PUBLISHED OPINION Becker , J. 1 These linked appeals were brought by survivors of the 2014 Oso Landslide and representatives of those who died. They challenge summary judgment orders by which the trial court dismissed their tort claims against Snohomish County. We conclude that the trial court reached the correct result. It is beyond question that appellants suffered terrible losses, but their theories and evidence do not establish a basis for holding the County liable for those losses....
PUBLISHED OPINION Pennell , A.C.J. 1 Under Washington's speedy trial rules, an individual incarcerated on criminal charges generally must be brought to trial within 60 days of arraignment. The time for trial period can be extended to 90 days if, prior to the expiration of the 60-day limit, the defendant is released from custody. 2 John Maling's case was placed on the superior court docket after the prosecutor noticed Mr. Maling's 60-day in-custody trial deadline was within hours of...
UNPUBLISHED OPINION SCHINDLER , J. In May 2016, the city of Kirkland (City) passed an ordinance authorizing condemnation of property owned by Wal Properties LLC to construct and operate a fire station to serve the annexed areas of Juanita and Finn Hill. Lessee Rite Aid Corporation and its wholly owned subsidiary Thrifty Payless Inc. (collectively, Rite Aid) appeal the superior court order adjudicating public use and necessity. We affirm. FACTS In 2011, voters approved annexation of the...
UNPUBLISHED OPINION APPELWICK , C.J. D.C. was convicted of first degree robbery. He claims that the police unlawfully arrested him on the front porch of his home and that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress his postarrest statements. The arrest on D.C.'s front porch was lawful, and the trial court did not err in denying the motion to suppress. And, even if the arrest was unlawful, any error regarding the admission of his confession was harmless beyond a reasonable...
UNPUBLISHED OPINION SMITH , J. Neighbors Against Annexation (Neighbors) appeals the decision of the Snohomish County Boundary Review Board (Board) to approve the annexation of 80 acres of property into the city of Sultan (City) in Snohomish County (County). Because substantial evidence supports the Board's decision that annexation is consistent with the statutory factors set forth in RCW 36.93.170, the objectives set forth in RCW 36.93.180, and the relevant provisions of the Growth...
UNPUBLISHED OPINION LAWRENCE-BERREY , C.J. J.A.A. appeals from a Yakima County Juvenile Court adjudication of guilt and disposition order for fourth degree assault. He contends the court erred in rejecting his self-defense claim, and the evidence was insufficient to support the adjudication. We affirm. FACTS AND PROCEDURE The State charged 17-year-old J.A.A. with fourth degree assault after he pushed his mother during a confrontation at their residence. The facts are summarized from...
PUBLISHED OPINION Siddoway , J. 1 Patrick Wayne Karas seeks reversal of his convictions for second degree burglary and third degree theft, asserting his public trial right was violated by an unrecorded chambers conference in which the trial court heard an ER 615 motion to exclude witnesses and a motion in limine. In the published opinion originally filed in this appeal, we held that a public trial violation required us to reverse and remand for a new trial. 2 On the same morning we...
PUBLISHED OPINION Worswick , J. 1 Everi Payments Inc., (Everi), a corporation that provides cash access services at tribal casinos, appeals a superior court summary judgment order dismissing Everi's complaint for a business and occupational (B&O) tax refund. Everi argues that the B&O tax at issue is improper because the tax is preempted by federal law through the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA), the Indian Trader Statutes, and the Bracker 1 balancing test, and that the tax is...
UNPUBLISHED OPINION MANN , A.C.J. This is one of two closely connected insurance coverage appeals arising out of the construction of "The Admiral," a mixed-use condominium building in West Seattle. 1 The appellant in this case is the owner and developer of the building, Admiral Way LLC (Admiral Way). Admiral Way contracted with Ledcor Industries (USA), Inc. (Ledcor) to serve as the general contractor. Admiral Way's contract with Ledcor required Ledcor to purchase Commercial General...
Korsmo , J. 1 Cavalry Investments appeals from a decision of the superior court determining that violations of the Washington Collection Agency Act (CAA), ch. 19.16 RCW, needed to be remedied by stripping the debt to the principal and declaring the debt paid. Concluding that an email communication between attorneys does not constitute a violation of the CAA and that CR 60 was not a proper method of presenting the debtors' theory of the case, we reverse and remand for further proceedings....
