I had Judge Laurel Gibson for a small claims case. I was impressed with her approach to ask for the documents needed to satisfy what the law says in the RCWs. She cut right to the chase and sought to find the truth in the documents. It was apparent that her goal was only to decide who had the proper documentation in accordance with what the law says. I'm only giving this review because I did not witness what others claimed in the other reviews. read more

I appeared before Judge Laurel Gibson in multiple protection-order proceedings and left with significant concerns regarding courtroom demeanor, procedural consistency, and the overall handling of the cases. To be clear, my concerns are not simply based on the outcome. One of my petitions was ultimately granted, while another petition was denied by a different judge. Although I disagreed with the denial, I felt heard, respected, and given a full opportunity to present my case. My concerns arise from my experience specifically before Judge Gibson. Throughout the proceedings, I often felt that I was not given the same opportunity as the opposing parties to explain my position or the basis for my requests. Several times, I attempted to raise concerns or explain my reasoning and often received abrupt responses, typically to the effect of "I'm not going to do that," without any further explanation. Meanwhile, I observed opposing parties being given considerable latitude to explain their positions and request delays. Overall, the manner in which she interacted with me was notably different with the way she interacted with the Respondents. I was seeking protection due to ongoing harassment and threats to cause professional harm and impact my livelihood, to get revenge on me due to a personal dispute. This is not speculative, they voiced comments indicating the intent to "burn my fucking world down" and they would never stop. Despite the significant consequences, these were not taken seriously, and I subsequently experienced significant emotional harm and irreparable damage to my career. I was also concerned by what appeared to be inconsistent handling of procedural issues, particularly relating to service, continuances, and the management of hearings. For example, she made comments about being unfamiliar with alternative methods of service, namely utilizing email to serve an individual when in-person service has failed. After email service was granted, there arose the question of determining if the individual was served properly. While she consistently focused on the need for a read receipt, this is inconsistent with the statute, which lists several other ways that can determine a person was properly served. Once one of the respondents was considered officially served and presented to court, she claimed that she did not have time to review nor could she understand the documents I served her a week prior to the hearing. Judge Gibson subsequently granted a delay, despite my request to proceed with the hearing, as she was served in advance, consistent with legal requirements. I was immediately cut off and told something to the effect of "I won't do that." During the same hearing, it was clear that there was an unidentified individual off camera, who appeared to be coaching the respondent, as this person was directly providing responses to the judge's questions. Judge Gibson did not address the situation at all. From my experience working adjacent to the legal system, I am aware that any individual present for a hearing, even in an observational capacity, must be identified. In addition, coaching an individual's responses is taken seriously and addressed appropriately. I was flabbergasted that this issue was not addressed. Some of the procedural issues described above resulted in significant delays in the process to obtain court protections. In a case involving ongoing concerns about professional and reputational harm, I sought emergency relief, and was denied. Even when the respondent followed through with her threats, which has caused irreparable harm, I was denied an emergency protection order. Although a full protection order was eventually granted, several weeks passed before that occurred. As someone who works closely with courts and legal proceedings, I understand that judges must make difficult decisions and that litigants will not always agree with the outcome. My concern is not that every ruling went against me. Rather, I left with the impression that my concerns were not taken as seriously as they should have been and that the proceedings were not handled as consistently as I would expect. Due process affords us the right to defend our position and provide evidence. I followed every procedural rule, submitted documents in a timely manner, and comported myself appropriately in court. On the other hand, the respondents engaged in a manner that did not show respect for the court or legal procedures, and routinely submitted paperwork at the last minute (which was not officially served to me). I was frequently shut down when I attempted to provide evidence for my position in a calm and appropriate manner. While on the other hand, the Respondents were given time to speak, which on occasion involved rambling about topics that were barely relevant to the current case. read more

