Facts: The plaintiffs sought a writ of mandate from the Superior Court for Spokane County compelling the commissioners of the city of Spokane to remove supports undergirding railway overpasses that had been constructed by the city, asserting that the city lacked the authority to construct such overpasses and supports. The trial court dismissed the action, ruling that plaintiffs were estopped from bringing it after the tracks and supports had already been constructed. Read more…
Facts: Petitioner Lou Fisch and respondent Nannie Marler countersued each other in the Superior Court for Pierce County subsequent to Fisch’s refusal to pay Marler alimony after her remarriage. Fisch brought an action to set aside the divorce decree dissolving his marriage to Marler on grounds that the marriage had been void while Marler brought an action to garnish Fisch’s wages in order to enforce her claim for unpaid alimony. Read more…
Facts: Petitioner Merle McUne filed suit against respondent Al Fuqua in the Superior Court for Yakima County after sustaining injuries in an automobile accident while riding as a passenger in Fuqua’s car. Although the jury returned a verdict for McUne, the trial court granted Fuqua’s motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict as it ruled that Washington Revised Code §46.08.080, which prohibits non-paying guests riding as passengers from recovering damages from the owners and operators of motor vehicles as a result of automobile accidents, barred McUne’s action and that newly discovered evidence suggested that McUne’s injuries were attributable to a preexisting condition. Read more…
Facts: Petitioner Albert Hull filed suit in the Superior Court for King County to enjoin the construction of an apartment building by respondent A.A. Hunt that exceeded height limitations established by city zoning regulations on property adjacent to Hull’s. Read more…
Facts: Following the decision of the mayor and city council of Richland, pursuant to procedures stipulated by the legislature, to annex an adjoining area, residents of Richland opposed to annexation gathered a sufficient number of signatures per Richland’s city charter to place the question before the voters of Richland in a referendum. The city clerk declined to validate the signatures, leading petitioner David Bowen to file suit for a writ of mandamus in the Superior Court for Benton County. Read more…
Facts: Petitioner Clifford Freehe filed suit against his wife, respondent Hazel Freehe, in the Superior Court for Pierce County after he was injured in an accident, alleging his wife was negligent in failing to maintain their tractor and in failing to warn him of the tractor’s unsafe condition. The trial court granted summary judgment to Hazel Freehe on the basis of the common law doctrine of interspousal tort immunity. Read more…
Facts: Respondent Leona Garrison’s license to practice registered nursing was suspended for one year by petitioner Washington State Nursing Board for violating Washington Revised Code §18.88.230, which permits the suspension of the nursing licenses of those found to be distributing drugs for other than legitimate purposes, after police found controlled and legend drugs at her home. Garrison subsequently filed suit in the Superior Court for Snohomish County to appeal the board’s decision. Read more…
Facts: Petitioner Sharon Leonard filed suit against the city of Bothell in the Superior Court for King County seeking to compel a referendum election that would decide whether to overturn the city’s rezoning of agricultural land to permit the construction of a shopping center. The trial court granted summary judgment to the city of Bothell, ruling that administrative acts of municipal bodies are not subject to referendum elections. Read more…
Facts: Petitioner Mitchell Rupe was sentenced to death after being convicted in the Superior Court for Thurston County of murdering two bank tellers in the course of a robbery. Rupe appealed his sentence to the Supreme Court of Washington on grounds that the prosecution’s introduction of evidence at sentencing regarding his extensive gun collection in order to demonstrate his dangerousness and propensity toward violence represented reversible error insofar as this evidence related to an aggravating factor not specified by statute and penalized Rupe for exercising his right to bear arms under the Washington State Constitution (Article I §24).
Question(s): Did the introduction of evidence regarding Rupe’s gun ownership violate his constitutional right to bear arms?
Conclusion: Justice Rosellini’s opinion for the Court held that as constitutionally protected behavior cannot be the basis for criminal punishment, the state’s attempt to draw adverse inferences from Rupe’s collection of firearms represented reversible error and necessitated a new sentencing hearing. Read more…
Facts: Janis Cagle filed suit against her former employer in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington, alleging that her dismissal from her position at a nuclear project construction site was wrongful insofar as it resulted from her refusal to disregard safety protocols and her threat to report her employer to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The district court found in Cagle’s favor but certified the question of whether Cagle could recover damages for emotional distress to the Supreme Court of Washington.
Question(s): Does Washington Revised Code Title 51 bar Cagle from collecting damages for emotional distress?
Conclusion: Justice Pearson’s opinion for a unanimous Court held that the recovery of damages for anguish or emotional distress was generally permissible in cases involving intentional torts, a category of torts that includes wrongful termination in violation of public policy. Read more…
