VAN DEREN, J.
¶ 1 Kent Nursery Inc.; Steven, "Jane Doe," Richard, and Phyllis Mauritsen; Fir
¶ 2 The McCoys filed suit against the Nurseries and Pierce County for damage caused by the failure of a clay tile pipe drainage system that runs under the Nurseries' property to a catch basin in a Pierce County right-of-way area and west under a road to the McCoy's property, ultimately discharging into Horse Haven Creek through the submerged end of the pipe. The pipe drainage system drains excess groundwater from the Nurseries' property, and an opening in the catch basin allows runoff water from the street to enter the drainage system.
¶ 3 According to Harold Louderback, former owner of the Nurseries' property, underground drainage pipes serving the Nurseries' property crossed the road and drained into a "slew"
¶ 4 Sometime after 1967, Louderback helped Harold Hahn, who then owned the western property that included the property the McCoys now own, expand the drainage system on the Hahn property, extending it so that it drained directly into Horse Haven Creek; and Louderback allowed the earlier ditch he dug to be filled. Louderback also helped Hahn replace a pipe that was crushed by cement trucks Hahn used in constructing a barn and garage on the property.
¶ 5 In 1990, Kent Nursery purchased Louderback's property.
¶ 6 In late 1995, Hartstrom discovered water "bubbling" out of the ground on Lot 3 of his subdivided parcels. 3 RP at 229. In late 1995 or early 1996, Hartstrom sued the Hahns for failing to disclose the drainage pipe system running under the four parcels. The lawsuit ultimately resulted in the Hahns' repurchasing Lot 3 from Hartstrom in 1997, subject to a "permissive use agreement,"
¶ 7 In 1998, the McCoys purchased Lot 3 from Esther Hahn. Before purchasing Lot 3, the McCoys performed a title search, discovered the permissive use agreement, and became aware of the drainage system running under the parcel. As part of their purchase, the McCoys executed a "hold harmless agreement," releasing Esther Hahn from liability for any damage resulting from the drainage system under Lot 3. 5 RP at 498-99. In executing the hold harmless agreement, Tom McCoy was aware that the drainage pipes ran under both Lots 3 and 4.
¶ 8 In 2004, Tom McCoy drove a backhoe over Lot 3 to "knock[] down some sticker bushes." 5 RP at 506. In early 2006, the McCoys first noticed water bubbling up out of two or three sinkholes on Lot 3 and water from across the street flooding their property. The flood waters flowed out of the catch basin, crested the road, and flowed westward across their property. Because the flooding recurred, the McCoys used a backhoe to build a dirt "berm" on their property, intending to divert the water. 4 RP at 272. The McCoys also used "several dump truck loads of fill dirt" to fill in the sinkholes, despite seeing drainage pipes in the holes, because they believed that the pipes were broken; but they did not examine them or attempt to replace them. 5 RP at 466. After the McCoys filled the sinkholes on Lot 3, the sinkholes on their property spread to Lot 4, multiplied, and worsened.
¶ 9 In early 2009, the McCoys sued the Nurseries and Pierce County; the Nurseries counterclaimed against the McCoys. The parties waived conducting voir dire on the record.
¶ 10 Creveling, a geologist and the McCoys' expert witness, opined that neither the heavy machinery on the McCoys' property nor the weight of the structures built on the property damaged the drainage pipes because of the pipes' depth and the soil's load bearing capacity. He also opined that, because the terminal point of the drainage system was submerged in Horse Haven Creek, backflow from the creek partially flooded a section of the pipes and contributed to the system's failure. He further opined that the drainage system did not remove groundwater from the McCoys' property. Finally, he opined that the drainage pipes collapsed because of the "tremendous amount of water leaving" the Nurseries through the system. 7 RP at 763.
¶ 11 Damon DeRosa, an engineer and another expert witness for the McCoys, stated that the maintenance work Pierce County performed, including "jet-rodding"
¶ 12 Dennis Dixon, a Pierce County Surface Water Management Division engineer and drainage analyst, was an expert witness for Pierce County. He informed the jury that, as early as 1931, surface water followed a natural drainage course through a swale moving westward across the McCoys' property into Horse Haven Creek. He also opined that, without the drainage system, surface water would naturally follow this same route through the McCoys' property.
