# Appendix — City of Seattle v. Robinson

> Briefs, arguments, decisions, and more.

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/documents/brief%3Amicro_IA40386011_1318%3A2

## Record

- **Collection:** Supreme Court brief
- **Document type:** Appendix
- **Published:** January 1, 1992
- **Citation:** 506 U.S. 1028

## Text

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Supreme Court of the Anited States

OCTOBER TERM, 1992

THE CITY OF SEATTLE, WILLIAM JUSTEN and JANE DOE
JUSTEN, BEATRICE RYAN and JOHN DOE RYAN, HOLLY
MILLER and JOHN GAYMAN, and OvID THOMPSON,
Petitioners,
V.

Roy W. and KATHLEEN ROBINSON, individually and as
partners d/b/a COMPUTER SLIDE COMPANY, and that class of
persons and entities similarly situated,

Respondents.

THE CITY OF SEATTLE, HOLLY MILLER and JOHN GAYMAN,
Ovip THOMPSON, DAVID MOSELEY and JANE DOE MOSELEY,
BEATRICE RYAN and JOHN DOE RYAN,

Petitioners,

V.

SINTRA, INC., KEITH H. HAMACK and Patty L. HAMACK,
ARTHUR M. STANLEY and SUSAN S. STANLEY,
Respondents.

Petition for a Writ of Certiorari to the
Supreme Court of the State of Washington

APPENDIX

MARK H. SIDRAN, Louis R. COHEN,

City Attorney Counsel of Record
HUGH R. TOBIN, LAURA B. AHEARN

Assistant City Attorney WILMER, CUTLER & PICKERING
SANDRA M. WATSON, 2445 M. Street, N.W.

Assistant City Attorney Washington, D.C. 20037-1420
1000 Municipal Building (202) 663-6000

600 Fourth Avenue
Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 684-8200

_ ao AR ARERR Sa ABI ere YSNE NAS AE NS wa ne
PRESS OF BYRON S. ADAMS, WASHINGTON, D.C. (202) 347-8203

Counsel for Petitioners

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Robinson v. Seattle

Opinion of the Supreme Court of Washington (May
iia IED sniasithioiiploncitunllnhycheetiaacenstnkiahabanitenaibieusdaienkan

Order Consolidating Appeals of the Supreme Court
of Washington (February 4, 1991) ............

Plaintiffs’ Notice of Appeal to State Supreme Court
DEER ee

Defendant’s Notice of Appeal to State Supreme
RS NT, BI seesteanininsctitirnstnnsiantiinineeinne

Final Judgment of the Superior Court of the State
of Washington (February 28, 1990) ...........00...

Order Granting Partial! Summary Judgment Award-
ing Refunds of the Superior Court of the State
of Washington (January 30, 1990) .............

Order Granting Partial Summary Judgment Dis-
missing § 1983 Liability of the Superior Court
of the State of Washington (May 1, 1989) ....

Order Granting Partial Summary Judgment Dis-
missing § 1983 Claims Against Individual
Defendants of the Superior Court of the State
of Washington (March 30, 1989) ............

Order Denying Motion for Reconsideration of the
Supreme Court of the State of Washington
SO Wi SEIU ascitic adslcnienininausdcsiseensbvsoiesenens

Mandate of the Supreme Court of the State of
Washington (June 18, 1992) .......... eee eeeeeeeeeeeee

Sintra v. Seattle

Opinion of the Supreme Court of Washington (May
ik, | IED talictietdpeavicsaidiusnaicaasapuaaeseminmannenensinnilens

Letter Accepting Review by the Supreme Court of
Washington (February 4, 1991) 0...

Notice of Appeal to Washington State Supreme
Court (March 16, 1990) ...........cceeesescccceeeeeseee

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53a

54a

55a

57a

59a

62a

66a

67a

69a

97a

ii

Order Granting Defendants’ Motion for Summary
Judgment of the Superior Court of the State
of Washington (February 28, 1990) ......... agen 100a

Order Denying Motion for Reconsideration of the
Supreme Court of Washington (June 17,

BOD) x .cvsers:ssecevecssssicunepieleiionetaineaannaneneeacseresers 102a
Mandate of the Supreme Court of Washington (June
18, 2OGE) .ncissisensiereisseneeiensemenananests 103a

Trial Court Decisions in Other Cases

Order Granting Motion for Summary Judgment,
Declaratory Judgment and Injunctive Relief of
the Superior Court of the State of Washington
in San Telmo Associates v. City of Seattle, No.
83-2-06176-8 (October 13, 1983) ....... eee 105a

