Bainbridge Citizens United v. Wash. Dnr

198 P.3d 1033
CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedNovember 12, 2008
Docket35961-8-II
StatusPublished

This text of 198 P.3d 1033 (Bainbridge Citizens United v. Wash. Dnr) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bainbridge Citizens United v. Wash. Dnr, 198 P.3d 1033 (Wash. Ct. App. 2008).

Opinion

198 P.3d 1033 (2008)
147 Wash.App. 365

BAINBRIDGE CITIZENS UNITED; and Gary Tripp, Director of Bainbridge Citizens United, Petitioners,
v.
WASHINGTON STATE DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES; and Doug Sutherland, Commissioner of Public Lands, Respondents.

No. 35961-8-II.

Court of Appeals of Washington, Division 2.

November 12, 2008.

*1034 Dennis Dean Reynolds, Charles Edward Maduell, Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, Seattle, WA, for Appellant(s).

Christa L. Thompson, Attorney at Law, Atty. Gen. Office Nat. Res. Div., Olympia, WA, for Respondent(s).

QUINN-BRINTNALL, J.

¶ 1 Bainbridge Citizens United informed the Department of Natural Resources that "approximately fifty vessels, seven rafts and thirty buoys" were trespassing on state-owned aquatic lands in Eagle Harbor. Clerk's Papers (CP) at 351. After the Department and the City of Bainbridge Island did not respond as United would have liked, United filed a petition for review under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), ch. 34.05 RCW, and, in the alternative, a petition for declaratory judgment under the Uniform Declaratory Judgments Act (UDJA), ch. 7.24 RCW. United essentially claimed that the Department failed to enforce its own regulations against the parties who were trespassing on state-owned aquatic lands in Eagle Harbor. The Department filed a summary judgment motion, claiming that United was not entitled to relief under either the APA or the UDJA. United responded by filing its own summary judgment motion, in which it voluntarily abandoned its APA claim and sought relief solely under the UDJA. The trial court granted the Department's summary judgment motion. On appeal, United argues that the trial court should not have dismissed its UDJA claim. We hold that a declaratory judgment was not available because United failed to (1) join necessary parties, the vessel owners, or (2) challenge the construction or validity of a law or otherwise seek relief that is the proper subject for a declaratory judgment. Accordingly, we affirm.

FACTS

BACKGROUND

¶ 2 The State is charged with managing aquatic lands that it owns. RCW 79.105.030. The Department has promulgated many regulations to do so, including: (1) WAC 332-30-171(8), which governs open water moorage and anchorage; and (2) WAC 332-30-127, which defines unauthorized use and occupancy of aquatic lands.

¶ 3 In February 2005, Gary Tripp, the director of United,[1] wrote two emails to the *1035 Department telling it that "approximately fifty vessels, seven rafts and thirty buoys" were trespassing on state-owned aquatic lands in Eagle Harbor. CP at 351. Among other things, United was concerned about the vessels, rafts, and buoys because they (1) created a navigation hazard, (2) adversely impacted members' health and safety,[2] (3) interfered with waterfront amenities, (4) adversely impacted views and property values, and (5) caused problems for surrounding businesses. In these emails, Tripp also asked to meet with the Commissioner of Public Lands.

¶ 4 In March 2005, Tripp met with the Commissioner and several officials from the Department and the Attorney General's Office (AGO). According to Tripp, the Commissioner promised to provide him with a list of steps for removing trespassers from state-owned aquatic lands. Instead, the AGO wrote a letter to United's attorney asserting that it has discretion about how to best address such problems and explaining that it was exercising its discretion by working with the City to develop a harbor plan.[3]

LAWSUIT

¶ 5 In April 2005, United filed a petition for review under the APA[4] and, in the alternative, a petition for declaratory judgment under the UDJA.[5] United claimed that the Department failed to enforce WAC 332-30-127, the aquatic lands trespassing regulation, against the people creating problems on state-owned aquatic lands in Eagle Harbor.

¶ 6 Under the APA, United sought a trial court order requiring the Department to perform its duties under WAC 332-30-127, including: (1) serving written notice requiring the trespassing parties to vacate the premises within 30 days, (2) assessing and collecting a monthly use and occupancy fee from the trespassing parties, and (3) filing an unlawful detainer action against the trespassing parties along with an action to collect past due rent. Alternatively, United sought a declaratory judgment that (1) the trespassing parties are violating WAC 332-30-127 and (2) the Department has a mandatory duty to perform its duties under WAC 332-30-127, including those previously listed.

¶ 7 The Department filed a summary judgment motion, arguing that United was not entitled to relief under either the APA or the UDJA. With regard to United's APA claim, the Department argued that (1) its duties under WAC 332-30-127 were proprietary, (2) United lacked standing, and (3) its decision not to enforce WAC 332-30-127 was discretionary. With regard to the UDJA claim, the Department argued that (1) United failed to claim a justiciable controversy, and (2) its decision not to enforce WAC 332-30-127 was discretionary. Finally, the Department argued that United failed to join the trespassing parties as indispensable parties to the litigation.

¶ 8 United responded by filing its own summary judgment motion. In its motion, it abandoned its APA claim, stating, "Plaintiffs do not dispute the unavailability of an alternative remedy under the APA because [the Department's] management of state owned aquatic lands is a proprietary function." CP at 164 n. 2. But United maintained that it was entitled to relief under the UDJA.

¶ 9 In January 2007, the trial court granted the Department's summary judgment motion and denied United's summary judgment motion. The trial court did not explain its rationale. United appeals.

ANALYSIS

¶ 10 United argues that it was entitled to declaratory and injunctive relief under the UDJA because the Department failed to fulfill *1036 mandatory enforcement obligations under WAC 332-30-127 and WAC 332-30-171(8) against vessels trespassing in Eagle Harbor. Thus, United claims that the trial court erred when it summarily dismissed its action. We hold that summary judgment was proper because (1) the trial court lacked jurisdiction to hear this case because all necessary parties were not joined and (2) United does not argue that the regulations were ambiguous or invalid or otherwise demonstrate that this case is the proper subject of a declaratory judgment.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

¶ 11 On an appeal from summary judgment, we engage in the same inquiry as the trial court. Hisle v. Todd Pac. Shipyards Corp., 151 Wash.2d 853, 860, 93 P.3d 108 (2004) (citing Kruse v. Hemp, 121 Wash.2d 715, 722, 853 P.2d 1373 (1993)). Our standard of review is de novo. Summary judgment is appropriate only if "the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." CR 56(c). We construe all facts and reasonable inferences therefrom in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Vallandigham v. Clover Park Sch. Dist. No. 400,

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Bluebook (online)
198 P.3d 1033, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bainbridge-citizens-united-v-wash-dnr-washctapp-2008.