¶ 13 Owen Reese, a civil engineer, hydrologist, and expert witness for the Nurseries, opined that the drainage system served to remove excess groundwater from the McCoys' property. He also stated that the drainage system on the McCoys' property follows portions of the swale's natural drainage course. He concluded that a blockage in
¶ 14 Both Steven Mauritsen, president of Kent Nursery, and Stanley Michael Fenimore, manager of Fir Run Nursery, confirmed that water from their properties enters the McCoys' property through the broken drainage system. They also said that, due to the broken drainage system and the McCoys' berm, the water flowing from the catch basin collected and deepened until it flooded the Nurseries' property, killing their trees and making portions of the land unusable for their businesses.
¶ 15 The McCoys did not object to any of the trial court's jury instructions.
¶ 16 The McCoys filed a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict under CR 50 and a motion for a new trial under CR 59. Their CR 59 motion asserted that the jury's verdict was "contrary to the great weight of th[e] evidence" and that two jurors committed misconduct that entitled them to a new trial. Clerk's Papers (CP) at 136. The McCoys' counsel filed a declaration supporting the motions. According to counsel,
CP at 155. She also alleged that in the postverdict discussion, juror 2 "stated that she thought [the McCoys] should have taken ownership of [their] property and paid for [their] home damages as she had done, and that [the McCoys] didn't take responsibility
CP at 155 (citation omitted).
¶ 17 Counsel for the Nurseries and Pierce County responded with declarations generally stating: (1) juror 2 "identified some experience with wetlands and water on her own property" during voir dire and fully answered the questions posed to her, and "[n]one of the attorneys made further inquiry"; (2) the McCoys' counsel never asked any questions about "structural damage caused by water" during voir dire; (3) juror 2 never stated during the posttrial interview that she had a clay tile drain on her property; (4) juror 11 answered numerous questions about his background as a grounds maintenance supervisor and advised of his decades of experience with "water drainage issues," replacing pipes, and operating heavy equipment; and (5) the McCoys' counsel did not ask questions during voir dire about "clay tile pipe being damaged by heavy equipment." CP at 164.
¶ 18 The McCoys filed a reply declaration from juror 10, who stated:
CP at 194. Juror 10 also stated:
CP at 194. Pierce County filed another declaration stating that juror 2 had disclosed her experience as a realtor during voir dire. The trial court did not conduct any fact-finding about the McCoys' allegations of juror misconduct or whether juror 2 had any clay piping on her property.
¶ 19 Following a hearing on the McCoys' motions, the trial court denied their CR 50 motion, but it granted the CR 59 motion. It entered written findings of fact stating that (1) juror 2 failed to disclose in voir dire damage to her home from flooding from old drainage pipes and that she "took ownership and paid for the damage to the home despite feeling Pierce County was responsible"; (2) juror 2 failed to disclose her "prior specialized real estate experience"; (3) juror 11 failed to disclose his "prior specialized experience" with "jet-rodding" clay tile pipes; (4) juror 11 failed to disclose his "prior specialized experience" with weight displacement and the effect of heavy equipment travelling over buried clay tile pipe; (5) juror 2 interjected extrinsic evidence into jury deliberations by relating her experience with drainage pipes damaging her home and her real estate experience; (6) juror 11 interjected extrinsic evidence into jury deliberations because of his experience with "jet-rodding," weight displacement, and the effect of heavy equipment on clay tile pipes; (7) juror 10's declaration confirmed juror 2's interjection of extrinsic evidence; (8) juror 10's declaration confirmed juror 11's interjection of extrinsic evidence; (9) the "great weight of evidence at trial established water trespass" by the Nurseries because they admitted their water
¶ 20 The Nurseries and Pierce County filed a motion for reconsideration supported by affidavits from 10 of the jurors. These declarations generally indicated that juror 2 and juror 11 had disclosed their respective backgrounds and experiences during voir dire and stated that the jury's verdict was based solely on the evidence adduced at trial. Juror 2's declaration stated that she had at no time had any clay tile pipes or "tile issues" on her property, that she had disclosed during voir dire that she had 12 years' experience as a realtor, and that she had disclosed during voir dire that she had grown up on her grandfather's Oregon farm, which contained a clay tile pipe drainage system. CP at 287. Juror 11's declaration stated that he had disclosed during voir dire that he had replaced broken clay tile pipes many times and that there were no questions about "jet-rodding" during voir dire. The trial court denied the motion for reconsideration. The Nurseries and Pierce County appeal.