Order Granting Summary Judgment and Declara-
tory and Injunctive Relief of the Superior Court
of the State of Washington in San Telmo As-
sociates v. City of Seattle, No. 85-2-13092-8
CFraky 16, BOR) scccicicccscciseecnnasensetatnnienaeriassss 108a

Order Granting Partial Summary Judgment and
Declaratory and Injunctive Relief of the Su-
perior Court of the State of Washington in R/

L Associates v. City of Seattle, No. 86-2-20459-
S (Phecneed TF, RID. vecsvancauncaicnecbsesienseves llla

Judgment of Contempt of the Superior Court of
the State of Washington in R/L Associates v.
City of Seattle, No. 86-2-20459-8 (March 9,
RUE) cusnercsesecenninenseseane piesa Geena aman aTeDN 1l4a

Ordinances
City of Seattle Ordinance 112342 (July 19, 1985). 116a

City of Seattle Ordinance 109220 (July 24, 1980). 1386a
Seattle Municipal Code § 3.06.050 .......... eee 148a

la

SUPREME COURT OF WASHINGTON

No. 57038-8

ROY W. ROBINSON, ET AL,

Appellants,
v.
THE CITY OF SEATTLE, ET AL,
Respondents.
EN BANC

MAY 14, 1992

Guy, J. — Plaintiffs appeal from a dismissal of their class
action. Roy and Kathleen Robinson and that class of per-
sons similarly situated seek reversal of a trial court's rul-
ings which dismissed their civil rights actions against the
City of Seattle and individual officials, applied a 3-year
statute of limitation to their claims for refunds of payments
they made under the City of Seattle's Housing Preservation
Ordinance and denied their request for reasonable attorney
fees. The City of Seattle (City) cross-appeals, arguing the
trial court erred in awarding the partial refund. We will
refer to the class in this action as the Robinsons.

FActs
Background

The Robinsons’ appeal comes to this court following two
decisions of this court which held invalid both sections of
the City's Housing Preservation Ordinance (HPO).' By the
time of this court's decisions upholding invalidation of the
HPO, the Robinsons had paid substantial sums to the City
under the ordinance.

The Housing Preservation Ordinance, former Seattle
Municipal Code (SMC) 22.210, was originally enacted in

'RIL Assocs., Inc. v. Seattle, 113 Wn.2d 402, 780 P.2d 838 (1989): San Telmo
Assocs. v. Seattle, 108 Wn.2d 20, 735 P.2d 673 (1987).

2a

1980. Its stated purpose was to mitigate the loss of low
income housing in the city caused by demolition for develop-
ment and to reduce the hardships experienced by displaced
tenants. Former SMC 22.210.020. With some exceptions,
the original version of the ordinance (HPO-1) required that
before a change of use or demolition of housing units could
occur, a housing-demolition license fee had to be paid to the
City in an amount prorated to the number of units to be
demolished, with the fee to be used for building and
rehabilitation of low income housing. In its provisions for
the protection of low income tenants the ordinance addition-
ally required that tenants be given a 120-day notice of an
intended demolition, and that low income tenants be either
relocated or, at the option of the landlord, paid up to $1,000
per family in relocation assistance.

Approximately 2 years after the passage of the City's
HPO-1, the State Legislature amended RCW 82.02.020 to
provide in part that "“[n]o county, city, town, or other
municipal corporation shall impose any tax, fee, or charge,
either direct or indirect, on the construction or reconstruc-
tion of residential buildings . . . or on the development,
subdivision, classification, or reclassification of land.” See
Laws of 1982, Ist Ex. Sess., ch. 49, § 5. Later that same
year this court, without reference to RCW 82.02.020, invali-
dated two county ordinances which imposed fees on new
residential developments as offsets to increased service
costs and for the construction of park land. Hillis Homes,
Inc. v. Snohomish Cy., 97 Wn.2d 804, 650 P.2d 193 (1982).
This court in Hillis Homes held the development fees were
invalid taxes (because their primary purpose was to raise
money since the fees were fiscal and not regulatory), and
thus held the ordinances requiring the fees invalid as there
was no express authority permitting such taxes. After the
Hillis Homes decision, the Seattle city attorney determined
that neither Hillis Homes nor RCW 82.02.020 invalidated
HPO-1. The city attorney reasoned that HPO-1 was a
regulatory enactment and a demolition fee, not a develop-

3a

ment fee, and advised the Department of Construction and
Land Use (the Department) to continue enforcement.

