BDS and the Case of the Olympia Food Co-op

University of Washington School of Law

On Wednesday, January 13, 2016, the LDB law student chapter at the University of Washington will host Robert M. Sulkin, the main attorney on the Olympia, Washington co-op case. What is the Olympia co-op case? In 2011, the Olympia Food Co-op voted to adopt anti-Israel boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) measures at a regularly scheduled co-op board meeting, with no mention of the vote on the agenda so that members in opposition would know to attend the meeting, and in violation of specific requirements of its own board-adopted boycott policy. Five co-op members filed suit. After a series of setbacks, in May 2015, the Washington State Supreme Court held, by a vote of 9-0 that a lawsuit can proceed against Olympia Food Co-op board members, challenging their 2011 decision to boycott Israeli products. The case can now proceed. Sulkin, a founding member of McNaul Ebel Nawrot & Helgren, is a Seattle-based trial attorney whose broad practice includes commercial and business disputes involving securities, intellectual property, professional malpractice, real estate, insurance and bad faith litigation, class actions, and other complex matters. Notably, he has handled many prominent and high-profile cases.