¶ 21 The Nurseries and Pierce County contend that the trial court abused its discretion in ordering a new trial based on juror misconduct and in denying their subsequent motion for reconsideration. They argue that (1) the McCoys' counsel's declaration did not demonstrate that jurors 2 and 11 failed to honestly answer material questions during voir dire and did not show that correct responses would have provided a valid basis for a challenge for cause and (2) the trial court improperly relied on juror 10's declaration discussing juror deliberations. We agree.
¶ 22 We normally review the trial court's grant or denial of a motion for a new trial based on juror misconduct for abuse of discretion. Robinson v. Safeway Stores, Inc., 113 Wn.2d 154, 158, 776 P.2d 676 (1989). We also review a trial court's admission of evidence for abuse of discretion, City of Spokane v. Neff, 152 Wn.2d 85, 91, 93 P.3d 158 (2004), and we review a trial court's denial of a motion for reconsideration for abuse of discretion. Brinnon Grp. v. Jefferson County, 159 Wn.App. 446, 485, 245 P.3d 789 (2011).
¶ 23 A trial court abuses its discretion if its decision is manifestly unreasonable or exercised on untenable grounds or for untenable reasons. Salas v. Hi-Tech Erectors, 168 Wn.2d 664, 668-69, 230 P.3d 583 (2010). "A discretionary decision `is based on untenable grounds' or made `for untenable reasons' if it rests on facts unsupported in the record or was reached by applying the wrong legal standard." State v. Quismundo, 164 Wn.2d 499, 504, 192 P.3d 342 (2008) (emphasis omitted) (internal quotation marks omitted) (quoting State v. Rohrich, 149 Wn.2d 647, 654, 71 P.3d 638 (2003)).
¶ 24 The Nurseries and Pierce County challenge all of the trial court's findings of fact and conclusions of law in granting the motion for a new trial. We review findings of fact to determine whether substantial evidence supports them. Soltero v. Wimer, 159 Wn.2d 428, 433, 150 P.3d 552 (2007). "Substantial evidence is evidence in sufficient quantum to persuade a fair-minded person of the truth of the declared premise." Holland v. Boeing Co., 90 Wn.2d 384, 390-91, 583 P.2d 621 (1978). We review the trial
¶ 25 The Nurseries and Pierce County argue that the trial court abused its discretion (1) in finding that jurors 2 and 11 withheld information during voir dire that would have provided a challenge for cause and interjected withheld extrinsic evidence into jury deliberations and (2) in admitting and considering juror 10's declaration, because it discussed juror deliberations and matters that inhere in the verdict. We agree.
¶ 26 Once a trial court has determined the existence of juror misconduct, we give great deference to the trial court's determination of whether juror misconduct affected the verdict because the trial court "observed all the witnesses and the trial proceedings and had in mind the evidence which had been presented." Halverson v. Anderson, 82 Wn.2d 746, 752, 513 P.2d 827 (1973). In considering the McCoys' request for a new trial based on juror misconduct, the trial court did not engage in fact-finding with the accused jurors; it made no written or oral findings of its recollection of voir dire or of credibility or weight accorded the competing declarations to which we can defer. And no record of voir dire exists. Thus, the posttrial affidavits of counsel and jurors and other documentary evidence before us on appeal comprise the basis of the trial court's findings on juror misconduct and the effect on the verdict that we review on appeal. In general, "appellate courts are in as good a position as trial courts to review written submissions" and may review de novo trial court decisions based on affidavits and other documentary evidence.
¶ 27 We analyze whether a juror's statements inhere in the verdict separately from whether a juror committed misconduct by withholding information during voir dire that the juror later introduced as extrinsic evidence during deliberations. See Breckenridge v. Valley Gen. Hosp., 150 Wn.2d 197, 204 n. 12, 75 P.3d 944 (2003). "`A strong, affirmative showing of misconduct is necessary in order to overcome the policy favoring stable and certain verdicts and the secret, frank and free discussion of the evidence by the jury.'" Breckenridge, 150 Wash.2d at 203, 75 P.3d 944 (quoting State v. Balisok, 123 Wn.2d 114, 117-18, 866 P.2d 631 (1994)).
