Coronado v. Orona

153 P.3d 217
CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedFebruary 15, 2007
Docket25014-8-III
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 153 P.3d 217 (Coronado v. Orona) 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
Coronado v. Orona, 153 P.3d 217 (Wash. Ct. App. 2007).

Opinion

153 P.3d 217 (2007)

Adolfo CORONADO, a married person doing business as Royal Landscaping & Gardening Company, a sole proprietorship, Appellant,
v.
Patty ORONA, a single person; and Leslie Rucker, a single person, Respondents.

No. 25014-8-III.

Court of Appeals of Washington, Division 3.

February 15, 2007.

*218 Adolfo Coronado (Appearing Pro Se).

Brad L. Englund, Englund Law PS, Yakima, WA, for Respondents.

SCHULTHEIS, J.

¶ 1 Washington contractors cannot sue clients to recover compensation or for breach of contract if the contractors are not properly registered. RCW 18.27.080. One exception to this rule is applicable if the contractor has merely sold or installed a finished product or material that does not become a permanent, fixed part of a structure. RCW 18.27.090(5).

¶ 2 Adolfo Coronado, doing business as Royal Landscaping & Gardening Company, contracted with Patty Orona and her boyfriend, Leslie Rucker (hereafter, Ms. Orona) to landscape around the couple's newly-built home in Yakima. Mr. Coronado was not licensed as a contractor during the period of the contract. After a partial payment, Ms. Orona refused to pay the remaining balance on the bill. Mr. Coronado sued, Ms. Orona responded by showing that he was not properly registered, and the trial court summarily dismissed Mr. Coronado's complaint.

¶ 3 On appeal, Mr. Coronado contends he is not a contractor, and that even if he is, the unpaid portion of his bill is for work that qualifies at least in part for the exemption in RCW 18.27.090(5). He argues that the exempted portion of his work should be segregated from the uncollectible portion. Because we conclude that Mr. Coronado performed landscaping that required a contractor's registration for the entire indivisible contract, we affirm.

FACTS

¶ 4 In March 2005, Mr. Coronado contracted with Ms. Orona to landscape around her Yakima home. In his bid, he proposed to plant shrubs and ground cover, apply landscaping rocks, create gravel walkways, and *219 install a sprinkler system. For these services, including tractor fees, he estimated a cost of $16,450. Ms. Orona paid around one-half of this sum—$8,200—as a down payment in April. She paid an additional $800 later as partial payment for additional labor and materials. Near the completion of the landscaping project, Mr. Coronado submitted an "Additional Work Invoice" demanding another $49,110 for materials and labor, including rocks, bark, plants, approximately 1,400 feet of retaining walls, and rental of a tractor and trailer. Clerk's Papers (CP) at 96. Unknown to Mr. Coronado at the time, his contractor's license had been suspended in January 2005 due to two default judgments that had impaired his bond.[1] He reinstated his contractor's license in January 2006, after he had essentially completed the Orona project.

¶ 5 When Ms. Orona refused to pay any additional amount, Mr. Coronado filed a complaint in November 2005 for damages due to breach of contract or under the equitable doctrine of quantum meruit. Ms. Orona responded by moving for summary judgment. She argued that Mr. Coronado illegally performed work as a contractor without registering with the Department of Labor and Industries (L & I). RCW 18.27.020(2)(b). She also asserted that he did not comply with the pleading requirements of RCW 18.27.080. After a hearing, the trial court granted Ms. Orona's motion for summary judgment and dismissed Mr. Coronado's complaint. He filed a timely appeal to this court.

CONTRACTOR REGISTRATION

¶ 6 Mr. Coronado argues on appeal that his landscaping contract did not require a contractor's license. Even if he performed as a contractor, he offers alternatively, some of the work was exempted under RCW 18.27.090(5), and that work should be segregated from the unenforceable portions of the contract. Because this is an appeal from a summary judgment, this court considers all facts in the light most favorable to Mr. Coronado and reviews de novo. Cerrillo v. Esparza, 158 Wash.2d 194, 199, 142 P.3d 155 (2006); Arctic Stone, Ltd. v. Dadvar, 127 Wash.App. 789, 794, 112 P.3d 582 (2005). Summary judgment is proper only if there is no genuine issue of material fact and if Ms. Orona is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Cerrillo, 158 Wash.2d at 200, 142 P.3d 155.

¶ 7 In 1963, the legislature enacted the contractor registration act. Chapter 18.27 RCW. Reflecting the concern that "unregistered contractors are a serious threat to the general public and are costing the state millions of dollars each year in lost revenue" (LAWS OF 1993, ch. 454, § 1), the act "was designed to prevent the victimizing of a defenseless public by unreliable, fraudulent and incompetent contractors, many of whom operated a transient business from the relative safety of neighboring states." Stewart v. Hammond, 78 Wash.2d 216, 219, 471 P.2d 90 (1970). To that end, Washington contractors are required to be registered and bonded. Id. (citing RCW 18.27.020-.040). Those who do not comply are subject to a criminal penalty, RCW 18.27.020, and are denied access to the courts for compensation or for breach of contract claims:

No person engaged in the business or acting in the capacity of a contractor may bring or maintain any action in any court of this state for the collection of compensation for the performance of any work or for breach of any contract for which registration is required under this chapter without alleging and proving that he was a duly registered contractor and held a current and valid certificate of registration at the time he contracted for the performance of such work or entered into such contract.

RCW 18.27.080; Stewart, 78 Wash.2d at 219, 471 P.2d 90. See also Davidson v. Hensen, 135 Wash.2d 112, 127, 954 P.2d 1327 (1998) (although the contractor registration statute does not render a contract void ab initio, the contract has limited enforceability).

*220 ¶ 8 According to Mr. Coronado, although he was registered as a landscaping contractor until January 2005, and registered again in January 2006, the work he performed for Ms. Orona did not require a contractor's registration.

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Bluebook (online)
153 P.3d 217, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/coronado-v-orona-washctapp-2007.