The Washington case lifecycle
Where Washington cases are won by sequence: the gates in order, each from the loaded law.
THE COMMENCEMENT TRAP opens the case
Filing OR service tentatively commences — the other act must follow within ninety days or the action is deemed not commenced for limitations purposes. The lifecycle's first gate is the plaintiff's own.
RCW 4.16.170
The first-response waiver gate
Threshold defenses omitted from the first motion or responsive pleading can be WAIVED — consolidation is the rule, and the first paper is the one that decides what survives.
CR 12(g), (h)
The 1-year note-for-trial DWOP
On a party's motion the case SHALL be dismissed without prejudice when the plaintiff neglects to note it for trial within one year after issue is joined — and the cure (noting the case before the motion is heard) is in the same sentence.
CR 41(b)(1)
Voluntary dismissal has its own arithmetic
Plaintiff-side dismissal mechanics — timing against the trial calendar and the effect of repeat dismissals — carry consequences the rule states and counsel weighs.
CR 41(a)
The local case schedule is real law here
King County and its siblings run case-schedule regimes with their own deadlines — under GR 7(d) the CLERK's set is the official record, and the county registry says which books are loaded.
GR 7; local rules
The arbitration fork
Qualifying money claims in qualifying counties route through mandatory arbitration mid-lifecycle — with the 20-day de novo exit and its fee-shift stakes.
RCW 7.06; SCCAR
Judgment is not the end
Thirty days to appeal; an unsuperseded judgment enforceable meanwhile — the lifecycle's last gate is the stay decision.
RAP 5.2; RAP 8.1
The clocks with traces: the deadline registry →
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