UNPUBLISHED OPINION DWYER , J. Under applicable civil service law, when the county sheriff imposes a severe sanction—such as suspension without pay—upon a commissioned deputy the disciplinary decision must be made "in good faith for cause." 1 In such a circumstance, the disciplined employee may request that the local civil service commission review the disciplinary decision in order to ensure that the sheriff's action complied with the legal standard. If the civil service commission...
UNPUBLISHED OPINION APPELWICK , J. Hudson pleaded guilty to charges related to a vehicle theft scheme. He argues that he should be permitted to withdraw his guilty plea, because his plea agreement with the State was not entered into the record. He contends the trial court deprived him of his constitutional rights by denying him an evidentiary hearing when the State asserted that he violated the plea agreement. He asserts that the trial court was not authorized to impose the community...
APPELWICK , J. 1 Both DaVita and Northwest Kidney Centers (NKC) submitted certificate of need applications for five kidney dialysis stations in south King County. DaVita sought to build a new facility to accommodate the stations whereas NKC sought to expand an existing facility. The Department of Health's Certificate of Need Program concluded that DaVita's application satisfied more of WAC 246-310-288's criteria than NKC's application. It awarded DaVita the certificate of need. The...
UNPUBLISHED OPINION TRICKEY , J. To succeed on a claim for negligent misrepresentation, based on a broker's failure to disclose material information, the complaining party must provide some evidence that the information was not readily ascertainable. Here, given that a commercial tenant had actual knowledge of a light rail expansion close to the property, the undisclosed facts about Sound Transit's plans were readily ascertainable. Therefore, the tenant is not entitled to rescind a lease...
LEACH , J. 1 Benjamin C. Arp appeals the trial court's summary dismissal of his personal injury action against James H. Riley and Sierra Construction Company Inc. (collectively Sierra). The trial court decided that the judicial estoppel doctrine barred this lawsuit because Arp failed to amend the schedules in his Chapter 13 bankruptcy case to inform the court about a personal injury claim he acquired after that court confirmed Arp's payment plan. Because judicial estoppel is an equitable...
VERELLEN , A.C.J. 1 The scope of implied field preemption in aviation law is evolving and elusive. But under recent Ninth Circuit case law, the key consideration is whether the area at issue is pervasively regulated. 2 This action arises from a fatal airplane crash linked to a defective carburetor float. The primary question on appeal concerns implied field preemption of state tort standards of care applicable to the contractor who assembled the float. 3 The Federal Aviation Act (...
UNPUBLISHED OPINION LEACH , J. Vincent Melendrez appeals his convictions for child rape, incest, and witness tampering. Primarily, he raises constitutional and foundational challenges to the trial court's evidentiary rulings. The trial court's decisions about evidence did not violate Melendrez's right to present a defense or his privilege against self-incrimination. Because Melendrez's numerous other arguments also lack merit, we affirm. FACTS Substantive Facts After Vincent Melendrez...
TRICKEY , J. 1 Seattle Pacific University security cameras captured events related to the tragic shootings on its campus on June 5, 2014. The University turned its cameras' surveillance footage over to the Seattle Police Department and the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office. News media organizations and an individual made public records requests in which they sought disclosure of that surveillance footage in the possession of the police and prosecuting attorney. Certain students...
UNPUBLISHED OPINION WORSWICK , P.J. Charles and Krista Hays appeal the superior court's summary dismissal of their claims of bad faith claims practices and Washington Consumer Protection Act (CPA) violations against State Farm Insurance Company (State Farm). The Hayses' 38-year-old manufactured home was a total loss following a February 19, 2010 fire. After the fire, the Hayses filed a claim under their State Farm homeowner's insurance policy. Over the next two years, the Hayses and State...
MELNICK , J. 1 Deborah Peralta filed a personal injury complaint against the Washington State Patrol (WSP) alleging negligence after WSP Sergeant Ryan Tanner struck her with his vehicle while she walked. After a jury trial, the trial court entered judgment against Peralta and dismissed her complaint and claim with prejudice pursuant to the intoxication defense of RCW 5.40.060. Peralta appeals, arguing that the trial court erred when it (1) ruled that Peralta's response to WSP's request...