UNPUBLISHED OPINION BJORGEN , C.J. In a series of appeals, Ted Spice appeals from the superior court's (1) grant of summary judgment to the city of Puyallup (City) on his claims against it relating to the provision of water service, (2) imposition of CR 11 sanctions against his attorney, and (3) award of reasonable attorney fees and costs to the City. Spice also filed an appeal of the 2008 superior court order affirming the decision of the Pierce County Hearing Examiner (Hearing Examiner)...
UNPUBLISHED OPINION CHUN , J. Koppenberg Enterprises, Inc. (Koppenberg) held several subcontracts to erect columbaria 1 at national cemeteries for interment of United States veterans. Kaes Enterprises, LLC (Kaes) contracted to supply and ship thousands of marble memorial plaques (niche covers) to various cemeteries for Koppenberg employees to install on the columbaria. Government inspectors visited the sites and rejected many of the installed niche covers as flawed. The contracts...
UNPUBLISHED OPINION KORSMO , J. Power City Electric (PCE) appeals from a decision of the Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals that found it to have committed four serious violations of the Washington Administrative Code (WAC). Concerned about the adequacy of the Board's factual findings, we remand for more detailed findings and clarification of the standard applied by the Board in its ruling. FACTS An effort to reroute underground power cables in Pasco is the basis for this case. PCE...
UNPUBLISHED OPINION DWYER , J. This matter comes to us following the trial court's granting of Seattle Children's Hospital's motion to modify O.M.'s commitment order to authorize involuntary treatment at Western State Hospital. Although the trial court entered this order, O.M. was released from involuntary treatment without ever being transferred to Western State Hospital. In short, the order was never given effect. "Only an aggrieved party may seek review by the appellate court." RAP 3....
UNPUBLISHED OPINION LEACH , J. RCW 4.84.185 allows a prevailing party in a civil action to collect attorney fees from a nonprevailing party as a sanction for advancing a frivolous defense. Injured worker Sukhjit Ahluwalia appeals the trial court's decision affirming a Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals (Board) order denying Ahluwalia's request for attorney fees against the Department of Labor and Industries (Department). Although the industrial appeals judge found the Department's...
PUBLISHED OPINION Verellen , J. 1 In this personal restraint petition, Samuel Raymundo seeks resentencing for his vehicular homicide and hit-and-run convictions. For felony hit-and-run, the court calculated Raymundo's offender score at six, including one point each for three prior serious traffic offenses. The court used those same prior offenses for enhancements only to vehicular homicide. Because the offender score statute excludes prior serious traffic offenses from calculation of...
UNPUBLISHED OPINION JOHN CHUN , J. John Robinett Pension Plan & Trust (the Trust) appeals the denial of its CR 60(b)(3) motion. Because the Trust offers evidence that is neither newly discovered as required by law, nor relevant, we affirm. I. BACKGROUND The Trust and Bickford Investments, LLC (Bickford) each own a parcel of property in the City of Snohomish (the City). A 70-foot public right-of-way separates the two parcels. The City dedicated the right-of-way as High Street in 1890....
PUBLISHED OPINION Chun , J. 1 Defendant appeals a judgment convicting him of two counts of possession of a stolen vehicle and one count of possession of a controlled substance. He assigns error to the trial court's decisions to (1) deny his motions for standby counsel, (2) remove him from the courtroom during trial, and (3) proceed with trial in his absence while he was self-represented. 2 The trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying Davis's requests for standby counsel....
UNPUBLISHED OPINION PER CURIAM . The State of Washington sought review of a superior court ruling granting William Ivory's post-conviction motion for a new sentencing hearing. We granted discretionary review and now remand for further proceedings. In 1999, a jury convicted Ivory of first degree murder. The mandate on the conviction issued in 2000. In 2017, this court held in In re Pers. Restraint of Light-Roth , 200 Wn.App. 149, 401 P.3d 459 (2017), that a 2015 Washington State Supreme...
UNPUBLISHED OPINION CHUN , J. A jury convicted Digerolamo of second degree rape after his deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) matched the DNA collected from amylase found in the victim's rape kit. Digerolamo moved for post-conviction DNA testing to determine the type of amylase the rape kit detected. The trial court denied the motion, finding RCW 10.73.170 does not authorize amylase testing and Digerolamo did not meet the statute's substantive requirement. Digerolamo appeals the denial. Because...
