Beth Terrell | Member

Professional Experience

Beth Terrell is a member of Terrell Marshall Daudt & Willie PLLC (“TMDW”). Concentrating her practice in complex litigation, including the prosecution of class actions on behalf of consumers and employees, Ms. Terrell routinely serves as co-lead counsel on multi-state and nationwide class actions. She also represents individual employees including those who have suffered from race, gender, age, marital status, and disability discrimination. She frequently works with executives negotiating compensation plans, employment contracts, and severance agreements with Fortune 500 companies. Ms. Terrell has successfully tried cases in both state and federal court. In addition to her litigation and trial work, she also counsels small and medium sized companies facing personnel and human resource issues and has represented both employees and employers in restrictive covenant litigation.

Prior to founding TMDW, Ms. Terrell was a member of Tousley Brain Stephens PLLC, where she practiced litigation for twelve years. She is a frequent speaker at legal conferences on a wide variety of topics, including consumer class actions, employment litigation, and electronic discovery. Ms. Terrell has been often recognized as a “Super Lawyer,” was named one of the “Top 50 Washington Women Super Lawyers” of 2012, and has been awarded an “AV” rating in Martindale Hubbell by her peers, a rating denoting the highest legal ability and ethical standards.

Professional Organizations and Activities

• American Bar Association
  • CLE Co-Chair, Labor and Employment Law Section Annual Meeting
• King County Bar Association, Labor and Employment Law Section
  • Board of Trustees, 2007-2012
  • Section Chair, 2011
  • Chair, Pacific Coast Labor and Employment Law Conference Planning Committee, 2010
• Washington State Association of Justice
  • Board Member, Vice President of Public Affairs (current)
  • Executive Committee (current)
  • Chair, Consumer Protection Section, 2008-09
  • Eagle Member
• Washington Employment Lawyers Association
  • Vice Chair (current)
• Northwest Consumer Law Center
  • Vice Chair (current)
• King County Washington Women Lawyers
  • President 2008-09
• Washington Women Lawyers
  • Chapter Representative, 2007-10
• National Employment Lawyers Association
• American Association of Justice
• Public Justice
• National Association of Consumer Advocates

Professional Recognition

• Washington Super Lawyers 2005, 2010-2012
• Top 50 Women Super Lawyers, 2012

Education

• University of California, Davis School of Law - Order of the Coif - J.D.
• Gonzaga University - magna cum laude - B.A.

Sample Achievements

Wage and Hour Class & Collective Actions

• Barnett et al. v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. - Negotiated a $35 million settlement for a class of 80,000 current and former Wal-Mart employees in Washington State alleging violations of Washington's wage and hour laws and the Washington State Consumer Protection Act.
• Simpson v. ABM Industries, Inc. - Represents a proposed class of approximately 7,000 janitors who allege their employer failed to pay them for all hours work and failed to provide them with rest and meal breaks. Settlement has been preliminarily approved by the court.

Consumer Class Actions

• Arthur v. Sallie Mae - Co-lead class counsel representing consumers who received automated, pre-recorded collection telephone calls to their cellular phones in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. Negotiated a $24.15 million nationwide settlement that has been preliminarily approved by the court.
• Godoy et al. v. AT&T Wireless Services, Inc. - Co-lead class counsel representing a class of 5 million AT&T Wireless customers alleging that AT&T Wireless engaged in consumer fraud when it failed to pro-rate customers' bills when they terminated their accounts. Obtained a $47 million settlement for the class.
• Hartman v. Comcast - Co-lead class counsel representing consumers who received automated, pre-recorded solicitation telephone calls from defendants in violation of the Washington Consumer Protection Act. Negotiated a $3.8 million class-wide settlement.
• Odom v. Microsoft Corp. - Represented nationwide class of consumers alleging Microsoft and Best Buy engaged in unfair and deceptive acts in the promotion of MSN internet access service. Settlement approved in 2010.

Defective Product Class Actions

• Kitec Consolidated Cases - Co-counsel in $125 million nationwide settlement on behalf of homeowners with defective hydronic heating and plumbing systems.
• Milligan, et al. v. Toyota Motor Sales, Inc. - Co-lead counsel representing owners of 2001 – 2003 Toyota RAV4s containing defective Electronic Computer Modules (“ECM”) which cause harsh shifting conditions and permanent damage to the transmissions. Negotiated nationwide settlement valued in excess of $30 million.
• Cooper, et al. v. American Honda Motor Co., Inc. - Co-lead counsel representing owners of 2006–2010 Honda Civics containing defective sun visors. Negotiated nationwide settlement valued in excess of $10 million.

