Spokane Research & Defense Fund v. West Central Community Development Ass'n

137 P.3d 120, 133 Wash. App. 602
CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedJune 22, 2006
DocketNo. 24382-6-III
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 137 P.3d 120 (Spokane Research & Defense Fund v. West Central Community Development Ass'n) 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
Spokane Research & Defense Fund v. West Central Community Development Ass'n, 137 P.3d 120, 133 Wash. App. 602 (Wash. Ct. App. 2006).

Opinion

¶1 Spokane Research & Defense Fund (SRDF) sued a private nonprofit corporation, the West Central Community Development Association (Association), and the city of Spokane (City), for allegedly violating the Washington public disclosure act (PDA). The trial court summarily dismissed the complaint, ruling the Association was not the functional equivalent of a government agency under Telford v. Thurston County Board of Commissioners, 95 Wn. App. 149, 974 P.2d 886 (1999). SRDF appeals the ruling and requests attorney fees. Because the Association does not come within the PDA definition of a public agency, and our Telford balancing reaches the same result as the trial court, we affirm and deny attorney fees.

Brown, J.

FACTS

¶2 In 1979, mainly to acquire federal block grants, the City approved the construction of the Association’s west central community center. An advisory committee recommended the center be operated by a neighborhood-based nonprofit corporation. Consistently, the City temporarily hired Donald S. Higgins as center manager until the Association was formally incorporated under Internal Revenue Code 503(c)(3) in 1980. Mr. Higgins has since served as the Association’s executive director at the pleasure of a private board of directors not connected to the City.

[605]*605¶3 The center was constructed on a City park and leased to the Association for $1 per year. The Association provides community programs and services, including the Women, Infant, and Children Nutrition Program; Head Start; Deaconess Women’s Clinic; Learning Skills Center; and before and after school programs. The City has no involvement in the day-to-day operations of the Association but does occasionally contract with the Association for community services. Most contracts contain an independent contractor clause stating the Association is an independent contractor and “not the agent or employee of the City.” Clerk’s Papers (CP) at 263, 271, 277.

f4 In 2003, Kathy Reid and SRDF unsuccessfully sought records from the Association and the City. SRDF then sued the Association and the City, alleging a PDA violation because the Association was the functional equivalent of a government agency subject to the PDA under Telford.

f 5 The parties filed cross-motions for summary judgment. Applying the Telford four-factor balancing test, the court held the Association was not the functional equivalent of a government agency and summarily dismissed SRDF’s complaint. SRDF appealed.

ANALYSIS

Public Disclosure Act Applicability

¶6 The issue is whether the trial court erred in granting the Association’s request for summary dismissal and concluding the PDA did not apply under the facts.

¶7 We review a summary judgment de novo, examining the record for any genuine material fact dispute. Lybbert v. Grant County, 141 Wn.2d 29, 34, 1 P.3d 1124 (2000). We engage in the same inquiry as the trial court, accepting the facts and all reasonable inferences from those facts in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Williamson, Inc. v. Calibre Homes, Inc., 147 Wn.2d 394, 398, 54 P.3d 1186 (2002).

[606]*606 ¶8 SRDF first contends since the Association is located on a City park, it is part of the City’s park department, a public agency. SRDF provides no reference to the record and no legal authority supporting its argument. See RAP 10.3(a)(5); see also State v. Johnston, 100 Wn. App. 126, 134, 996 P.2d 629 (2000) (issue is waived when party fails to provide legal support). SRDF does not provide reasoned argument connecting the Spokane Parks and Recreation Department and the Association. We disregard unsupported argumentative assertions and conclusory statements in a summary judgment proceeding. Sanders v. Woods, 121 Wn. App. 593, 601, 89 P.3d 312 (2004). Moreover, a tenant located in a publicly owned structure on public land does not automatically become a public agency. Tenants located on municipally owned industrial parks, even when occupying publicly owned structures, do not become public agencies. Therefore, we decline to analyze this contention further.

¶9 Next, based on Telford, SRDF contends the Association is the functional equivalent of a public agency and subject to the PDA. The PDA’s purpose is to require a state “agency” to make available for public inspection and copying all public records, unless the record falls within the enumerated exceptions. RCW 42.17.260(1). “The PDA ‘is a strongly worded mandate for broad disclosure of public records.’ ” Spokane Research & Def. Fund v. City of Spokane, 155 Wn.2d 89, 100, 117 P.3d 1117 (2005) (quoting Hearst Corp. v. Hoppe, 90 Wn.2d 123, 127, 580 P.2d 246 (1978)). The PDA is interpreted broadly, requiring agencies to give “the fullest assistance to inquirers and the most timely possible action on requests for information.” RCW 42.17.290.

¶10 The statutory meaning of “agency” depends on the context in which it is used, not merely the entity’s label. See Graham v. State Bar Ass’n, 86 Wn.2d 624, 626, 548 P.2d 310 (1976) (whether bar association is an “agency” within the meaning of auditing statutes depends on context and reference in state bar act, chapter 2.48 RCW). In [607]*607Telford, Division Two of this court analyzed whether two agencies, the Washington State Association of Counties (WSAC) and the Washington State Association of County Officials (WSACO), were subject to the PDA. Because the Telford court reasoned the statutory definition involved was ambiguous, the court adopted the functional equivalent test before deciding the two associations were public agencies subject to the PDA. Telford, 95 Wn. App. at 166.

¶ 11 The Association and the City argue Telford applies solely to the PDA public funding section, not the public documents section. But the Telford court relied on persuasive case law in both situations. Telford, 95 Wn. App. at 161-63; see, e.g., Pub. Citizen Health Research Group v. Dep’t of Health, Educ. & Welfare, 668 F.2d 537, 543-44 (1981) (functional equivalent test used in Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. § 552, context); Bd. of Trustees v. Freedom of Info. Comm’n, 181 Conn. 544, 436 A.2d 266, 270 (1980) (Connecticut Supreme Court adopted federal four-factor test for agency document disclosure requests); Marks v.

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Bluebook (online)
137 P.3d 120, 133 Wash. App. 602, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/spokane-research-defense-fund-v-west-central-community-development-assn-washctapp-2006.