Rory D. Cosgrove

Seattle, WA Directions

Recognized in Best Lawyers since 2026

Awarded Practice Areas

Appellate Practice

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Awarded Practice Areas

Appellate Practice

Works at

Carney Badley Spellman PS

11 Best Lawyers awards

Biography

Rory D. Cosgrove is a Seattle-based appellate attorney at Carney Badley Spellman who focuses exclusively on civil appeals in state and federal courts. Recognized by Washington's appellate courts as the "Cadillac" of appellate lawyers, Rory has served as lead counsel in numerous appeals before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and Washington's appellate courts, including the Washington Supreme Court.

Rory is also the premier embedded appellate counsel in the Pacific Northwest — working alongside trial teams to preserve issues, shape strategy, and strengthen outcomes at every stage of litigation. His clients include Providence, U-Haul, Bright Horizons, J.B. Hunt, Volkswagen, Safelite, Allied Universal, Graco, Pep Boys, and Comcast.

Locations

Seattle, Washington

206-622-8020

701 Fifth Avenue, Suite 3600
Seattle, WA 98104

Languages

French

Education

Eastern Washington University, B.A. International Affairs and French, graduated 2008
Willamette University, J.D., graduated 2014

Bar Admissions

Washington, Washington State Bar Association, 2014

Court Admissions

U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
U.S. District Court, Western District of Washington

Affiliations

American Bar Association - Member
King County Bar Association - Chair of the Appellate Practice Section (2021-22)
Washington Defense Trail Lawyers - President (2025-26), President- Elect (2024-25), Amicus Committee (2017-present)
Appellate Advocacy Committee (DRI) - Member

State Clerkships

Oregon - Court of Appeals
Washington - Court of Appeals

Client Testimonials

Awards & Focus

Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America^® 2026 for work in:

Appellate Practice

Awards:

- Best Lawyer, Best Lawyers in America (2026)
- Super Lawyer, Washington Super Lawyers Magazine (2025-present)
- Rising Star, Washington Super Lawyers Magazine (2018–24)
- Outstanding Associate of the Year, Washington Defense Trial Lawyers (2019)
- Roy Lockenour Award, Professional Responsibility (2012)
- Yarwood Award, Top Dean’s Honor Student for Modern Languages and Literatures (2008)

Additional Information

Case History

Cases

Representative Matters - Embedded Appellate Counsel

Bundy v. Swedish Health Services, King County Superior Court (2025) (medical negligence)
Webb v. Aardvark Event Logistics, Inc., King County Superior Court (2025) (negligence)
Wilson v. Allied Universal Security Services et al., King County Superior Court (2025) (negligence)
Braden v. U-Haul Co. of Washington, King County Superior Court (2025) (negligence)
Razak v. J.B. Hunt Transport, Inc., Pierce County Superior Court (2025) (negligence)
Larsen v. High 5 Games, LLC, Western District of Washington (2025) (class action)
Berg v. NFS Unlimited WA, LLC, Pierce County Superior Court (2025) (negligence)
Riggs v. Bright Horizons, King County Superior Court (2025) (negligence)
Jok v. Safelite Fulfillment, Inc., Pierce County Superior Court (2024) (negligence)
Spencer v. University of Washington, King County Superior Court (2024) (premises liability)
Jok v. Safelite Fulfillment, Inc., Pierce County Superior Court (2024) (negligence)
Green v. Armani Group, Inc. et al., King County Superior Court (2023) (negligence)
Kemp v. Graco Children’s Products, Inc. et al., King County Superior Court (2022) (products liability)
Yeon v. Pep Boys – Manny, Moe & Jack of Delaware, Inc. et al., King County Superior Court (2022) (negligence)
Anderson v. Comcast Cable Communications, LLC et al., Pierce County Superior Court (2021) (products liability)
Lynch v. City of Seattle, King County Superior Court (2021) (negligence)

Representative Matters - Appeals

Schmidt v. Schmidt, 33 Wn. App. 2d 1024 (2024) (breach of contract and fraud; affirming summary judgments and awarding fees and costs on appeal)
Adams v. McCarthy, 32 Wn. App. 2d 1065 (2024) (marriage dissolution; affirming a divorce decree and the resulting property division)
Billing Associates Northwest LLC v. Addison Data Servs. LLC, 2025 WL 289171 (9th Cir. 2025) (breach of fiduciary duty and personal jurisdiction)
Ey v. Tagrisk LLC, No. 85096-2 (Wash. Ct. App. 2025) (vacating default judgment)
Sorrentino v. Volkswagen AG et al., 32 Wn. App. 2d 1025 (2024) (product liability and personal jurisdiction)
McCullough v. Anderson, 27 Wn. App. 2d 1062 (2023) (easement dispute; affirming a summary judgment preserving our client’s property rights), review denied, 2 Wn.3d 1028 (2024).
Pacific Lutheran University et al. v. Certain Underwriters et al., 2 Wn.3d 628, 541 P.3d 358 (2024) (antisuit injunction and forum non conveniens)
ROIC Washington, LLC v. R.F. Edmonds Joint Venture, 25 Wn. App. 2d 1006 (2022) (breach of contract)
Sumner Plains 84, LLC v. Wakefield, 23 Wn. App. 2d 1002 (2022) (breach of contract; partially reversing a summary judgment and remanding the client’s claim for trial)
Dearinger v. Eli Lilly & Co., 199 Wn.2d 569, 510 P.3d 326 (2022) (product liability; quoting and relying on our client’s amicus brief and rejecting the plaintiff’s argument that the learned-intermediary doctrine contains a direct-to-consumer advertising exception)
Singh v. University of Washington, 18 Wn. App. 2d 1061 (2021) (employment law; partially reversing a summary judgment and remanding the client’s disability-accommodation claim for trial)
Fife Portal, LLC v. Kotulan, 14 Wn. App. 2d 1019 (2020) (trespass)
W.H. v. Olympia School District, 195 Wn .2d 779, 465 P.3d 322 (2020) (WLAD claim; amicus brief)
Rosen v. Rosen, 11 Wn. App. 2d 1030 (2019) (business dispute; affirming summary judgement and awarding our clients attorneys’ fees and costs on appeal)
Sawyer Lake Veterinary Hosp., Inc. v. Pine Tree Veterinary Hosp., 8 Wn. App. 2d 1070 (2019) (affirming summary judgment)
Ada Motors, Inc. v. Butler, 7 Wn. App. 2d 53, 432, P.3d 445 (2018) (uniform trade secrets act; reversing a damages and attorneys’ fee award after a jury verdict and remanding for a new trial on damages), review denied, 193 Wn.2d 1013 (2019).
JDB Construction Corp. v. Hai Liang Zhang, 8 Wn. App. 2d 1024 (2019) (fraud)
Trahan v. Clayton Dublier & Rice, 741 F. App’x 397 (9th Cir. 2018) (negligence)
Ingersoll v. City of Mattawa, 3 Wn. App. 2d 1038 (2018) (employment law)
Noll v. American Biltrite Inc., 188 Wn.2d 402, 395 P.3d 1021 (2017) (personal jurisdiction)
Xia v. Probuilders Specialty Ins. Co., 188 Wn.2d 171, 400 P.3d 1234 (2017) (insurance coverage; amicus brief)

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