¶ 28 This case presents a cautionary tale of the risks parties and counsel take when waiving a court reporter's services during voir dire in civil cases. The McCoys' counsel supported the motion for a new trial based on juror misconduct with a declaration reciting her recalled—but disputed—exchanges with jurors 2 and 11 during postverdict conversations, claiming that these two jurors failed to disclose information during voir dire that she later learned during the postverdict discussion.
Robinson, 113 Wash.2d at 158, 776 P.2d 676 (alteration in original) (quoting Nelson v. Placanica, 33 Wn.2d 523, 528-29, 206 P.2d 296 (1949)). The party seeking a new trial must show that a juror "failed to answer honestly a material question on voir dire, and then further show that a correct response would have provided a valid basis for a challenge for cause." McDonough Power Equip., Inc. v. Greenwood, 464 U.S. 548, 555-56, 104 S.Ct. 845, 78 L.Ed.2d 663 (1984); see also In re Pers. Restraint of Elmore, 162 Wn.2d 236, 267, 172 P.3d 335 (2007) (stating the same).
¶ 30 A juror who brings information outside the record to the jury deliberations also commits misconduct. Richards v. Overlake Hosp. Med. Ctr., 59 Wn.App. 266, 270, 796 P.2d 737 (1990); see also Halverson, 82 Wash.2d at 752, 513 P.2d 827. But whether a juror's interjection of specialized knowledge "outside the realm of a typical juror's general life experience" into deliberations constitutes prejudicial misconduct depends on the questions asked during voir dire; a juror does not commit misconduct by bringing knowledge and experiences known to the parties into deliberations. Richards, 59 Wash.App. at 274, 796 P.2d 737 (juror did not commit misconduct by applying specialized "medical" knowledge during deliberations when background was disclosed during voir dire).
¶ 31 Based on her recollection of postverdict conversations with jurors 2 and 11, the McCoys' counsel asked the trial court to find that jurors 2 and 11 withheld information during voir dire. Specifically, according to the McCoys' counsel:
CP at 155. Another claimed basis of juror misconduct by the McCoys' counsel was that, after the verdict, juror 2 "stated that she thought [the McCoys] should have taken ownership of [their] property and paid for [their] home damages as she had done, and that [the McCoys] didn't take responsibility for the damage occurring on [their] property." CP at 155. The McCoys' counsel also alleged that, during the postverdict interview,
CP at 155 (citation omitted).
¶ 32 Although the McCoys assert that jurors 2 and 11 withheld information during voir dire, the McCoys' counsel's declaration did not indicate that the voir dire questions she directed to these jurors would have elicited
¶ 33 Our Supreme Court's analysis in Breckenridge is helpful. Breckenridge was a medical malpractice case in which the plaintiff moved for a new trial; arguing, based on the declaration of a juror, Temple, that another juror, Corson, committed misconduct by introducing extrinsic evidence about his wife's emergency room experiences into jury deliberations. 150 Wash.2d at 199, 201-202, 75 P.3d 944. Our Supreme Court noted that there were no allegations that juror Corson answered questions untruthfully during voir dire. Breckenridge, 150 Wash.2d at 201 n. 7, 75 P.3d 944. But it also noted that, although voir dire was not reported, defense counsel's declarations and the trial court's recollections sufficiently indicated that Corson was asked about his wife's symptoms, emergency room visits, and treatment and that he disclosed this information during voir dire. Breckenridge, 150 Wash.2d at 201 n. 6, 75 P.3d 944.
¶ 34 As in Breckenridge, voir dire was not reported here. Unlike Breckenridge, however, the McCoys and their counsel failed to point to what questions went unanswered by jurors 2 and 11; and, in the absence of reported voir dire, the record does not indicate any of the questions asked or any of the answers given during voir dire. The McCoys' counsel offers a copy of her notes taken during voir dire to support her argument, but the notes are largely unintelligible. The intelligible portions of the notes consist of the words "wetland" and "tightline" and do not reflect specific questions directed to jurors 2 and 11 during voir dire or the entirety of any juror's responses. CP at 831.
