Hickethier v. STATE DEPT. OF LICENSING

244 P.3d 1010
CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedJanuary 4, 2011
Docket28776-9-III
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 244 P.3d 1010 (Hickethier v. STATE DEPT. OF LICENSING) 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
Hickethier v. STATE DEPT. OF LICENSING, 244 P.3d 1010 (Wash. Ct. App. 2011).

Opinion

244 P.3d 1010 (2011)

Kimberly S. HICKETHIER, Appellant,
v.
WASHINGTON STATE DEPARTMENT OF LICENSING, Respondent.

No. 28776-9-III.

Court of Appeals of Washington, Division 3.

January 4, 2011.

*1012 John Montgomery, Waldo Schweda & Montgomery PS, Spokane, WA, for Appellant.

Jennifer Steele, Attorney General's Office, Seattle, WA, for Respondent.

SWEENEY, J.

¶ 1 This appeal follows the suspension of a real estate broker's license by the Washington State Department of Licensing for various violations of statutes and administrative regulations applicable to real estate brokers. The essential challenges are to the factual basis for the legal conclusions to support the various violations. We conclude that the evidence supports these conclusions, and we affirm the superior court.

FACTS

¶ 2 Kimberly Hickethier was a licensed real estate broker. She represented Anne Sumner in the purchase of a manufactured home at Loon Lake, Washington. Ms. Sumner wanted a power pole and other items repaired, replaced, or installed before closing. Ms. Hickethier suggested that Paul Francis do the work. Ms. Hickethier was developing an intimate relationship with Mr. Francis. Ms. Sumner did not know this. Ms. Sumner hired Mr. Francis to make the repairs for $2,900.

¶ 3 On September 20, 2003, Ms. Sumner and the seller signed a purchase and sale agreement. The seller agreed to hold back $2,000 to pay "for needed repairs, power pole replacement/repair, repair main bathroom fan, scraping/priming and painting the skirting, replacing stove top, ensuring heat pump is working." Clerk's Papers (CP) at 480. And Ms. Hickethier agreed to give the seller's tenant 30 days to vacate the home.

¶ 4 Ms. Hickethier performed the final walk through for Ms. Sumner. She saw that the power pole had not been fixed, but she did not tell Ms. Sumner. Ms. Sumner closed the sale on October 17; she thought that everything had been repaired or replaced.

¶ 5 Ms. Sumner's daughter, Laura Hood, tried to get the keys to the home from Ms. Hickethier after the tenant's 30-day notice to *1013 vacate expired. She was not able to get the keys for a week and ultimately forced her way into the home. Ms. Sumner went to the home for the first time after buying it and noticed that the power pole and other things had not been fixed properly. Ms. Sumner made and paid for the repairs and asked Ms. Hickethier to reimburse her. Ms. Hickethier refused.

¶ 6 Ms. Hickethier had asked the closing agent to stop payment on a $2,000 check issued to Mr. Francis. She told the closing agent to issue a $2,000 check to her and she would pay Mr. Francis directly. The closing agent wrote Ms. Hickethier a $2,000 check, and Ms. Hickethier cashed it.

¶ 7 Ms. Sumner complained to the Department of Licensing (Department) around April 2004. Investigator Shannon Taylor investigated her complaint. Ms. Taylor learned that Ms. Hickethier had signed a document authorizing Mr. Francis to act as her rental agent and that Mr. Francis had business cards that identified him as a rental agent. Mr. Francis told Ms. Taylor that he prepared contracts, procured renters, and collected rents for Ms. Hickethier's rental properties.

¶ 8 The Department cited Ms. Hickethier on September 17, 2007, for multiple counts of unprofessional conduct based on Ms. Sumner's complaint and Mr. Francis's information. An administrative law judge concluded that the Department had proved three counts of unprofessional conduct (converting client funds, authorizing an unlicensed person to act as a rental agent, and failing to give her client keys to the property) and revoked Ms. Hickethier's broker's license for five years. She appealed to the director of the Department. The director affirmed the ruling and sanction. She further appealed to the superior court. It also affirmed the ruling and sanction.

DISCUSSION

STANDARDS OF REVIEW

¶ 9 The Administrative Procedure Act, chapter 34.05 RCW, structures our review of the director's final order. RCW 18.235.090. Ms. Hickethier challenges the sufficiency of many of the director's findings, the propriety of her conclusions and sanction, and the timeliness of the hearing. We give great weight to the director's interpretation of any ambiguous statute. Waste Mgmt. of Seattle, Inc. v. Utilities & Transp. Comm'n, 123 Wash.2d 621, 628, 869 P.2d 1034 (1994). But we must grant Ms. Hickethier relief from the order if:

• The agency failed to follow prescribed procedure;
• The agency erroneously applied the law;
• The order is not supported by substantial evidence when viewed in light of the whole record; or
• The order is arbitrary or capricious.

RCW 34.05.570(3)(c)-(e), (i).

¶ 10 We review challenged findings of fact for substantial evidence. Lee's Drywall Co. v. Dep't of Labor & Indus., 141 Wash.App. 859, 864, 173 P.3d 934 (2007). We review legal issues de novo, including whether findings of fact support conclusions of law, whether the law was applied correctly, and whether a decision was arbitrary or capricious. Timberlane Mobile Home Park v. Human Rights Comm'n ex rel. Campbell, 122 Wash.App. 896, 900, 95 P.3d 1288 (2004); Wash. Indep. Tel. Ass'n v. Wash. Utils. & Transp. Comm'n, 149 Wash.2d 17, 24, 65 P.3d 319 (2003). A decision is arbitrary or capricious if it is willful and unreasoning and disregards or does not consider the facts and circumstances underlying the decision. Alpha Kappa Lambda Fraternity v. Wash. State Univ., 152 Wash.App. 401, 421, 216 P.3d 451 (2009). A decision is not arbitrary or capricious if there is room for more than one opinion and the decision is based on honest and due consideration, even if we disagree with it. Id. at 421-22, 216 P.3d 451.

FAILURE TO DEPOSIT THE $2,000 Check IN A TRUST ACCOUNT

¶ 11 Ms. Hickethier first contends that the director erred by concluding that she violated WAC 308-124E-012(5) by cashing the $2,000 check. WAC 308-124E-012(5) requires that a real estate broker deposit money related to a real estate sale into a *1014 trust account unless the money is subject to an earnest money agreement with different terms or the money is a payment on real estate owned by the real estate broker or her firm:

(5) All funds or moneys received for any reason pertaining to the sale . . . of real estate . . . shall be deposited in the broker's real estate trust bank account not later than the first banking day following receipt thereof; except:

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
244 P.3d 1010, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hickethier-v-state-dept-of-licensing-washctapp-2011.