Lee , P.J. 1 Pope Resources LP and OPG 1 (collectively, Pope) sued the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for contribution of cleanup costs for contamination at the Port Gamble Bay and Mill Site (collectively, the Site) under the Model Toxic Control Act (MTCA). 2 The superior court granted summary judgment to DNR based on DNR's argument that it was not liable as an "owner or operator" under MTCA. Pope appeals the summary judgment order dismissing the action against DNR. We hold that...
UNPUBLISHED PER CURIAM . Appellant Donald Fortin appeals from the judgment and sentence entered after he pleaded guilty to one count of failing to register. The State of Washington concedes that Fortin was misinformed of the statutory maximum sentence before pleading guilty. See State v. Mendoza , 157 Wn.2d 582 , 591, 141 P.3d 49 (2006) (guilty plea may be deemed involuntary when defendant is misinformed about length of sentence). The State further concedes that Fortin was sentenced to...
UNPUBLISHED OPINION APPELWICK , J. Mendall seeks return of property on the basis that the forfeiture hearing was untimely. The hearing examiner did not abuse her discretion by granting continuances for a medical emergency and a preplanned vacation. The hearing was not untimely. We affirm. FACTS King County Sheriff's Deputies seized weapons, drugs, and cash from Richard Mendall during a traffic stop. On June 9, 2014, the King County Sheriff's Office (KCSO) mailed a notice of seizure and...
UNPUBLISHED COX , J. Vinay Bharadwaj appeals the trial court's order denying relief from judgment under CrR 7.8. This motion was based on his most recent claim of ineffective assistance of counsel. He also argues the trial court should have ruled on his pro se motion for reconsideration. Because the trial court did not abuse its discretion, we affirm. In 2012, the trial court found Bharadwaj guilty of child molestation in the second degree. We affirmed his judgment and sentence on appeal....
Johanson , J. 1 The Freedom Foundation (Foundation) submitted a Public Records Act (PRA) 1 request to the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS). The Foundation requested disclosure of the names of childcare providers in Washington's "Family Friends and Neighbors" (FFN) program and their "state contact" information. The Foundation's expressed purpose in requesting the records was to correspond with the individual providers and to notify them of their constitutional right to...
Dwyer , J. 1 An award of attorney fees pursuant to RCW 9.68A.130 is contingent upon a fact finder's determination that the party seeking the award prevailed in an action arising from conduct constituting a violation of a provision of chapter 9.68A RCW, entitled "Sexual Exploitation of Children." 2 Shari Furnstahl brought this action as the guardian ad litem for her minor daughter C.F. She appeals from the trial court's ruling denying her request for an award of attorney fees pursuant...
UNPUBLISHED OPINION DWYER , J. As the parties predicted, the Supreme Court's opinion in State v. Case, No. 92293-4 (Wash. Dec. 8, 2016), http://www.courts.wa.gov/opinions/pdf/922934.pdf, is dispositive of the claim of error raised in this appeal. The Case decision mandates affirmance of the trial court's judgment. We so order. The sole remaining question regards costs on appeal. This question was fully briefed by the parties (it was raised in the brief of appellant, addressed in...
UNPUBLISHED OPINION ROBERT E. LAWRENCE-BERREY , Judge . A rattlesnake bit Mica Craig while he was shopping at Walmart's outdoor garden center in Clarkston, Washington. Mr. Craig sued Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., doing business as Walmart, on a theory of premises liability. Walmart successfully moved for summary judgment. Mr. Craig appeals. Walmart argues it lacked actual or constructive notice of any rattlesnake incident on its premises. Mr. Craig responds that rattlesnakes are well known to...
UNPUBLISHED OPINION LAWRENCE-BERREY , A.C.J. House purchaser Derald Hauck appeals the summary judgment dismissal of his claims against house sellers William Barr and Diana Barr, their real estate agent/daughter Jeanine Burns, and her employer Soleil Real Estate of Spokane LLC (Soleil). The claims arose after Mr. Hauck's daughter, Noel Moon, discovered old animal feces and urine under newly installed carpet. Circumstantial evidence supports Mr. Hauck's claim that Mr. Barr knew of and...
Spearman , J. 1 In Miller v. Alabama , ___ U.S. ___, 132 S.Ct. 2455 , 183 L.Ed.2d 407 (2012), the United States Supreme Court determined that a sentence of life without parole is unconstitutional for most juvenile offenders. Prior to Miller , Jai'Mar Scott received a de facto life sentence for a crime he committed as a juvenile. Scott filed a motion for relief from judgment, arguing that Miller mandated resentencing. The trial court granted Scott's motion and ordered a new...