¶ 35 Declarations filed by other counsel and jurors
¶ 36 Here, the record is silent about the actual questions asked of jurors during voir dire or even specific allegations of the allegedly unanswered voir dire questions; the McCoys' counsel did not point to the record where voir dire questions could be reviewed and did not point to specific questions that went unanswered by these jurors. Further, the McCoys' counsel does not allege in her declaration that jurors 2 and 11 interjected extrinsic information during deliberations; thus, we cannot conclude that jurors 2 and 11 committed misconduct by failing to disclose material facts during voir dire or by interjecting extrinsic evidence into deliberations. On this record, the McCoys do not show that, during voir dire, juror 2 or juror 11 failed to disclose potentially material facts that indicated bias
¶ 38 As the McCoys present no evidence relating to asked and answered voir dire questions relevant to material information that would have led to a challenge for cause of jurors 2 and 11, and no evidence of the interjection of extrinsic information during deliberations, we hold that the trial court exercised its discretion based on untenable grounds because the record does not support its factual findings of juror misconduct based on the nondisclosure of material facts during voir dire and the introduction of extrinsic evidence during deliberations. Quismundo, 164 Wash.2d at 504, 192 P.3d 342. Accordingly, we hold that the trial court abused its discretion when it granted a new trial based on jury misconduct and when it denied the Nurseries' and Pierce County's motion for reconsideration.
¶ 39 The Nurseries and Pierce County also contend that the trial court abused its discretion in considering juror 10's reply declaration in assessing whether juror misconduct occurred because the McCoys untimely filed the declaration and because it addressed the mental processes the jury members used and discussions the jurors engaged in during deliberations. Although we hold that the McCoys timely filed juror 10's declaration because CR 59(c) permits reply affidavits from a party seeking a new trial, we also hold that the trial court abused its discretion in considering the declaration's contents that discuss information that inhered in the jury verdict.
¶ 40 We generally do not inquire into the internal process by which the jury reaches its verdict. Gardner v. Malone, 60 Wn.2d 836, 840, 376 P.2d 651 (1962). "`The individual or collective thought processes leading to a verdict inhere in the verdict and cannot be used to impeach a jury verdict.'" Breckenridge, 150 Wash.2d at 204-05, 75 P.3d 944 (internal quotation marks omitted) (quoting State v. Ng, 110 Wn.2d 32, 43, 750 P.2d 632 (1988)). "Thus, a juror's postverdict statements regarding the way in which the jury reached its verdict cannot be used to support a motion for a new trial." Breckenridge, 150 Wash.2d at 205, 75 P.3d 944. We may, however, rely on affidavits to establish a juror's acts constituting misconduct without probing their mental processes or other matters inhering in the verdict. See Robinson, 113 Wash.2d at 160, 776 P.2d 676.
¶ 41 In Gardner, our Supreme Court described the test for determining whether evidence of misconduct inheres in the verdict, "One test is whether the facts alleged are linked to the juror's motive, intent, or belief, or describe their effect upon him. . . . Another test is whether that to which the juror testifies can be rebutted by other testimony without probing a juror's mental processes." 60 Wash.2d at 841, 376 P.2d 651. Our Supreme Court has further elaborated:
Cox v. Charles Wright Acad., Inc., 70 Wn.2d 173, 179-80, 422 P.2d 515 (1967).
Breckenridge, 150 Wash.2d at 206, 75 P.3d 944 (alteration in the original) (internal quotation marks omitted) (quoting Breckenridge Clerk's Papers at 69).
¶ 43 On review, our Supreme Court reasoned that these statements from Temple's declaration explained "Corson's reasons for weighing the evidence in the case the way that he did and for believing . . . that Nowak was not negligent in his diagnosis and treatment of Breckenridge." Breckenridge, 150 Wash.2d at 206, 75 P.3d 944. Thus, it held that the trial court abused its discretion in granting a new trial because these statements inhered in the verdict. Breckenridge, 150 Wash.2d at 206-07, 75 P.3d 944.
