Union Elevator & Warehouse Co. v. Department of Transportation

171 Wash. 2d 54
CourtWashington Supreme Court
DecidedFebruary 17, 2011
DocketNo. 83771-6
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 171 Wash. 2d 54 (Union Elevator & Warehouse Co. v. Department of Transportation) 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
Union Elevator & Warehouse Co. v. Department of Transportation, 171 Wash. 2d 54 (Wash. 2011).

Opinion

C. Johnson, J.

¶1 This case involves whether interest is allowable as part of an award of relocation assistance benefits under the relocation assistance — real property acquisition policy act (Relocation Act), chapter 8.26 RCW. Division Three of the Court of Appeals held that Union Elevator & Warehouse Company was entitled to interest on its award of relocation assistance benefits because the Relocation Act impliedly waived the State’s immunity from interest as part of the broad range of financial assistance available under the act. We hold that the Relocation Act cannot reasonably be construed to waive sovereign immunity for interest on relocation assistance awards and reverse the Court of Appeals.1

FACTS

¶2 During the 1990s, the Department of Transportation (DOT) undertook a project to redesign and upgrade State Route 395. As a result of the DOT’s project, Union Elevator lost feasible access to its grain elevator facility. In 1996, Union Elevator filed a complaint for inverse condemnation damages against the State. In January 2001, after Division Three of the Court of Appeals reversed summary judgment in the DOT’s favor and remanded for trial, Union Elevator & Warehouse Co. v. State, 96 Wn. App. 288, 980 P.2d 779 (1999) (Union Elevator I), a jury awarded Union Elevator condemnation damages.

¶3 During this time, Union Elevator built a replacement grain elevator at another location. This new grain elevator was structurally different than the grain elevator at Union Elevator’s original facility and required Union Elevator to purchase replacement equipment.

[58]*58¶4 In May 2001, after the conclusion of Union Elevator’s inverse condemnation action, Union Elevator submitted a claim to the DOT for relocation assistance benefits totaling nearly $337,000. The DOT denied the claim, contending that Union Elevator was not displaced. An administrative law judge (ALJ) disagreed, ruling that Union Elevator was entitled to relocation assistance. In April 2004, the DOT agreed to pay $62,000 of Union Elevator’s claim but rejected the $255,000 associated with purchasing replacement equipment to operate the new grain elevator. The DOT asserted that the equipment was a fixture of the original facility rather than Union Elevator’s personal, movable property.

¶5 In April 2004, the claim proceeded to an adjudicative hearing. The ALJ concluded that Union Elevator was entitled to reimbursement for the expenses associated with installing equipment at the replacement site. The DOT filed for review, and the director of the DOT’s environmental and engineering programs reversed the ALJ’s decision. Union Elevator then sought review, and the superior court affirmed the DOT’s final order.

¶6 In May 2008, seven years after Union Elevator initially filed a claim for relocation assistance benefits, Division Three of the Court of Appeals held that the expenses of relocating the equipment were compensable because the equipment was personal property. The Court of Appeals remanded to the superior court for a determination of damages. Union Elevator & Warehouse Co. v. State, 144 Wn. App. 593, 597,183 P.3d 1097 (2008) (Union Elevator II). On remand, Union Elevator requested seven years of interest on the award of relocation assistance. The superior court denied Union Elevator’s request.

¶7 On Union Elevator’s appeal, Division Three reversed the superior court and held that interest may accrue on relocation assistance awards. Union Elevator & Warehouse Co. v. State, 152 Wn. App. 199, 202, 215 P.3d 257 (2009) (Union Elevator III). In its reasoning, the appellate court “harmonized” the statutory provisions controlling awards of [59]*59interest in eminent domain actions, RCW 8.04.092 and RCW 8.28.040, with the statute authorizing relocation assistance benefits, RCW 8.26.035. Union Elevator III, 152 Wn. App. at 206-08. The Court of Appeals concluded that “the legislature considered [relocation] benefits part of the compensation and damages owed to a condemnee.” Union Elevator III, 152 Wn. App. at 208.

ISSUE

¶8 Whether Union Elevator is entitled, under the Relocation Act, chapter 8.26 RCW, to interest on its relocation assistance award.

ANALYSIS

¶9 The availability of statutory remedies is determined from the language utilized in the statutory scheme. As a general principle, under the doctrine of sovereign immunity, the State is not liable for interest on its obligations unless it has placed itself expressly, or by reasonable construction of a contract or statute, in a position of attendant liability. State v. Hallauer, 28 Wn. App. 453, 455, 624 P.2d 736 (1981); Architectural Woods, Inc. v. State, 92 Wn.2d 521, 526, 598 P.2d 1372 (1979). It is well established that the State has expressly waived immunity from interest in condemnation proceedings under RCW 8.04.092. See, e.g., Hallauer, 28 Wn. App. at 455. However, whether the State has waived immunity from interest under the Relocation Act is the question before us.

¶10 Whether the legislature has abrogated the DOT’s sovereign immunity by statute is a question of statutory interpretation, which we review de novo. See Locke v. City of Seattle, 162 Wn.2d 474, 480, 172 P.3d 705 (2007) (citing Berrocal v. Fernandez, 155 Wn.2d 585, 590; 121 P.3d 82 (2005)). Our primary duty in interpreting the relocation benefits statute, RCW 8.26.035, is to discern and implement the intent of the legislature. Nat’l Elec. Contractors Ass’n v. Riveland, 138 Wn.2d 9,19, 978 P.2d 481 (1999). [60]*60When analyzing statutory language our inquiry primarily focuses on the words used in the statute. The plain language of a statute may be determined “ ‘from all that the Legislature has said in the statute and related statutes which disclose legislative intent about the provision in question.’ ” State v. J.P., 149 Wn.2d 444, 450, 69 P.3d 318 (2003) (quoting Dep’t of Ecology v. Campbell & Gwinn, LLC, 146 Wn.2d 1, 11, 43 P.3d 4 (2002)). But if the plain language of the statute exhibits just one meaning, the legislative intent is apparent and we will not construe the statute otherwise. J.P., 149 Wn.2d at 450 (citing State v.

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171 Wash. 2d 54, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/union-elevator-warehouse-co-v-department-of-transportation-wash-2011.