UNPUBLISHED OPINION LISA WORSWICK , J. Kristy Rickey and Kelley Cavar, individually and as personal representatives of the estate of the late Gerald Munce (collectively, the estate), appeal from an adverse jury verdict in a negligence case. The estate sued Dennis Cline for negligent entrustment and negligent performance of a gratuitous undertaking because he returned several guns to their owner, Clarence Munce. Clarence 1 later fatally shot his son, Gerald. The estate argues that the...
UNPUBLISHED OPINION ROBERT E. LAWRENCE-BERREY , J. Patrick Elliot Pearson appeals his conviction for second degree burglary. Mr. Pearson's conviction was largely based on a surveillance video showing a person resembling him breaking into an animal shelter, and the resulting loss of his girlfriend's bullmastiff puppy from that shelter without her payment of a $120 recoupment fee. After reviewing Mr. Pearson's numerous contentions of error, we affirm. FACTS Carmon Derting is the shelter...
UNPUBLISHED OPINION ANN SCHINDLER , Judge . Sherry King was involved in an automobile accident with an uninsured driver on March 8, 2011. On April 20, 2011, King was involved in an automobile accident with Dillon McCarten. King filed a personal injury lawsuit against her insurance carrier State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company (State Farm) and McCarten alleging damages and joint and several liability. Following arbitration, State Farm filed a motion to enter a judgment on the...
LAU , J. 1 Cheri Rollins suffered serious injuries when the personal watercraft (jet ski) she tried to start exploded. She appeals the trial court's summary judgment dismissal of her product liability claim against Bombardier Recreational Products (Bombardier). She contends Bombardier negligently designed the model of personal watercraft when it failed to include an engine ventilation system. The trial court dismissed her product liability claim on summary judgment, reasoning that, as a...
UNPUBLISHED OPINION MICHAEL S. SPEARMAN , C.J. In a proceeding under the Trust and Estate Dispute Resolution Act (TEDRA), chapter 11.96A RCW, the trial court found that Calvin Evans Jr. had financially abused his father, Calvin Evans Sr. and thus precluded him from inheriting any of his father's property. Calvin Evans Jr. appeals, claiming the trial court erred because the evidence was insufficient to find that he willfully intended to inflict injury to his father's property or that his...
UNPUBLISHED OPINION ROBERT E. LAWRENCE-BERREY , J. Cynthia Michel appeals her convictions for fourth degree assault and aggravated first degree child molestation. She contends insufficient evidence supports these convictions. We affirm. FACTS Ms. Michel is the paternal grandmother of D.M., born December 17, 2000, and H.M., born May 16, 2002. Because D.M. and H.M.'s mother trusted Ms. Michel, the sisters have regularly and frequently visited Ms. Michel throughout their lives. However,...
UNPUBLISHED OPINION KORSMO , J . A jury found Elvis Camillo Renteria Lopez guilty of first degree robbery, second and third degree assault, and two counts of attempting to elude a police vehicle. In an unpublished opinion, this court affirmed the convictions, but remanded for recalculation of Mr. Lopez's offender score and possible resentencing. On remand, the court found Mr. Lopez's offender score was correctly calculated and declined to modify his sentence. Mr. Lopez appeals again...
UNPUBLISHED OPINION FEARING , J . On appeal, Joshua Hershaw contends that the trial court lacked authority, as part of his sentencing, to require that he complete mental health treatment. Because Hershaw asked for the treatment, we apply the doctrine of invited error and decline to address the merits of Hershaw's assignment of error. FACTS On September 18, 2014, Leigh Colton met Joshua Hershaw, and the two agreed to trade a cell phone for a bicycle. On September 19, 2014, at 8:00 a.m.,...
FEARING , J. 1 We face again the question of whether a patient presented essential expert testimony to defeat her physician's summary judgment motion in a case in which the patient claims a lost chance of a better outcome because of an alleged breach in the standard of care by the physician. The patient in our appeal also pleads the tort of outrage, a cause of action unusual in the patient-physician setting. The trial court granted the physician summary judgment and dismissed both causes...
UNPUBLISHED OPINION J. ROBERT LEACH , J. Debbie Baltazar appeals the trial court's judgment entered on a jury verdict in favor of defendant Dr. Donald Paradise. Baltazar challenges the trial court's jury instructions on the emergency doctrine, the act of God defense, and contributory negligence, claiming that the evidence does not support giving any of these instructions. Because we agree, we reverse and remand for a new trial. FACTS On August 23, 2008, Dr. Donald Paradise operated a...