Spearman , J. 1 Under the Sentencing Reform Act, a trial court has authority to enforce the requirements of sentences that it imposes. The trial court sanctioned Brandon Bigsby for failing to meet a sentence requirement. Bigsby challenges the sanction, arguing that, because he was on community custody under the supervision of the Department of Corrections (DOC), only DOC had authority to sanction him. But, because the trial court also had authority to impose sanctions, we affirm. FACTS...
Dwyer , J. 1 Following a jury trial, Santiago Ortuno-Perez was convicted of murder in the second degree, committed while armed with a firearm. Ortuno-Perez's planned defense was that another person who was armed at the scene — Austin Agnish — committed the charged offense. Prior to trial, Ortuno-Perez sought permission from the trial court to identify Agnish to the jury as the killer, to cross-examine the State's witnesses for bias in their testimony, and to introduce additional evidence...
UNPUBLISHED OPINION REBECCA L. PENNELL , J. Lauro Olmos appeals from a protection order granted to his minor child, 1 specifically challenging the trial court's reference to a "pending criminal matter" in granting the order and its subsequent dismissal of his self-defense claim. Br. of Appellant at 10-11. The protection order has now expired. This court wrote to the parties to learn whether the order had been extended and, if not, whether the case was moot. Neither party has responded....
UNPUBLISHED COX , J. Binh Thai Tran appeals his judgment and sentence, arguing that the trial court abused its discretion in denying his request for a Special Sex Offender Sentencing Alternative (SSOSA) sentence. Because the record supports the trial court's decision that Tran was not amenable to treatment, we hold that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying Tran's SSOSA request. We affirm. Tran pleaded guilty to one count of indecent liberties with the victim, J.V.T.,...
UNPUBLISHED OPINION WORSWICK , J. This is the second appeal of the City of Edgewood's local improvement district (LID) assessments for installation of a sewer system. In Hasit, LLC v. City of Edgewood, 179 Wn.App. 917, 320 P.3d 163 (2014), we annulled Edgewood's LID assessments against the appealing property owners. Following our decision in Hasit, the City reassessed the affected properties and the Edgewood City Council held a hearing to address the property owners' objections to...
UNPUBLISHED OPINION FEARING , C.J. The City of Clarkston sued Valle Del Rio, LLC, to enforce Ordinance 1532 that prohibits recreational marijuana production, processing, or place of retail sale within Clarkston. The superior court granted Clarkston a preliminary injunction enforcing the ordinance and barring Valle Del Rio from operating a recreational marijuana retail outlet until resolution of the suit. After Valle Del Rio appealed the injunction, Clarkston repealed Ordinance 1532 and...
UNPUBLISHED OPINION MICHAEL S. SPEARMAN , J. Appellant Holden McDaniel Partners, LLC (HM) brought claims against the City of Arlington, Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Railway Company, and the developers of the neighboring property, Gleneagle, for designing, developing, operating and maintaining a stormwater management system that caused stormwater runoff and flooding on HM's property. The trial court dismissed HM's claims on summary judgment based on a release agreement executed by...
UNPUBLISHED OPINION SUTTON , J. Rory Higham appeals the superior court's order which affirmed the Pierce County Hearing Examiner's denial of his application for a wetland buffer variance. We hold that the hearing examiner correctly interpreted and applied the variance criteria, the findings of fact are supported by substantial evidence, and the findings of fact support the conclusions of law. We affirm the hearing examiner's decision to deny the wetland buffer variance. We also affirm the...
UNPUBLISHED OPINION SCHINDLER , J. James Osborne filed a lawsuit against Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI) alleging age and disability discrimination and that REI did not make reasonable accommodations in violation of the Washington Law Against Discrimination (WLAD), chapter 49.60 RCW, and wrongful discharge in violation of public policy. The court dismissed the age and disability discrimination claims and the wrongful discharge claim on summary judgment. Following a three-week trial on...
UNPUBLISHED OPINION DWYER , J. Mario Ontiveros appeals from the judgment entered on a jury's verdict finding him guilty of two counts of child molestation in the first degree, two counts of assault in the fourth degree, and one count of communicating with a minor for immoral purposes. He contends that the trial court violated his constitutional right to present a defense, violated his constitutional right to be present at all critical stages of the trial, admitted irrelevant and...
