contract claim)
• Paoloni v. Albertson's (corporate fiduciary duty claim)
• Carmella v. Albertson's (class action defense)
• Gabriel v. Albertson's (wrongful discharge claim)
• Hot Fuels MDL Case, Kansas City (corporate multi-district litigation)
• Mueller v. St. Luke's Regional Medical Center (constitutional rights; breach of fiduciary duty dispute)

Arbitrations

• Gary's Westland Motors v. Olander Paving (construction contract dispute)
• Chappel v. Fleming Foods (non-competition dispute)
• Zozula v. Purely Supreme Foods (breach of employment contract)

Reported Decisions

• Clark v. St. Paul Prop. & Liab. Ins. Co. (declaration judgment)
• Hirst v. St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. (insurance coverage dispute)
• Bartlett v. Peak (personal injury dispute)
• Strout Realty v. Milhouse (broker's commission dispute)
• Standlee v. St. Paul Fire & Marine, Inc. Co. (professional liability and office liability insurance policies)
• Jerome Thriftway Drug v. Winslow (fire loss dispute)
• Culp v. Tri-County Tractor (subordinated promissory note dispute)
• Arrington v. Arrington Bros Const. (commercial construction contract dispute)
• Latham Motors v. Phillips (lemon law case)
• Mutual of Enumclaw v. Wilcox (insurance coverage dispute)
• Payne v. Skaar (nuisance case)
• Consolidated AG of Curry, Inc. v. Rangen, Inc. (commercial lease case)
• Weaver v. Searle (commercial agricultural crop dispute)
• Storrer v. Kier Construction Corp. (arbitration contract dispute)
• Comer v. County of Twin Falls (zoning dispute)
• Mutual of Enumclaw Life Ins. v. Lincoln (insurance coverage dispute)
• West v. Sonke (wrongful death action)
• Pfau v. Comair Holdings, Inc. (aviation wrongful death dispute)
• Erkins v. Stoel Rives (errors & omissions claim)
• Paolini v. Albertson's (securities/corporate fiduciary duty claim)
• University of Idaho v. Civic Partners (breach of contract claim)
• State of Idaho v. Maybee (constitutional rights dispute)

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