Manteufel v. Safeco Ins. Co. of America

68 P.3d 1093
CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedMay 13, 2003
Docket28653-0-II
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 68 P.3d 1093 (Manteufel v. Safeco Ins. Co. of America) 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
Manteufel v. Safeco Ins. Co. of America, 68 P.3d 1093 (Wash. Ct. App. 2003).

Opinion

68 P.3d 1093 (2003)

Oberdah F. MANTEUFEL, a single person, Appellant,
v.
SAFECO INSURANCE COMPANY OF AMERICA, a Washington Corp., and Clarke, Bovingdon, Cole, Mills & Lether, P.C., a Washington Professional Corp. and Rick and Jane Doe Wathen, and their Marital Community, Respondents.

No. 28653-0-II.

Court of Appeals of Washington, Division 2.

April 23, 2003.
Publication Ordered May 13, 2003.

*1095 Robert Vernon Brown, Attorney at Law, Bellevue, WA, for Appellant.

Rick J. Wathen, Attorney at Law, Seattle, WA, for Respondent.

*1094 HUNT C.J.

Oberdah Manteufel appeals the trial court's summary judgment dismissal of his lawsuit against his insurer SAFECO's attorney, Rick Wathen, Wathen's wife, and Wathen's private law firm. Manteufel also appeals the trial court's imposition of sanctions against him for filing a frivolous lawsuit, denial of his motion to strike certain exhibits, and denial of his motion to continue the summary judgment motion. Finding no error or abuse of discretion, we affirm.

FACTS

I. CLAIM FOR FIRE-DAMAGED PIANO

A fire at Manteufel's home damaged his 1876 Steinway Centennial Concert Grand piano, which he had purchased years earlier for $15,000. Manteufel submitted a claim for the piano and proof of loss to his insurer, SAFECO. SAFECO began adjusting the claim after receiving the proof of loss. Manteufel later discovered more damage to the piano and amended his proof of loss to claim $900,000 in damages.

SAFECO retained Doug Wood to produce an estimate for the cost to repair the piano. Wood, a registered piano technician and the primary local technical service contact for the Steinway company, examined the piano, took photographs, made findings about the damage to the piano, and opined that the piano was fully restorable. Based on his findings, Wood contacted several piano restoration services to obtain repair estimates, including the Steinway & Sons Restoration Center. Steinway & Sons prepared a restoration bid to repair the piano for $37,025, plus $2,000 as the estimated cost of transporting the piano. SAFECO issued a check to Manteufel for $39,025 to pay for the piano's repair and transport. Manteufel cashed the check.

Manteufel then disputed the amount SAFECO had paid him, sought an "advocated" appraisal under the insurance policy,[1]*1096 and retained counsel. Manteufel's counsel immediately advised SAFECO by letter that (1) SAFECO could communicate with Manteufel only through his counsel; and (2) Manteufel demanded the advocated appraisal process, which required both parties to select appraisers. Manteufel named James Goodman as his chosen appraiser. SAFECO named Doug Wood as its appraiser. When Manteufel objected to Wood, SAFECO named another appraiser, Steve Brady. Manteufel then objected to Brady and reiterated his demand that the appraisal be advocated.

SAFECO retained counsel, Rick Wathen, who advised Manteufel that any further communication should be directed to him. But Manteufel ignored this request and the Rules of Professional Conduct (RPC) 4.2 and communicated directly with SAFECO over a period of several months.

In an attempt to meet the policy's appraisal provision, SAFECO filed a motion in superior court for selection of an umpire. Claiming a scheduling conflict, Manteufel opposed the hearing date and refused to offer an alternate date. SAFECO advised Manteufel that it would close its file because he was refusing to cooperate.

II. LAWSUIT

Some nineteen months[2] after the loss, Manteufel sued SAFECO; he later joined SAFECO's attorney, Rick Wathen; Wathen's wife; and Wathen's law firm, Clarke, Bovingdon, Cole, Mills & Lether, P.C, as additional defendants. Manteufel alleged that SAFECO had violated the Consumer Protection Act (CPA), that SAFECO and Wathen had acted in "bad faith" in directing him to conduct all communication with SAFECO through Wathen, and that Wathen had wrongfully adjusted the claim in place of the insurer.

Wathen moved for summary judgment. Manteufel moved to continue, claiming to need more time for discovery. The trial court denied Manteufel's motion to continue because he had failed to set forth sufficient justification. Before the summary judgment hearing, SAFECO gave Manteufel three opportunities to dismiss Wathen, Wathen's wife, and Wathen's lawfirm. Manteufel declined. At the summary judgment hearing, Manteufel moved to strike certain exhibits. The court denied the motion. The trial court granted summary judgment and dismissed Manteufel's claims against Wathen, his wife, and his law firm.[3] Manteufel then claimed, for the first time, that SAFECO's counsel, Wathen, was never served and, therefore, the trial court lacked jurisdiction over him.

The trial court ruled that SAFECO could present a motion for attorney fees and sanctions under CR 11 and RCW 4.84.185. SAFECO filed a motion for CR 11 sanctions and attorney fees. The trial court received and heard Manteufel's objections to imposition of sanctions. Following a hearing on the issue of sanctions, the trial court awarded sanctions to SAFECO in the amount of attorney fees SAFECO had expended defending Wathen against Manteufel's frivolous lawsuit.

ANALYSIS

I. GRANT OF SUMMARY JUDGMENT

Engaging in the same inquiry as the trial court, we review a grant of summary judgment de novo. Benjamin v. Wash. State Bar Ass'n, 138 Wash.2d 506, 515, 980 P.2d 742 (1999). Summary judgment is appropriate where there are no genuine issues of material facts and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Clements v. Travelers Indem. Co., 121 Wash.2d 243, 249, 850 P.2d 1298 (1993). Here, SAFECO's attorney, Wathen, is so entitled.

We reject Manteufel's argument that Wathen violated Washington's Consumer Protection Act and acted in bad faith. The case that he offers in support of his argument, Gould v. Mutual Life Insurance Co. of New York, 37 Wash.App. 756, 683 P.2d 207 (1984), does not allow an insured to bring an *1097 action against the insurance company's attorneys, as Manteufel contends. Furthermore, our Supreme Court overruled Gould in Haberman v. Washington Public Power Supply System, 109 Wash.2d 107, 744 P.2d 1032 (1987), in which it expressly held that Washington law does not allow claims against attorneys under the CPA, and specifically does not allow claims directed at an attorney's competency or strategy. Haberman, 109 Wash.2d at 169, 750 P.2d 254.

Accordingly, the trial court followed the clear law of this state in granting summary judgment to Walthen and dismissing Mantuefel's action against him, his wife, and his law firm for Wathen's actions as SAFECO's attorney in trying to resolve Manteufel's claim of loss for the piano.

II. OFFERED EXHIBITS

Manteufel next contends that in granting Wathen's motion for summary judgment, the trial court improperly considered "certain" exhibits.

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Bluebook (online)
68 P.3d 1093, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/manteufel-v-safeco-ins-co-of-america-washctapp-2003.