Recent lawsuits in Pierce County Superior Court

This list of curated articles highlights recent lawsuits in Pierce County Superior Court.

One case discusses Washington's decision to pay $30 million to the family of a boy fatally struck in a Parkland crosswalk. The family's lawsuit argued the Washington State Department of Transportation neglected to repair a malfunctioning crosswalk beacon.

Another legal dispute involves a wrongful-death claim against Lakewood police after a pursuit led to a crash that killed a truck driver. The lawsuit alleges officers engaged in a high-risk chase without proper authorization or safety protocols, raising concerns about police conduct in vehicle pursuits.

A West Richland woman was arrested in connection with a murder plot in Florida.

NO. 1: LEADERS IN PIERCE COUNTY CITY SUE OVER WITHHELD RECORDS, FINANCIAL CONCERNS

Two Roy City Council members are suing the city based on allegations that records of city finances and investigations have been improperly withheld, the contents of which, their attorney says, could reveal problems that threaten the small municipality’s existence. | Published September 23, 2025 | Read Full Story by Peter Talbot

Ashley Miller is shown in a photograph from her 7th grade yearbook, when she attended Jason Lee Middle School in Tacoma, now known as Hilltop Heritage Middle School.

NO. 2: WA WILL PAY $9M TO WOMAN ABUSED ‘COUNTLESS TIMES’ IN PIERCE COUNTY FOSTER HOME

Washington state has agreed to pay $9 million to settle a lawsuit over failures that led a girl to be placed in a Pierce County foster home where she was subjected to severe sexual abuse in the 1990s and early 2000s and allowed to be adopted. | Published September 30, 2025 | Read Full Story by Peter Talbot

Bohdan Vetrov, 57, was killed June 29, 2023 when two robbery suspects fled police in a stolen Kia Sportage and collided with his semi-truck in Lakewood. Vetrov’s family has filed a claim to sue the City of Lakewood, alleging the police pursuit violated state law and police department policy.

NO. 3: FAMILY TO SUE LAKEWOOD FOR $26M, CITING UNLAWFUL POLICE PURSUIT IN FATAL CRASH

A Lakewood police pursuit of robbery suspects that ended with a collision that killed a semi-truck driver, a father of seven, violated state law and police department policies, attorneys for the family of the deceased truck driver claim. | Published November 5, 2025 | Read Full Story by Peter Talbot

Golfers move between holes behind the entrance of Fircrest Golf Club on Friday, Nov. 7, 2025, in Fircrest, Wash. By Liesbeth Powers

NO. 4: TACOMA-AREA GOLF CLUB ‘TURNED A BLIND EYE’ TO SEXUAL MISCONDUCT, LAWSUIT ALLEGES

Attorneys for the family of a teenage girl who worked for the Fircrest Golf Club allege the club “turned a blind eye” to its former fitness director’s misconduct with underage girls and failed to protect her from being sexually assaulted, according to a recently filed lawsuit. | Published November 8, 2025 | Read Full Story by Peter Talbot

Karia Daniels is running for the Tacoma City Council At-Large District 6 seat in the 2021 election. By Kiara Daniels

NO. 5: TACOMA COUNCIL MEMBER SUES PURPORTED BUSINESS PARTNER IN REAL ESTATE PROJECT

Tacoma City Council member Kiara Daniels is suing the founder of an affordable-housing nonprofit for allegedly backing out of their real estate business partnership and hindering the planned development of an apartment building in South Tacoma, court records show. | Published November 12, 2025 | Read Full Story by Shea Johnson

David Benjamin Coots, 43, pleads guilty to second-degree assault, tampering with a witness and fourth-degree assault, at Pierce County Superior Court on Friday, July 11, 2025, in Tacoma, Wash. By Brian Hayes

NO. 6: WOMAN SUES MULTICARE, FORMER EMPLOYEE OVER SECRETLY FORCED ABORTION PILLS

Tacoma-based MultiCare and a married former employee in Gig Harbor who forced self-prescribed abortion pills into his girlfriend, who was also his patient, are being sued by the victim in a lawsuit that alleges “institutional betrayal,” court records show. | Published November 13, 2025 | Read Full Story by Shea Johnson

NO. 7: PIERCE COUNTY FAMILY FILES SUIT AGAINST BABY-FORMULA MAKER IN BOTULISM CASE

A lawsuit has been filed in a recent Pierce County botulism case blamed on tainted baby formula at the center of a national recall. | Published November 19, 2025 | Read Full Story by Debbie Cockrell

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Amber Weilert is comforted by her sister, Autumn Shafer, as she sits with a photo she took of her son, Michael Weilert, at the family’s home in Parkland, Washington on Wednesday, July 27, 2022. The 13-year-old was killed July 19 when he was hit by a car while riding his bicycle through a crosswalk near his home. By Tony Overman

NO. 8: WHY WA WILL PAY $30M AFTER PIERCE COUNTY BOY WAS FATALLY STRUCK IN CROSSWALK

Washington state will pay $30 million to settle a lawsuit brought by the family of a 13-year-old boy who was fatally struck by a jeep in a Parkland crosswalk in 2022, according to court records and an attorney representing the family.Michael Weilert was killed attempting to cross State Route 7, or Pacific Avenue, on a bicycle at 134th Street near his home in the late afternoon of July 19, 2022. | Published November 29, 2025 | Read Full Story by Shea Johnson

The summary above was drafted with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists in our News division. All stories listed were reported, written and edited by McClatchy journalists.