State ex rel. Marshall v. Superior Court

206 P. 362, 119 Wash. 631, 1922 Wash. LEXIS 840
CourtWashington Supreme Court
DecidedApril 21, 1922
DocketNo. 17163
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 206 P. 362 (State ex rel. Marshall v. Superior Court) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Washington Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State ex rel. Marshall v. Superior Court, 206 P. 362, 119 Wash. 631, 1922 Wash. LEXIS 840 (Wash. 1922).

Opinion

Parker, C. J.

— The relator, Jessie S. Marshall, seeks by this certiorari proceeding a review and reversal of [632]*632an order of the superior court for Snohomish county refusing to award her a temporary injunction. Review of the order is so sought because, as it is claimed, there is no other adequate remedy available to her; in that the superior court erroneously refused to make a finding of insolvency of the parties against whom a temporary injunction is sought, thus depriving her of the right of appeal from the order, under subd. 3 of §1716, Rem. Code (P. 0. §7290), until such finding be made; and in that, even though such finding be made so as to render the order appealable, her threatened property rights will be so completely invaded before final disposition of an appeal in due course as to render the fruits of her litigation of no avail to her. The answer and return made in response to the writ issued by this court is quite full and complete, consisting of all the records and files of the injunction suit in the superior court, including all of the evidence introduced therein up to the time of the making of the order here sought to be reviewed. The facts may be summarized as follows:

On March 8,1922, relator commenced in the superior court for Snohomish county her suit seeking an injunction restraining the city of Everett, N. E. Butts, its building inspector, and W. A. Taro, chief of its fire department, from proceeding to 'destroy her certain wooden store building, situated, we assume for present purposes, within the fire limits of the city. A temporary restraining order was on that day issued in the action, ex parte, restraining the defendants from proceeding with their threatened destruction of the building, pending relator’s application for a temporary injunction to further restrain the destruction of the building until the whole case could be finally disposed of. The application came on regularly for hearing on March 22, 1922, when, upon the record and files, and [633]*633the evidence then introduced in the form of numerous affidavits, the court refused to award a temporary injunction pending the final disposition of the case. Thereupon counsel for relator requested the court to find

“ (1) The above named defendants, N. E. Butts and W. A. Taro and each of them are married and that neither of them have any property or income which is not community.
“ (2) The above named defendants, N. E. Butts and W. A. Taro and each of them are insolvent in the respective capacities in which this action is brought.”

This request was by the court refused, the court making no findings whatever upon the subject of insolvency. This disposition of the application for a temporary injunction resulted in the rendering of the temporary restraining order no longer in force. Thereupon this certiorari proceeding was commenced, and relator’s claimed rights were held in statu quo by an appropriate order of this court in connection with the issuance of the writ, which brings the order refusing the temporary injunction here for review.

The threatened destruction of the building is sought to be justified by the defendants Butts and Taro by virtue of their decision and notice given in pursuance thereof, under the provisions of an ordinance of the city of Everett reading in part as follows:

“No frame or wooden building within the Fire Limits that has become injured by wear and tear, or the action of the elements or fire shall be repaired when such injury is more than 30% of its actual value as decided by the Building Inspector and the Chief of the Fire Department, and upon notice from the Building Inspector such building shall be demolished within thirty days. . . ” (Ordinance No. 1,260, § 171.)

On the hearing of the application for a temporary injunction, a number of affidavits were read — all of the [634]*634evidence consisting of affidavits — touching the condition of the building, more particularly the question of its decrease in value more than thirty per cent. These affidavits present a fairly debatable question as to whether or not the building has depreciated more than thirty per cent of its actual value. It seems plain that the depreciation of the value of the building, in any event, is not the result of fire or other sudden cause, but is only the result of age #nd want of keeping it in repair. So the defendants’ threat of destruction of the building is not prompted by any urgent necessity in the sense of such-necessity being of a sudden creation. Touching the question of the insolvency of the defendants Butts and Taro, the only evidence introduced upon the hearing of the application for a temporary injunction was the following affidavit:

“ J. H. Requa, being first duly sworn, upon his oath deposes and says; that I am over the age of twenty-one years and a resident of the city of Everett, Snohomish county, Washington; that the above named defendants, N. E. Butts and W. A. Taro, are each of them a married man and the head of a family; that affiant is informed and believes that neither of said defendants has any separate property or assets of any kind or nature and that the only property held or owned by either of said defendants is community property and as such not subject to execution upon judgment for tort.”

It does not seem to be seriously contended that relator does not have the right to have the order refusing a temporary injunction reviewed and corrected, if erroneous, by this certiorari proceeding; if such order is reviewable at all in this court. Indeed, we think there would be no sound ground to rest such contention upon, in view of the fact that the threatened destruction of the building will almost surely be consummated before the final disposition of the case upon the merits in the [635]*635superior court; at least nothing hut a temporary injunction, apart from the interference of this court, would prevent the defendants from carrying out their threat pending the disposition of the case upon the merits in the superior court. We therefore conclude that relator has a right to invoke this remedy for review of the order refusing a temporary injunction, since appeal would he an inadequate remedy, assuming that she has the right of appeal.

It is argued, however, that relator does not have the right of appeal, or other review, in this court, of the order refusing a temporary injunction, because the trial court did not find that the defendants Butts and Taro were insolvent; counsel for the defendants invoking the provisions of Rem. Code, § 1716, reading in part as follows:

“Any party aggrieved may appeal to the supreme court in the mode prescribed in this title from any and every of the following determinations, and no others, made by the superior court, or a judge thereof, in any action or proceeding. ...
“ (3) From an order granting or denying a motion for a temporary injunction, heard upon notice to the adverse party, and from any order vacating or refusing to vacate a temporary injunction: Provided, that no appeal shall be allowed from any order denying a motion for a temporary injunction, or vacating a temporary injunction unless the judge of the superior court shall have found upon the hearing, that the party against whom the injunction was sought was insolvent. ’ ’

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
206 P. 362, 119 Wash. 631, 1922 Wash. LEXIS 840, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-ex-rel-marshall-v-superior-court-wash-1922.