¶ 44 Like Corson's statements during deliberations in Breckenridge, the statements juror 10 attributes to juror 2, comparing juror 2's previous permitting experiences with Pierce County to the McCoys' circumstances and arguing with juror 10 about the permissive use agreement, explained juror 2's individual thought processes and reasons for weighing the evidence as she did. Juror 10's additional statement about juror 2 that, "after deliberation, she stated that she and her husband took ownership and fixed their problems and did not go after the County even though they could have," was not information interjected into deliberations since it was made after the verdict was returned, was read in open court, and the jury had been dismissed. CP at 194. Likewise, juror 10's statements about juror 11's reasons for weighing the experts' testimony and evidence about "jet-rodding" inhere in the verdict.
¶ 45 As Cox instructs:
70 Wash.2d at 179-80, 422 P.2d 515. The statements in juror 10's declaration were inadmissible to impeach the jury's verdict because (1) they clearly speak to matters that either inhere in the verdict, i.e., how jurors 2 and 11 regarded the evidence, their mental processes, and how they and the other jurors considered and discussed the evidence in reaching their verdicts or (2) they speak to a comment by juror 2 after the jury reached its verdict.
¶ 46 Thus, we hold that the trial court abused its discretion in considering juror 10's declaration to support the McCoys' motion for a new trial based on juror misconduct that interjected extrinsic evidence into deliberations. The trial court's findings of fact 5, 6, 7, and 8, that extrinsic evidence was interjected into deliberations, are not supported by admissible evidence. Because the evidence does not support those findings of fact, the trial court's conclusion of law that extrinsic evidence may have affected the jury's verdict based on juror 10's declaration, entitling the McCoys to a new trial, is not supported by proper findings of fact.
¶ 47 The Nurseries also argue that substantial evidence supports the jury's verdict and that the trial court abused its discretion in granting a new trial under CR 59. We agree.
¶ 48 We review the grant or denial of a motion for a new trial based on an evidentiary challenge under the same standard as a motion for judgment as a matter of law. Hizey v. Carpenter, 119 Wn.2d 251, 272, 830 P.2d 646 (1992). The trial court ruled that a new trial was warranted under CR 59(a)(1), 59(a)(3), 59(a)(5), 59(a)(6), and 59(a)(9) because the "great weight of evidence presented at trial established water trespass" by the Nurseries due to their admissions that their water was entering the McCoys' property without permission and they (the Nurseries) were not making efforts to block their water from doing so. CP at 251.
¶ 49 On appeal, the McCoys argue this issue only on the basis of evidence supporting water trespass. Other than this general evidentiary challenge, the McCoys do not identify, and the trial court made no findings of, procedural irregularities, accident or surprise, inadequate damages resulting from juror prejudice, or error in the amount of recovery as contemplated by CR 59(a)(1), 59(a)(3), 59(a)(5), and 59(a)(6). We thus consider only the McCoys' evidentiary challenge to the verdict and the trial court's ruling under CR 59(a)(9). See Jaeger v. Cleaver Const., Inc., 148 Wn.App. 698, 717-18, 201 P.3d 1028, review denied, 166 Wn.2d 1020, 217 P.3d 335 (2009). We observe that granting new trials under CR 59(a)(9) for "lack of substantial justice" should be rare because of the other broad grounds for relief under CR 59(a). Jaeger, 148 Wash.App. at 717-18, 201 P.3d 1028; see also Kohfeld v. United Pac. Ins. Co., 85 Wn.App. 34, 41, 931 P.2d 911 (1997).
¶ 50 "`Overturning a jury verdict is appropriate only when [the verdict] is clearly unsupported by substantial evidence.'" Faust v. Albertson, 167 Wn.2d 531, 538, 222 P.3d 1208 (2009) (alteration in original) (quoting Burnside v. Simpson Paper Co., 123 Wn.2d 93, 107-08, 864 P.2d 937 (1994)). Thus, we review whether substantial evidence supports the verdict. Faust, 167 Wash.2d at 537, 222 P.3d 1208. Such a challenge to the verdict "`admits the truth of the opponent's evidence and all inferences which can reasonably be drawn [from it].'" Faust, 167 Wash.2d at 537, 222 P.3d 1208 (alteration in original) (quoting Davis v. Early Constr. Co., 63 Wn.2d 252, 254, 386 P.2d 958 (1963)).
