Michael Segaline v. Dept. Of Labor & Industries

CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedMay 21, 2013
Docket42945-4
StatusUnpublished

This text of Michael Segaline v. Dept. Of Labor & Industries (Michael Segaline v. Dept. Of Labor & Industries) 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
Michael Segaline v. Dept. Of Labor & Industries, (Wash. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinion

FILED COURT OF APPEALS 0IVI. I 1'a 11 S

2013 MAY 2 I hM 10- 10

STi

OY

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF WASHINC

DIVISION II

MICHAEL SEGALINE, a single person, No. 42945 4 II - -

Appellant,

V.

STATE OF WASHINGTON, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND UNPUBLISHED OPINION INDUSTRIES,

WORSWICK, C. . — J Michael Segaline appeals the summary judgment dismissal of his

negligent supervision and malicious prosecution claims against the Department of Labor and

Industries ( I), 42 U. . 1983 claim L & and of his C. § S against dismissed defendant Alan Croft.

Segaline argues (1)genuine issues of material fact remain regarding malicious prosecution and

negligent supervision, and ( his § 1983 claim was timely under a continuing violation theory. 2)

We reverse summary dismissal of Segaline's malicious prosecution claim, affirm on all

remaining grounds, and remand for further proceedings.

FACTS

This case is before us for the second time. In Segaline's first appeal, we affirmed

summary judgment dismissal of most of Segaline's claims under the civil immunity granted by No. 42945 4 II - -

RCW 510. 4.4. Segaline 2 v. Dep't of Labor & Indus.,144 Wn. App. 312, 326- 27,P. d 182 3 3

2008).We also affirmed summary judgment dismissal of 480 ( Segaline's §claim against 1983

L I employee Alan Croft as time -barred. 144 Wn. App. at 332. The Supreme Court reversed as &

to the claims dismissed under RCW 4.4.holding that the statute does not give immunity to 510, 2

government agencies, but it affirmed our dismissal of the § 1983 claim. Segaline v. Dep't of

Labor & Indus., Wn. d 467, 479, 238 P. d 1107 (2010).On remand, the trial court granted 169 2 3

summary judgment to L I on Segaline's remaining claims and denied Segaline's motion to &

revive his § 1983 claim. Segaline appeals to us once again.

A. Substantive Facts

Segaline is a licensed electrician who routinely seeks permits for electrical work from

L I. & Several incidents at L I' East Wenatchee office in 2003 prompted L I to serve Segaline &s &

with a trespass notice, culminating in his arrest.

The first incident occurred on June 9,when Segaline called L I' East Wenatchee office &s

about what he characterized as a " ogus"contractor deposit account at the agency. Segaline b

spoke to L I service coordinator Jeanne Guthrie. According to Guthrie, Segaline said he would &

hold L I employees accountable, that the issue could cost them their jobs, that he would &

institute legal proceedings, and that he would be bringing a tape recorder to the L I office. He &

1 RCW 4.4.10 provides, in pertinent part: 52

A person who communicates a complaint or information to any branch or agency of federal, state, or local government, or to any self - regulatory organization that regulates persons involved in the securities or futures business and that has been delegated authority by a federal, state, or local government agency and is subject to oversight by the delegating agency, is immune from civil liability for claims based upon the communication to the agency or organization regarding any matter reasonably of concern to that agency or organization.

2 No. 42945 4 II - -

also alluded to something happening if he "w[ u]up dead," he did not finish the sentence. nd o but

Clerk's Papers (CP)at 87 88. Although Segaline did not yell during this conversation, he talked -

very loudly.

On June 10, electrical program supervisor David Whittle called Segaline to attempt to

resolve the problems Segaline was having. Segaline agreed to meet with Whittle on June 19.

That same day, Segaline came to the L I office and told Guthrie that Whittle had better bring all &

the necessary paperwork to the upcoming meeting or else he should bring his resume and get

ready to join the private sector. Although Segaline seemed calmer than on June 9, Guthrie felt

that Segaline was trying to intimidate her and was trying to imply some kind of threat. The only

specific threat that Guthrie could name, however, was that Segaline stated he would record his

dealings with L I, & which Guthrie feared could lead to a confrontation if anyone objected to

being recorded. Guthrie also felt intimidated by Segaline just " eing [ ] CP at 100. b there."

However, Segaline did not raise his voice, his face did not get red, and he left of his own accord after about five minutes.

L I customer service specialist Alice Lou Hawkins was also present at the June 10 &

encounter., described Segaline as "quite threatening in his verbal language, very aggressive She

and threatening and intimidating,red -faced, stating that one of us is going to go to jail,that I' d

better get an attorney."CP at 129. She also stated that Segaline was "eaning toward me across l

the counter very up in my face, very red -faced, yelling, very intimidating, very harassing."CP at

139.

On June 13,there was a longer incident lasting about half an hour. Segaline came to the

L I office and tried to pay for a permit, but it had already been paid for out of his contractor &

3 No. 42945 4 II - -

deposit account. Segaline insisted that L I staff were required by law to accept his money, &

although L I staff assured him the money was not owed. According to Guthrie, although &

Segaline did not scream, he was talking very loudly and the confrontation was very disruptive.

Guthrie characterized Segaline's tone of voice as "yelling," she acknowledged that he did not but

use profanity or call her any names. Segaline made no threatening hand gestures, but he

gesticulated at a clock to emphasize that L I was wasting his time. &

The planned meeting with Whittle occurred at L I on June 19. L I Regional Health and & &

Safety Coordinator Alan Croft was also present. At the meeting, Segaline largely refused to

discuss how to resolve his conflicts with L I. & Instead, he repeatedly demanded to know under

what authority Croft and Whittle believed they could prevent him from recording the meeting,

although it was being recorded at the time. Segaline also repeatedly demanded to know what

branch of the government Whittle and Croft worked for,repeatedly stated they were not doing

their jobs,repeatedly accused them of breaking unspecified laws, and repeatedly insisted that

they contact the Attorney General. Segaline also repeatedly insisted on speaking with Guthrie.

Segaline eventually left the meeting to try to speak with Guthrie:

According to Croft, Segaline did not yell at the June 19 meeting, but he was red faced -

and tense, seeming as if he was " eady to explode."CP at 57. According to Guthrie, Segaline r

yelled that he wanted to speak with her after he left the meeting.'Croft testified at his deposition

that he asked Segaline to leave the office at least twice. Croft called 911 when Segaline did not

leave; Segaline left just as the police arrived.

After the June 19 meeting, Croft drafted a trespass notice, informing Segaline that he was

trespassed from the East Wenatchee L I offices. Croft listed " isruptive behavior, harassment & d

F No. 42945 4 II - -

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Eserhut v. Heister
812 P.2d 902 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 1991)
Youker v. Douglas County
258 P.3d 60 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2011)
Clark v. Baines
55 P.3d 1180 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2002)
Loeffelholz v. Citizens for Leaders With Ethics & Accountability Now
82 P.3d 1199 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2004)
Briggs v. Nova Services
135 Wash. App. 955 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2006)
Segaline v. Department of Labor & Industries
144 Wash. App. 312 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2008)
Rodriguez v. City of Moses Lake
158 Wash. App. 724 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2010)
Moratti v. Farmers Insurance
162 Wash. App. 495 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2011)
Gilliam v. Department of Social & Health Services
89 Wash. App. 569 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 1998)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
Michael Segaline v. Dept. Of Labor & Industries, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/michael-segaline-v-dept-of-labor-industries-washctapp-2013.