In October 1983, the King County Superior Court granted
San Telmo Associates a declaratory judgment, ruling the
HPO-1 housing replacement fee provision an invalid tax
prohibited by RCW 82.02.020, and awarded San Telmo, its
heirs and assigns an injunction against the City's enforce-
ment of HPO-1. The city attorney advised the Department
that the superior court ruling was erroneous. The city attor-
ney also indicated that because it was a limited ruling,
applying only to San Telmo, the City would not appeal as it
planned to redraft HPO-1. The city attorney advised the
Department that HPO-1 was enforceable against nonparties
to the action.” The City did not appeal, complied with the
injunction vis-a-vis San Telmo Associates while continuing
to enforce the ordinance against all others similarly situ-
ated, and later began redrafting the HPO.

A new draft of HPO-1 was completed by a task force in
spring 1984. The new draft was presented to the City Coun-
cil in September 1984. In July 1985, the City repealed
HPO-1 and enacted a new version of the HPO, which we
shall call HPO-2. HPO-2 had the same purpose as HPO-1
but did not require payments to the City. Instead, it
required owners to replace a percentage of the housing
demolished, with the option that a landowner could make a
payment to the City rather than build replacement housing.
Significantly, HPO-2 added an administrative relief provi-
sion which exempted owners from the replacement housing
requirements if compliance would deprive the owners of all
economically viable use of the property. HPO-2 still
included, as did HPO-1, tenant notice and relocation
assistance provisions.

After the City enacted HPO-2, San Telmo Associates
again filed suit challenging the housing replacement pro-
visions. In July 1986, the King County Superior Court
declared the housing replacement provision an unauth-’
orized tax or fee, and granted an injunction. The city

“We note that the city attorneys involved in this appeal are not the attorneys
who provided the legal advice mentioned in this opinion.

a

4a

attorney concluded the superior court's decision was in
error, would be reversed on appeal, and advised the Depart-
ment the City was appealing the ruling to the Supreme
Court. The City was also advised to continue enforcement
against nonparties to San Telmo's action, based on the
reasoning that the superior court ruling affected only par-
ties to the suit. The Department continued enforcement
except against San Telmo.

In April 1987, this court held the housing replacement
provisions of HPO-2 invalid as an unauthorized tax under
RCW 82.02.020. San Telmo Assocs. v. Seattle, 108 Wn.2d 20,
735 P.2d 673 (1987). This court noted that HPO-2 differed
matenally from HPO-1:

There is no indication that the City attempted to adopt the
second ordinance merely to avoid the trial court order invali-
dating the first ordinance; rather, the second ordinance was
specifically enacted with changes designed to cure the defects
in the original ordinance.

San Telmo, at 23. The San Telmo decision did not reach any
constitutional claims or federal statutory claims and did not
address the validity of the tenant relocation assistance pro-
visions of HPO-2.

After this court's San Telmo decision, the city attorney
advised the Department to stop enforcement of HPO-
2's housing replacement provisions. The Department was
advised, however, that it could continue enforcement of
HPO-2's remaining tenant relocation assistance provisions.

In December 1987, the Kir.g County Superior Court held
HPO-2's tenant relocation assistance provisions were an
unauthorized tax in violation of RCW 82.02.020, as well as
a violation of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments, and of
article 1, sections 3 and 16 of the Washington Constitution.
The court granted R/L Associates an injunction against
enforcement of the tenant relocation assistance provisions.
The City appealed.

In the interim, the city attorney informed the Depart-
ment of the superior court decision granting an injunction

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to R/L Associates, its heirs and assigns. The Department
was advised that since the order was restricted to the par-
ties, the Department must stop enforcement vis-a-vis R/L
Associates, but could continue enforcement against nonpar-
ties. The City issued a news release stating it would con-
tinue enforcement of the tenant relocation assistance
provisions of HPO-2 against all but R/L Associates.

In March 1988, R/L Associates obtained a contempt judg-
ment against the City, Holly Miller (the director of the
Department), and HPO administrator Ovid Thompson for
continued enforcement of the tenant relocation assistance
provisions of HPO-2, as it constituted a failure to comply
with the permanent injunction awarded R/L Associates. The
Department then stopped enforcement of the relocation
assistance provisions of HPO-2.

In the City's appeal of the R/L Associates decision, this
court held that the tenant relocation assistance provisions
of HPO-2 violated RCW 82.02.020, but did not hold HPO-2
to be a tax. R/L Assocs., Inc. v. Seattle, 113 Wn.2d 402, 780
P.2d 838 (1989). For the City's noncompliance with the
superior court injunction against continued enforcement of
invalidated HPO provisions, this court upheld the contempt
judgment against the City. This court declined to reach the
taking issue raised by the plaintiffs in R/L Assocs., and
reversed the trial court's ruling that enforcement of HPO-2
violated substantive due process, as the plaintiffs had made
"no allegation of irrational, or arbitrary or capricious con-
duct on the part of the City in its denial of [the] demolition
license.” R/L Assocs., at 412.