To the point: Judge Laurel Gibson is not fit for her role so do what you can to have your small claims case heard by a different judge. If you're stuck, keep your evidence simple and explanations even simpler. Also, don't dress too nice and act a little like you're simple with a sprinkle of victimhood. .She's easily overwhelmed and will ignore many of the facts, and seems to have a chip on her shoulder towards well-dressed, well-mannered, and eloquent people. Detail: This is belated by a little over a year but my small claims case was heard by Judge Laurel Gibson. Like many in this series, I too was floored by the lack of competence and professionalism and display of smugness. I've won and lost small claims cases before and accepted the results as fair but this loss was bizarre. In short, a property manager misrepresented a rental I virtually toured and signed the lease. Upon move-in, the rental had mildew, mold, and mustiness throughout and even on the drywall. I hired an environmental consultant to take samples and he generated a report that supported elevated levels of mold that required remediation, which the manager refused to perform. My wife also produced a doctor's note supporting her allergic reactions to mold. I broke the lease and later pursued legal action. Despite evidence of the environmental and doctor reports, a detailed and supported accounting of losses incurred, photographs, and my willingness to previously negotiate a lower settlement with the manager, Judge Gibson's basis for dismissing my case (with prejudice too, which seemed excessive, so that I couldn't appeal) was that I didn't call the county health inspector to deem the rental condemnable. She also made it a point to put us down by saying such conditions are normal in the PNW and that my wife is too sensitive, to which I told her our new rental has zero presence of such conditions to which she had no response and reminded her that her doctor made the determination of how "sensitive" she is. The defendant, property manager, came in poorly dressed with almost no counter-evidence. His wife, who was not sworn in, disrupted while my wife was talking to hand evidence to the judge that was not previously shared with us beforehand. I called it out but the judge allowed it. Contrast to me in a suit, well organized, and respectful of the court. read more

Reader, see other reviews about Judge Gibson. I had a very similar experience. Extremely unprofessional judge that will side with the person with weak evidence that can be debunked with a little bit of digging. No idea how she graduated from UW, she is not fit for her position. Power tripping, disrespectful, an insult to our community and county. If you get her as a judge, beware. read more

The serendipity of seeing the following reviews on Judge Laurel Gibson are timely for me. They came as a surprise since I believed that it was ONLY my case that Judge Gibson could/would not understand. The similarities of these other cases are too familiar to dismiss. Everything I state is only my experience and opinion but I feel an obligation to state my experience with this Judge now that others are in the same place. SHE IS UP FOR RE-ELECTION THIS YEAR 2022, FOR ANOTHER FOUR YEAR TERM. OUR VOTES MATTER. Submit a formal complaint with the Judicial Review Committee here in Washington State. I intend to file my own and encourage others to voice their experience as well. I was a Defendant with a Plaintiff "contractor" who filed two claims in the Small Claims Court of Burien where Judge Gibson works. He violated numerous Court Rules: exceeding the limits of Small Claims, filing numerous cases claiming each "job was a different contract," filed under his "Corporation" which was not the name which he represented himself under and was not properly registered with the Department of LNI. He was ineligible to file a claim yet Judge Gibson ignored the Court Rules. In addition to that she furthered his case by suggesting he update his "interest charges" on his claims to reflect the current date, add his fees for liens he placed on our properties, and proceed with further actions in Snohomish County as well! This man's actions and claims are the most egregious of all contractors we have met. The Judge discounted my testimony, evidence and defenses on many levels; especially that he was not eligible to sue under his corporation and exceeded the limits etc. These reviews all are similar and seem to define a pattern of disregard for the party that puts forth the best evidence and testimony whether a plaintiff or defendant. At trial she interrupted my testimony, admonished me numerous times and over ruled my objection to allowing him to proceed under a different company name at trial to enable him to file this suit rather than dismissing his case. I was unaware of his witness which testified yet I was not able to ask a question and did not know his name. The hour and a half trial was havoc; the plaintiff ran the show and the Judge appeared to rely upon him rather than examine his evidence and testimony, especially the witness, and weigh both sides in an unbiased manner. She was conducting a trial on both of his cases without defining which case she was on moment to moment. Her determination was 100% in favor of the plaintiff on both cases which far exceeded the limits placed on Small Claims cases. I appealed both cases to the Superior Court and Judge Allred reversed both judgements. They were remanded to the District Court to follow his rulings and be consistent with his decision. In addition both bonds I placed were returned to me. Sounds like a victory? In all other situations yes, but not with a Judge like Gibson. Judge Gibson did not dismiss the cases as directed, rather she held another hearing and failed to follow the Superior Court's decision by awarding the plaintiff the maximum allowed in Small Claims with interest to be added as well. This process has cost me over quadruple the original award to get it dismissed by a higher court yet she again awarded him. I will be filing my complaint with the Judicial Review and Attorney General (not sure if they have any oversight but will file there as well) in hopes that something can be done with these Judges that are abusing the power placed in their hands. I encourage anyone that has an unjust situation take the effort to file a complaint so a history will begin to show they are unsuited for the job. Be sure to stick to facts when writing reviews or complaints as it is easy to let emotions rant but that affects the seriousness of these situations which may be disregarded as social media buzz and not legitimate. read more

