Wash. Court of Appeals published opinion — 877801 orderandopinion.pdf

Citation: Wash. Court of Appeals published opinion — 877801 orderandopinion.pdf
Jurisdiction: Washington (state)
Source verification: official_capture_completeness_unverified
Original Source: https://www.courts.wa.gov/opinions/pdf/877801%20orderandopinion.pdf ↗

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of the trial court’s summary judgment order. The trial court also found that the Cromars

were entitled to attorney fees and costs under RCW 59.18.280(2) upon their timely

motion. See CR 54(d).

On January 21 the Cromars moved for attorney fees of $31,682.50 and costs of

$445.97 for work completed by counsels Anderson and Santiago. The Cromars

requested fees for 52.9 hours based on Anderson’s hourly rate of $680 and Santiago’s

hourly rate of $565. The Cromars submitted counsels’ time records, showing hours for

specific services performed by Anderson and Santiago. In supporting declarations,

Anderson and Santiago testified that they generally represent clients on a contingent

fee basis and that other potentially capable attorneys often turn clients away for cases

like the Cromars’ because of client’s inability to pay or the uncertainty of the outcome.

Counsels testified that the number of hours they spent on litigation for the Cromars were

reasonable and necessary to achieve the successful outcome.

Anderson testified that his reasonably hourly rate is $680 as of 2025, which

“represents a modest 4.6% increase from my 2024 rate ($650/hour).” He testified that

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about a year after he graduated law school in 2006 he worked at a nationwide law firm,

where he became a partner and represented major national banks and debt buyers for

debt collection and compliance matters before eventually founding his current firm in

late 2014. Anderson stated that Anderson Santiago, PLLC is “a boutique litigation firm

focused on protecting the rights of individuals who are facing abusive debt collection