Richard Eggleston v. Asotin County

Court of Appeals of Washington·Decided December 14, 2017·No. 34340-5·Unpublished

Opinion

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FILED

DECEMBER 14, 2017

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In the Office of the Clerk of Court WA State Court of Appeals, Division Ill

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IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON DIVISION THREE II !

RICHARD EGGLESTON, an individual, )

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No. 34340-5-111

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Appellant / ) '

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Cross Respondent, ) l )

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ASOTIN COUNTY, a public agency; and )

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UNPUBLISHED OPINION I

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ASOTIN COUNTY PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT, a public agency, )

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Respondents I

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Cross Appellants. )

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PENNELL, J. - Richard Eggleston submitted several public records requests to

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Asotin County related to work on the Ten Mile Creek Bridge Project (the Project). After

failing to receive copies of three specific documents, Mr. Eggleston filed a lawsuit against

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the County alleging violations of the Public Records Act (PRA), chapter 42.56 RCW. i

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Mr. Eggleston's claims as to the first document were dismissed through summary

No. 34340-5-III Eggleston v. Asotin County

judgment. He later prevailed at a bench trial as to the remaining two documents and was awarded $49,385.00 in penalties and $50,133.67 in attorney fees, staff fees and costs. The parties cross appeal the trial court's rulings. We affirm.

FACTS

This case concerns Richard Eggleston's multiple public records requests for three specific records from the County. The initial record sought is a January 2002 e-mail written by archeologist Kevin Cannell to Thomas Dean & Hoskins (TD&H), an engineering firm hired by the County. The other two records consist of preliminary Project drawing sets, referred to as "the April Plans" and "the July Plans." Clerk's Papers (CP) at 553. Background In 2001, Asotin County decided to replace the Ten Mile Creek Bridge. In November 2001, TD&H received a letter from the County confirming it had been selected to provide engineering services for the Project. The contract was entered into on March 4, 2002, and provided that: "[a]ll designs, drawings, specifications, documents, and other work products prepared by the CONSUL TANT [TD&H] prior to completion or termination of this AGREEMENT are instruments of service for this PROJECT and are property of the AGENCY [Asotin County]." CP at 1029.

No. 34340-5-111 Eggleston v. Asotin County

TD&H was concerned about possible archaeological sites in the Project area and retained the services of Kevin Cannell to perform a "preliminary archaeological and cultural review of the proposed roadway" for the Project. CP at 276. In its June 5, 2002, retention letter to Mr. Cannell, TD&H referenced a "Cultural Resource Compliance Scope of Work" that Mr. Cannell had sent to TD&H via e-mail on January 11, 2002. CP at 276, 1024. Requests regarding TD&H's agreement with archeologist Kevin Cannell Richard Eggleston is a resident of Asotin County. Mr. Eggleston made several requests, spanning 2004-2011, for correspondence between TD&H and Mr. Cannell. Of particular concern to Mr. Eggleston was the original solicitation for Mr. Cannell to perform archeological services on the Project and Mr. Cannell's response to the solicitation. See CP at 38. The County provided some materials in response to Mr. Cannell's requests, but it also noted Mr. Cannell was contracted through TD&H and, therefore, the County may not have all correspondence. Eventually, the County provided Mr. Eggleston a copy of Mr. Cannell's Cultural Resource Program Scope of Work that had been sent to TD&H in January 2002. See CP at 53. However, the County never provided a copy of the 2002 e-mail Mr. Cannell sent to TD&H along with his proposed scope of work.

No. 34340-5-111 Eggleston v. Asotin County

Commencement of the Project and discovery of archaeological sites Construction on the Project commenced during June 2010. But by October, crews working on the Project encountered human remains and realized they had unearthed Native American graves. The Project then stalled to allow for negotiations between the County, the Nez Perce tribe and other agencies on how to handle the remains. During this delay, the project plans went through numerous changes. A final set of plans for the Project were not completed until September 2012. Requests for "current sheets" of the Project plans and initiation of litigation Mr. Eggleston's next records request came on April 26, 2012. At this point, he did not ask for documents related to Mr. Cannell or his archaeological work. Instead, he sought copies of the current drawing sheets (the April Plans) for the Project. Mr. Eggleston indicated he had received page one of the April Plans 1 at a meeting with the County and he wanted to view the remaining pages. The County responded on May 16, 2012, claiming the April Plans were exempt from disclosure under RCW 42.56.280. The County reasoned that this exemption applied because the April Plans were preliminary

1 Apart from the page Mr. Eggleston obtained at the County meeting, Mr.

Eggleston had actually received a copy of the April Plans from the Nez Perce Tribe. Mr. Eggleston sought a copy of the plans at the behest of the tribe because the tribe did not fully trust the County and wanted to test the accuracy of its records.

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drafts and the design for the Project was still in flux as discussions with the tribe continued. Until an agreement on the redesign was reached, the April Plans were exempt from disclosure.

Mr. Eggleston filed suit against the County on June 18, 2012, alleging violations of the PRA. Subsequent to filing suit, Mr. Eggleston submitted a request on July 17, 2012 for "current project plans." CP at 69. The County responded on July 19, 2012, and provided Mr. Eggleston with a set of documents, referred to in the record as "the Nez Perce submittal." 1 Verbatim Report of Proceedings (VRP) (Mar. 5, 2013) at 18; 1 VRP (Apr. 1, 2015) at 42; CP at 70. The County also indicated that it had fully responded to Mr. Eggleston's request and now considered it closed.

Mr. Eggleston's attorney sent a letter to the County's attorney on August 2, 2012, claiming the County's responses to Mr. Eggleston's request for plans were incomplete. Counsel explained Mr. Eggleston was looking for current project plans, not the Nez Perce submittal. Counsel asserted that if the County intended to withhold pages, a withholding log must be provided. The County responded on August 9, 2012, and offered further explanation as to why Mr. Eggleston's request was denied pursuant to RCW 42.56.280. The County explained Mr. Eggleston had been provided everything that had been submitted to the tribe. However, the materials provided to the tribe did not contain a complete copy of the preliminary project plan. Thus, nothing currently available had been

No. 34340-5-111 Eggleston v. Asotin County

withheld. The County offered to provide the finalized plans to Mr. Eggleston when the documents were available.

Mr. Eggleston's attorney sent additional letters on August 24 and September 7, 2012, following up on the prior requests. The August 24 letter requested a withholding log and the September 7 letter clarified that the County had not complied with the requests for the April and July plans. Counsel reiterated that Mr. Eggleston had not requested the plans that were submitted to the Nez Perce Tribe. Instead, Mr. Eggleston had requested a complete set of plans as they existed on the date of his request. Although the County responded to the August 24 letter, it did not provide a withholding log. The County never responded to the September 7 letter.

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