Elliott Bay Seafoods, Inc. v. Port of Seattle

98 P.3d 491
Court of Appeals of Washington·Decided August 25, 2004·No. 52842-4-I·Published·Cited by 7 cases

Opinion

98 P.3d 491 (2004)

ELLIOTT BAY SEAFOODS, INC., Appellant,
v.
The PORT OF SEATTLE, Respondent,
ABC Corporations I-V, and John Does I-X, Defendants.

No. 52842-4-I.

Court of Appeals of Washington, Division 1.

July 12, 2004.
Publication Ordered August 25, 2004.

*492 William T. McKay, Luanne Perry, McKay Huffington PLLC, Seattle, for Appellant.

Katherine See Kennedy, Danielson Harrigan et al, Timothy George Leyh, Craig Richard Watson, Seattle, for Respondent.

While parol, extrinsic or collateral evidence may be heard to explain the context and intent of the parties in entering into a written contract, it will not be heard to modify, contradict, add to, or vary the terms of that written agreement. Here the written agreement is a lease between Elliot Bay Seafoods, Inc. (EBS) and the Port of Seattle for retail space at the Bell Street Pier (also known as Pier 66). The terms of the lease did not obligate the Port to develop the pier in accordance with any particular concept. Moreover, while there is ample evidence of the Port's intent and desire to develop the pier as a working fishing pier attractive to tourists, there is no evidence that the Port made any commitment or promise to EBS that would support an action for breach of that promise. Finally, there is no evidence that the Port conveyed false information to EBS, negligently or otherwise. What the parties hoped would happen simply did not. That unfortunate turn of events does not support the claims asserted by EBS. The trial court's dismissal of those claims is affirmed.

FACTS

In 1991 the Port adopted a comprehensive scheme of harbor improvements including the redevelopment of Piers 64, 65 and 66. In 1995, the Port announced the development of Bell Street Pier (Pier 66) as a "mixed-use" or working fishing pier that would include a maritime museum, conference center, fish processing, boat moorage, cruise ship terminal and various retail facilities. The Port envisioned the pier becoming a tourist attraction similar to Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco.

The Port's multi-use plan for Pier 66 included a fish processing facility that would co-exist with a home port cruise terminal. Because long-standing attempts to secure a contract as a home port had not been successful, the focus of the project in this early stage was not the home port. However, there is no dispute that the plans for the Bell Street Pier project included reserving space for a future cruise ship terminal if a home port contract with a cruise line ever came to fruition.

In early 1995, EBS began its search for new office space for its fish brokerage business. It became aware of the Bell Street Pier through the Port's marketing efforts, newspaper articles, and signage on the newly-built facility on the pier. It is undisputed that the Port told EBS and its leasing agent that plans for the development of the pier included a working fishing pier concept. Before *493 signing two leases, one for office space and one for retail space, EBS was told that the Port was in final negotiations with "The Fishin' Place" for an interactive exhibit space as well as actual fish processing. The focus of the discussions between EBS and the Port was on the fishing industry and accompanying tourist activity, a fact not disputed by the Port.

In early 1996, the Port entered into a lease agreement with Oceantrawl, Inc., d/b/a "The Fishin' Place," to run a processing plant and retail store. The Port also negotiated a lease with Polare, another marine industry store selling fishing gear and clothing.

EBS was enamored with the plans for the mixed-use project. Initially, EBS was interested only in office space for its wholesale fish brokerage business, but during the course of discussions with the Port, EBS warmed to the idea of opening a retail seafood store. Lease negotiations ensued and a lease for office space was signed in June 1996. A 20-page retail commercial lease for the Bell Street Pier Fish Market was signed in August 1996. The lease required EBS to open the fish market for business by November 1, 1996. EBS was diligent in its efforts to open, spending approximately $400,000 constructing its store and purchasing necessary equipment and appliances. The retail store timely opened.

The Fishin' Place was scheduled to open by December 31, 1996, but it did not. It became embroiled in a dispute with various contractors and the Port, and repeatedly changed its designs and plans. EBS claims that part of this problem should be laid at the feet of the Port. Although The Fishin' Place never opened for business, it paid the base rent required in its lease to the Port for a couple of years while working on plans to open. During this time, the Port continued to believe The Fishin' Place would open and provided updates to EBS regarding the ongoing attempts to get it open.

Due to labor-management issues with the longshoremen's union, there was a problem with the logistics of unloading fishing boats at the pier. During the time EBS's retail store remained open, no commercial or tribal fishing boats used the pier as hoped by the Port and set forth in its plan. Eventually those issues were settled, and fishing boats do occasionally tie up at the facility, as do pleasure boats and cruise ships.

In the spring of 1998, Polare, the only other retail store in the building EBS occupied, closed. EBS's Fish Market remained the only open store in the building from that time until it closed in May of 1999.

In late 1998, the Port reached an agreement with Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCL) to provide a home port. After obtaining the NCL contract, the Port began the design process for the new terminal. Originally the Port had hoped to design the new terminal in conjunction with The Fishin' Place, but soon discovered that it would need more space at the pier due to the larger ships. Because The Fishin' Place was not yet open, and there were still problems with the design of that space, the Port terminated The Fishin' Place's lease. In early 1999, the Port told EBS The Fishin' Place's lease had been terminated and that the Port was going to incorporate that space into the cruise ship terminal. At that time, the Port also explained its construction plans. The Fish Market was going to be surrounded by heavy construction for a number of months. EBS believed that the Port was abandoning its mixed-use plan and that it would concentrate only on the home port cruise ship business. EBS agrees that the Port attempted to convince it that a cruise ship terminal would bring substantial revenues to the Fish Market because of all the people embarking and disembarking. EBS claims its studies indicated otherwise. EBS determined that the change in the Bell Street Pier from a mixed-use, working fishing pier to a premier cruise ship terminal was not conducive to its business. In May 1999, EBS closed the Fish Market. That fall, despite showing a lucrative balance sheet in its wholesale business, the entire company went out of business, allegedly due to the financial drain from the retail business.

In November 2001, EBS sued the Port for breach of contract including, but not limited to, the obligation of good faith and fair dealing on both the retail lease and the office *494 lease. It also claimed damages as the result of the Port's fraud, intentional and negligent misrepresentation, and sought damages under a theory of promissory estoppel.[1]

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Elliott Bay Seafoods, Inc. v. Port of Seattle, 98 P.3d 491 (Wash. Ct. App. 2004).

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