 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Christensen v. Atlantic Richfield Co.11/15/2005
Eric Christensen and others with property damage and personal injury claims against Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO) appeal the trial court's denial of their motion to transfer their individual claims to arbitration under chapter 7.06 RCW and MAR 1.2. Because not all the claimants in the group waived their claims to money damages over $35,000, we affirm.
FACTS
This is one of seven lawsuits filed against ARCO, alleging damages from the use of home heating oil ARCO supplied to consumers. The lawsuits, containing 769 plaintiffs, were consolidated into one department of the Pierce County Superior Court.
The court decided to conduct jury trials of the claims of randomly selected plaintiffs. The first group of plaintiffs all settled before trial. The second group went to trial, resulting in a verdict for the defendants. In both of these groups, some plaintiffs moved for transfer to mandatory arbitration, and the trial court denied their motions. The decisions on arbitration were not separately appealed.
A third group of plaintiffs sought discretionary review of the trial court's refusal to order mandatory arbitration, but all the plaintiffs in this group settled with ARCO before we heard the appeal.
Eric Christensen, et al., are members of the fourth group of plaintiffs. Twenty-two of twenty-seven plaintiffs in the fourth group have waived their claim to damages in excess of $35,000. These twenty-two plaintiffs moved for transfer of their claims against ARCO to mandatory arbitration. The court denied their motion. Upon denial of the motion to transfer, some of these plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed their claims. The remaining plaintiffs appeal the denial of their motion to transfer (now the Christensen group).
ANALYSIS
The Christensen group argues that because they waived damages in excess of $35,000, the trial court erred when it denied transfer of their claims to mandatory arbitration. In contrast, ARCO argues that the individual claims of the parties who waived damages exceeding $35,000 are not eligible for mandatory arbitration because not all plaintiffs to the action so waived.
The meaning of a statute is a question of law we review de novo. Dep't of Labor and Indus. v. Gongyin, 154 Wn.2d 38, 44, 109 P.3d 816 (2005) (citing King County v. Cent. Puget Sound Growth Mgmt. Hearings Bd., 142 Wn.2d 543, 555, 14 P.3d 133 (2000)). Through statutory interpretation, we attempt to give effect to the legislature's intent and purpose. Gongyin, 154 Wn.2d at 44 (citing Am. Cont'l Ins. Co. v. Steen, 151 Wn.2d 512, 518, 91 P.3d 864 (2004)). To achieve this goal, we consider the statute as a whole, give effect to the statutory language, and compare related statutes. See Gongyin, 154 Wn.2d at 45 (citing State v. Campbell & Gwinn, 146 Wn.2d 1, 11, 43 P.3d 4 (2002)).
Similarly, we interpret mandatory arbitration rules consistent with their purpose. Wiley v. Rehak, 143 Wn.2d 339, 343, 20 P.3d 404 (2001) (citing State v. Wittenbarger, 124 Wn.2d 467, 484, 880 P.2d 517 (1994)). We review a court's application of the mandatory arbitration rules de novo. Rehak, 143 Wn.2d at 343 (citing Mee Soon Kim v. Pham, 95 Wn. App. 439, 441, 975 P.2d 544 (1999)).
Under RCW 7.06.020(1), All civil actions, except for appeals from municipal or district courts, which are at issue in the superior court in counties which have authorized arbitration, where the sole relief sought is a money judgment, and where no party asserts a claim in excess of fifteen thousand dollars, or if approved by the superior court of a county by two-thirds or greater vote of the judges thereof, up to thirty-five thousand dollars, exclus
Page 1 2 3 Washington Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
By using the system, you agree to TERMS OF SERVICE
|