Employment Cases

• Olson v. Fred Meyer Stores - Obtained a $200,000 jury verdict for a part-time employee whose termination violated the disability protections of the Washington Law Against Discrimination.
• Gender Discrimination Case Against Fortune 500 Company - Negotiated high six figure settlement on behalf of female executive who had been discriminated on the basis of her gender.

Personal Injury Cases

• Perkins v. American Medical Response Ambulance Service, Inc. - Obtained a $400,000 jury verdict for a bus passenger who was seriously injured when an AMR ambulance cut off her bus, causing it to swerve off Interstate 5 and into a ditch.

Sex Abuse & Discrimination Actions

• S.B. v. Nusbaum - Negotiated an $800,000 settlement on behalf of a sexually abused minor.
• Discrimination Case Against Fortune 500 Company - Negotiated favorable settlement for African-American manager who had been terminated after 26 years based on false allegations of sexual harassment.

Articles & Publications

• Todd L. Nunn, Douglas D. Walsh, Beth E. Terrell, Washington State Consumer Protection Class Actions, Law Seminars International, 8th Annual Comprehensive Conference on Litigating Class Actions, May 2012
• Brian L. Bromberg, Mark G. Califano, Julia B. Strickland, Beth E. Terrell, Class Action Developments and Settlements and UDAP Update, Practicing Law Institute, Consumer Financial Services Institute (17th Annual), April 2012
• Kimberlee L. Gunning, Beth E. Terrell, Recent Developments in UDAP Class Actions from the Plaintiff’s Perspective, Practising Law Institute, Consumer Financial Services Institute, April 2012
• Beth E. Terrell, E-Discovery and Litigation Strategies in Employment Cases: Anticipating, Avoiding and Resolving Issues Relating to Electronically Stored Information, 19th Annual WSBA Employment Law Institute, April 2012
• Allison Goodman, Beth E. Terrell, and Kimberlee L. Gunning, Impact of New Technologies on Litigation Strategies: Anticipating and Avoiding Issues Relating to Electronically Stored Information, Law Seminars International, The Impact of Changing Technology and IP Law on Employment Law, March 2012
• William J. Daley, David D. Powell Jr., Beth E. Terrell, Client Management 101, ABA Section of Labor and Employment Law, 5th Annual Labor and Employment Law Conference, November 2011
• Todd L. Nunn, Beth E. Terrell, Washington State Consumer Protection Class Actions, Law Seminars International, 7th Annual Comprehensive Conference on Litigating Class Actions, May 2011
• Beth E. Terrell, Consumer Relations from the Plaintiffs’ Perspective: Lessons from Class Actions, Law Seminars International, Advanced Conference on New Developments in Wireless Telecommunications, November 2010
• Beth E. Terrell, Class Action Perspective and Class Actions and Ethical Considerations, Such as Potential Conflicting Interests, WSBA-CLE Seminar: A Trial Lawyer’s Guide to the Washington Consumer Protection Act, August 2010
• Beth E. Terrell, Employment Law for the Small Firm: How to Avoid the Minefields and Keep Your Employees Happy, American Association for Justice, Sole Practitioner and Small Firm Section 2010 Annual Convention, July 2010
• Kathleen M. O’Sullivan, Beth E. Terrell, Special Substantive Law Considerations for Consumer Protection Class Actions, Law Seminars International, 6th Annual Conference on Strategies for Litigating Class Actions, May 2010
• Beth E. Terrell, The Practical Side of Electronic Discovery, WSBA-CLE Labor and Employment Law Section, 9th Annual Labor and Employment Law Section Meeting and Seminar, November 2009
• Beth E. Terrell, Litigating Class Actions, Law Seminars International, May 2009
• Kimberlee L. Gunning, Blythe Chandler, Beth E. Terrell, Covenants Not to Compete and Trade Secret Protection, Employment Law Deskbook (Washington State Association for Justice, 2d ed 2009)
• Kimberlee L. Gunning, Beth E. Terrell, Preservation and Spoliation of Electronic Information, Washington State Trial Lawyers Association Employment Law CLE, September 2007
• Beth E. Terrell, A Toolkit for Managing the FMLA, Council on Education in Management, FMLA Update 2006, January 2006