Had a fantastic experience with a passport application, thanks to Young! Everyone else working at the courthouse, from the security to the other employee at the window was friendly and helpful. Thanks, Burien Courthouse! read more

I would like to leave zero stars for Judge Laurel Gibson. Beware! We started our small claims case in May of 2020. We understood that there would be a delay to our case being heard due to covid but really 21 months. The website stated that small claims would be heard 40-90 days at that time and it still says it currently. We didn't get a court date until February of 2022. We have moved since then to South Carolina. The judge wouldn't let us have a representative stand in of us or allow for a zoom hearing even with the clear lack of a timely court date. We asked for a reconsideration and of course denied. We had to fly to Washington, get a hotel and rent a vehicle. We had a very, very good case with multiple documents from professional companies to support our case with photos to show. Our hardwood floors were damaged badly from renters and were currently wet with urine. We had supporting documents (emails saying currently wet and they wouldn't remove due to hazardous waste) from flooring company with pictures they provided in addition to our own. We also had a second flooring come and look at them 2 months later and he moisture metered them and they were still considered to wet to do any repairs to. They also wrote a very good statement with their findings and costs involved to repair them. The Judge Laurel Gibson not consider any of them. She basically took the WORD of these renters over our documents. Again, took their WORD! They had no supporting documents. They only had a fake invoice ( no phone number on invoice and the address was a residential house) NOT A RECEIPT from a fictional company, easily debunked by a small amount of research. I told the judge to try to verify this carpet cleaner. I did and had to go extreme measures to get a phone number for it. The guy answered with hello and then asked how I got the number. I asked if this was his business and is this his businessphone number, he changed his tune once he figured out who I was and what was going on. He is a friend of theirs and not a real business. She obviously didn't bother to look into. Although it took almost 3 weeks to get a decision from her on this case, so plenty of time to look into it. Funny that the defendants knew that I had done that, as they stated in court. She obviously didn't pick up on that??? Or should I say didn't care to. They did many minor damages and of course again took their word that they were not responsible for anything. We provided plenty of photos of all of thus as well, no matter. This was the first time this house was ever rented, it was my parents home and was never abused. My parents owned this house for 60 years, since it was new. I've seen the floors several times over the years with them always protected with carpeting and were in pristine condition. Funny that the only damages to the floors were the damages that were currently very wet with urine with pictures showing in the foreground and back ground showing how beautiful they were. So wet were the carpeting that the carpet company wouldn't remove due to hazardous waste. The renters removed the carpet. They knew at the time that they were negligent. It wasn't until they realized that I wanted them to pay to repair the floors that balked at it. I could tell during the hearing that she was completely sympathetic to the poor renters and we were the bad landlords. Very, very biased from the beginning. The village idiot could figure out that they were responsible for the damage done to this property. We had so much evidence to support this I was willing to have someone else go to court for me. The documentation and photos stand on its own. Ridiculous! We received $650 out of $9800 that we had asked for with professional documentation supporting this number. We received compensation only for unpaid bills that they tried to stick us with and a bit of rent for 8 days. Never mind the the cost to travel there. We spent an additional $12,000 to get the house in good renting condition with it being unrented for 12 months to get it all completed. They left it filthy. Beware, she's a bullshit Judge and shouldn't be allowed to judge anything, complete idiot! I hope this helps someone else in the future not to have this same thing happen to them. Good luck to whoever is the plaintiff and getting her for a judge! read more