¶ 51 "We interpret the evidence `against the [original] moving party and in a light most favorable to the opponent.'" Faust, 167 Wash.2d at 537-38, 222 P.3d 1208 (alteration in original) (quoting Davis, 63 Wash.2d at 254, 386 P.2d 958). We defer to the trier of fact on issues involving conflicting testimony, credibility of the witnesses, and the persuasiveness of the evidence. See Faust, 167 Wash.2d at 537-38, 222 P.3d 1208. Jury instructions to which no exceptions are taken become the law of the case. Guijosa v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 144 Wn.2d 907, 917, 32 P.3d 250 (2001).
¶ 52 Here, the Nurseries did not dispute that their water was flowing through the drainage system under the McCoys' property. The McCoys assert that they were entitled to a favorable verdict because the Nurseries admitted that water flowed from their property under the McCoys' property through the damaged drainage system. In doing so, the McCoys fail to account for all the evidence before the jury and the trial court's jury instructions.
¶ 53 During 16 days of trial, the jury heard, in addition to the Nurseries' admission that water flowed from their properties under the McCoys' property, that (1) water was entering the McCoys' property through a drainage system that gathered water from its natural course across the McCoys' property; (2) the water was entering the McCoys' property outside the drainage system because the drainage system failed; (3) Harold Hahn extended the drainage system to drain directly into Horse Haven Creek; (4) submerging the drainage system's terminal point in Horse Haven Creek created backflow contributing
¶ 54 Again, we interpret the evidence "`against the [original] moving party and in a light most favorable to the opponent,'" and we defer to the trier of fact on issues involving conflicting testimony, credibility of the witnesses, and the persuasiveness of the evidence; therefore, we conclude that substantial evidence supported the jury's finding that Hahn's and the McCoys' acts were the proximate cause of water entering and damaging the McCoys' property outside the drainage pipes. Faust, 167 Wash.2d at 537-38, 222 P.3d 1208 (alteration in original) (quoting Davis, 63 Wash.2d at 254, 386 P.2d 958). Further, substantial evidence supported a finding that the Nurseries' actions were not a proximate cause of the water damage to the McCoys' property and, thus, the McCoys failed to establish an essential element of trespass. Substantial evidence also supports the jury's verdict that the McCoys were negligent and that their negligence proximately caused the Nurseries' damages and that Tom McCoy's trespass on the nurseries' property had proximately caused the nurseries' damages.
¶ 55 Therefore, the trial court abused its discretion in ordering a new trial under CR 59(a)(9) based on its opinion that the jury verdict did not do substantial justice. We reverse and remand for vacation of the trial court's order granting a new trial and for reinstatement of the jury's verdict.
¶ 56 Kent Nursery and Fir Run Nursery request their reasonable costs and attorney fees under RAP 14.3. RAP 14.2 and RAP 14.3 allow an award of costs, including statutory attorney fees, to the "substantially prevail[ing]" parties. Similarly, RAP 18.1 allows attorney fees on appeal if applicable law authorizes them. But Kent Nursery and Fir Run Nursery fail to provide any argument or authority supporting their request for additional attorney fees; thus, we do not consider their request. RAP 10.3(a)(6). Because Kent Nursery and Fir Run Nursery prevail on appeal, however, we award their costs on appeal, including statutory attorney fees, to be determined upon compliance with RAP 14.4. See State ex rel. Munroe v. City of Poulsbo, 109 Wn.App. 672, 682-83, 37 P.3d 319 (2002).
We concur: HUNT and QUINN-BRINTNALL, JJ.
Clerk's Papers (CP) at 552. Jury instruction 8 provided, "Ordinary care means the care a reasonably careful person would exercise under the same or similar circumstances." CP at 553. Jury instruction 13 provided, "The term `proximate cause' means a cause in which a direct sequence unbroken by any superseding cause, produces the event complained of and without which such event would not have happened." CP at 558.
Jury instruction 21, the trespass instruction, provided, "An intentional or negligent intrusion onto the property of another that interferes with the other's right to exclusive possession is a trespass." CP at 567. Jury instruction 23 provided:
CP at 569. Jury instruction 24 provided, "You are instructed that a negligent intrusion occurs `where the actor does not use reasonable care to prevent the exercise of his privilege from involving an unreasonable risk of harm to the legally protected interests of others.'" CP at 570 (citation omitted).
Jury instruction 26 provided:
CP at 572.