The case of Woo v. Fireman's Fund Ins. Co. , 2007 WL 2128357 (Wash.), arose from a practical joke that oral surgeon Dr. Robert C. Woo played on his employee, Tina Alberts, while he was performing a dental procedure on her. Dr. Woo had temporarily implanted fake boar tusks in Alberts' mouth while she was under anesthesia for a different procedure, and although he took them out and completed the planned procedure successfully before she awoke, he first shot photos of the prank. These eventually made it around the office. The back story of the gag, the court wrote, was that Alberts' family raises potbellied pigs and that she frequently talked about them at the office where she worked for five years.

Alberts brought suit against Woo as a result of the practical joke, and Woo asked his insurer, Fireman's Fund Insurance Company to defend him, claiming coverage under the professional liability, employment practices liability, and general liability provisions of his insurance policy. Fireman's refused Woo's request to defend.

Woo then brought suit against Fireman's, claiming breach of duty to defend, bad faith, and violation of the Consumer Protection Act (CPA). The trial court granted Woo's motion for partial summary judgment, holding that Fireman's had a duty to defend under all three provisions. After a trial on the bad faith and CPA claims, a jury found by special verdict that Fireman's failed to act in good faith and violated the CPA. The court of appeals reversed, holding that Fireman's had no duty to defend.