Unger v. Cauchon

73 P.3d 1005
Court of Appeals of Washington·Decided July 28, 2003·No. 50379-1-I·Published·Cited by 15 cases

Opinion

73 P.3d 1005 (2003)

Connie UNGER, individually and as the Personal Representative of the Estate of Jeremy Unger, deceased; and James F. Unger, Appellants,
v.
Connie CAUCHON and John Doe Cauchon, husband and wife; Joey Cauchon, a single person, Defendants, and
Island County, Respondents.

No. 50379-1-I.

Court of Appeals of Washington, Division 1.

April 21, 2003.
Publication Ordered July 28, 2003.

*1006 Dominic L. Bacetich, Bacetich-Duffy Inc. P.S., Everett, WA, for Appellants.

Michael Patterson, Duncan K. Fobes, Lee Smart Cook et al, Seattle, WA, for Respondents.

AGID, J.

Connie and James Unger appeal the superior court's decision in a wrongful death action denying a motion for change of venue under RCW 4.12.030 and holding as a matter of law that Island County owed no duty to their son, the decedent, because he was driving recklessly. We affirm the trial court's denial of the motion for change of venue, but we reverse summary judgment and remand for trial because there is a genuine issue of material fact that should be decided by a jury.

FACTS

On January 2, 1997, Jeremy Unger died from injuries sustained in a single car accident on Camano Island. Before his death, he was dating Christine Cauchon, who ran away from home about a month before the accident occurred.[1] On the evening of December 31, 1996, Connie Cauchon, Christine's mother, saw Jeremy getting into his Jeep with a girl she believed was her daughter. The Cauchons pursued the Jeep for several minutes, during which Unger was traveling in excess of the posted speed, running red lights, and swerving erratically around other vehicles. After losing the vehicle, Connie telephoned her son, Joey, at home and told him to go to the entrance of Camano Island where she believed Unger was headed to wait for Unger's Jeep. She instructed him to follow Unger and find out if Christine was in the car. While Joey and his girlfriend waited at the marina, Unger passed by in his *1007 Jeep and saw him. Unger sped up, and Joey followed him. The pursuit began on State Road 532, to Cross-Island Road, then onto Camano Ridge Road. It lasted about 30 minutes and involved high rates of speed, swerving, crossing center lines, and turning headlights on and off. The weather that evening was severe. It was raining and reports indicated alert conditions for slides as rising temperatures melted a heavy snowfall that occurred on December 26-27, 1996. Island County declared a state of emergency on December 29, 1996, because of the weather conditions. It urged motorists "to be especially cautious of standing water in the roadways [and warned that the] [t]reacherous driving conditions include[d] snow, ice and slush." On December 31, 1996, it released a media advisory:

Heavy rains and snowmelt in Island County have resulted in several small-scale slides on Whidbey and Camano Islands. Some unstable bluffs or hillsides have slid, causing damage to primarily empty structures or vehicles; some roadways may be partially blocked.
... Standing water or overflowing roadside ditches may impact vehicular traffic. Major roads are open.

. . . .

Media advisories will be forthcoming as the situation changes.

Jeremy Unger successfully "lost" Joey several minutes before the accident on Camano Ridge Road. Unger's single-car accident occurred on a different road, called Camano Hill Road. There were no witnesses to the accident. Unger was injured and airlifted to Harborview Medical Center. He died two days later from his injuries.

The Ungers brought a wrongful death action against Connie and James Cauchon, Joey Cauchon, and Island County. The action against the Cauchons was dismissed with prejudice by stipulation on June 7, 2001. On March 5, 2001, the Ungers brought a motion to change venue, arguing they could not receive a fair and unbiased trial in Island County due to adverse publicity, most of the witnesses to the action lived in Snohomish County, and the ends of justice would be ill served by Island County, which has an apparent conflict of interest. The trial court denied the motion on March 16, 2001. On March 29, 2002, after hearing argument from both parties, the trial court granted Island County's motion for summary judgment, concluding that the defendant was driving recklessly and "the county had no duty to foresee and protect [the decedent] against his extreme reckless driving."

ANALYSIS

I. Change of Venue

A trial court may transfer a case to a different county when it appears by affidavit or other satisfactory proof "[t]hat there is reason to believe that an impartial trial cannot be had therein[,]"[2] and when "the convenience of witnesses or the ends of justice would be forwarded by the change."[3] This court reviews a venue decision for manifest abuse of discretion.[4] An abuse of discretion occurs when no reasonable person would adopt the trial court's position.[5] Due process requires that a trial court grant a motion to change venue when a probability of prejudice to the defendant is shown.[6] The court must consider these nine factors to determine whether a change of venue is proper:

(1) the inflammatory or noninflammatory nature of the publicity; (2) the degree to which the publicity was circulated throughout the community; (3) the length of time elapsed from the dissemination of the publicity to the date of trial; (4) the care exercised and the difficulty encountered in the selection of the jury; (5) the familiarity *1008 of the prospective or trial jurors with the publicity and the resultant effect upon them; (6) the challenges exercised by the defendant in selecting the jury, both peremptory and for cause; (7) the connection of government officials with the release of the publicity; (8) the severity of the charge; and (9) the size of the area from which the venire is drawn.[7]

The Ungers argue that the trial court abused its discretion by refusing to grant its motion under RCW 4.12.030(2) and RCW 4.12.030(3) because the newspaper articles about the accident are inflammatory and prejudicial, providing reason to believe that the Ungers could not receive an impartial trial in Island County, a change in location would be more convenient for witnesses,[8] and the ends of justice are best served by trying the case in a county that is not a party to the action. The County contends that the Ungers failed to provide any evidence supporting the State v. Boot[9] factors or their contention that witnesses would be inconvenienced by the Island County location. We agree with the County for two reasons.

First, the trial court did not abuse its discretion by denying the motion for change of venue under RCW 4.12.030(3).[10] The Ungers claim that it would be more convenient for the witnesses and the attorneys to hold the trial in Snohomish County, and Snohomish County does not have the apparent conflict of interest that an Island County Superior Court does.

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

Unger v. Cauchon, 73 P.3d 1005 (Wash. Ct. App. 2003).

73 P.3d 1005 (Unger v. Cauchon) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Diana Akopyan, Et Ano, V. City Of Shoreline
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2026
Franchesca Paola Cornelio Cuevas, V. Musah Koram Ali
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2025
Joe Patrick Flarity, V. Argonaut Insurance Company
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2023
Stacy L. Jones, V. Manuel E. Bolivar
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2022
Christopher E. Larson, Et Ano., V. Snohomish County
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2021
Christopher E. Larson, Et Ano, V. New Century Mortgage
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2021
Madelynn M. Tapken v. Spokane County
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2019
Lm, Gal W Dussault, V Laura Hamilton
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2017
Cho v. City of Seattle
341 P.3d 309 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2014)
Lowman v. Wilbur
309 P.3d 387 (Washington Supreme Court, 2013)
Sicor, Inc. v. Sacks
266 P.3d 618 (Nevada Supreme Court, 2011)
Sicor, Inc. v. Hutchison
266 P.3d 608 (Nevada Supreme Court, 2011)
HOUSING AUTHORITY CITY OF PASCO AND FRANKLIN CTY. v. Pleasant
109 P.3d 422 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2005)
Housing Authority v. Pleasant
126 Wash. App. 382 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2005)