Procedural History

On May 27, 1988, Roy and Kathleen Robinson, on behalf
of themselves and the class of persons who paid demolition
license fees or tenant relocation assistance pursuant to
either HPO-1 or HPO-2, filed this action against the City
and four individual employees: William Justen, Beatrice
Ryan, and Holly Miller, all successive directors of the
Department during the time the HPO was effective; and

eerie eile

6a

Ovid Thompson, the official responsible for the administra-
tion of the HPO. The complaint sought compensatory and
punitive damages for enforcement of the tenant relocation
assistance and housing replacement/fee provisions of HPO-1
and HPO-2, claiming the City "maliciously, recklessly and/or
wantonly” violated the constitutional mghts of the Robin-
sons and the class by “willfully” enforcing an unconstitu-
tional ordinance. The class was certified. The individual
defendants moved for summary judgment to dismiss the
claims against them on the basis of qualified immunity. The
Robinsons moved to strike the defendants’ qualified immu-
nity defenses and claimed the City was liable for damages
under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The City moved to dismiss the
section 1983 claims. On March 30, 1989, the King County
Superior Court granted the individual defendants’ motion to
dismiss the personal liability claims. On May 1, 1989, the
court granted the City's cross motion for summary judg-
ment dismissing the section 1983 civil rights claims.

On January 30, 1990, the trial court entered a partial
summary judgment order, applying a 3-year statute of limi-
tation, holding the City liable for sums paid by the Robin-
sons within 3 years of the filing of the lawsuit. The parties
stipulated to factual issues remaining for trial and waived
jury tral. The City submits it offered to settle this action
for $422,761.12 at this time and that this offer was rejected.
The Robinsons dispute the timeliness of this offer.

On February 28, 1990, the Superior Court awarded the
Robinsons $430,271.47, costs and statutory attorney fees of
$125. The court denied Robinsons’ renewed motion for attor-
ney fees on March 21, 1990.

This action is an appeal from the February 28, 1990, final
judgment and the March 21, 1990, superior court order
denying attorney fees. The City cross-appeals the final judg-
ment and the January 30, 1990, summary judgment order
holding the City liable for refunds. The appeal of the order
dismissing the Robinsons’ action against the individual city
officials has been consolidated.

ISSUES

The following issues are presented:

First: Did the trial court err when it dismissed the Robin-
sons civil rights claims against the City of Seattle?

SECOND: Did the trial court err when it dismissed the
plaintiffs’ civil rights claim against the individual city offi-
cials?

THIRD: Did the trial court err when it awarded a refund
for payments made pursuant to the Housing Preservation
Ordinance, which has been invalidated? (Cross appeal of
City).

Fourtu: If any refunds were proper, did the trial court err
when it applied a 3-year statute of limitation to the plain-
tiffs’ claims?

FiFTH: Did the trial court err in denying the attorney fee
requests of the Robinsons?

ANALYSIS

This case, as well as that of Sintra, Inc. v. Seattle, 119
Wn.2d 1, __ P.2d __ (1992), involves a claim against the
City of Seattle and its officials under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The
gravamen of such a claim is that a person acting under the
color of state law has deprived a person of a federal right.

Resolution of the civil rights claims in this appeal
requires us to address the much-debated power of govern-
ment to interfere with the free enjoyment of privately
owned property. The commentary on this area indicates this
has been a particularly difficult area of law. See Settle,
Regulatory Taking Doctrine in Washington: Now You See It,
Now You Don't, 12 U. Puget Sound L. Rev. 339 (1989);
Comment, Taking Issue With Takings: Has the Washington
State Supreme Court Gone Too Far?, 66 Wash. L. Rev. 545
(1991). This court's recent opinions in Orion Corp. v. State,
109 Wn.2d 621, 747 P.2d 1062 (1987) (Orion 1), cert. denied,
486 U.S. 1022 (1988); and Presbytery of Seattle v. King Cy.,
114 Wn.2d 320, 787 P.2d 907, cert. denied, 112 L. Ed. 2d 238
(1990) have formulated a comprehensive state “regulatory
takings” doctrine. Thus, this State's current rule on the law

8a

of inverse condemnation has only recently taken shape, and
both this case and that of Sintra, Inc. v. Seattle, supra, are
opportunities for this court to apply recently adopted anal-
ysis.

In this case, the Robinsons allege the City's Housing
Preservation Ordinance took private property without just
compensation, and that enforcement of the Housing Preser-
vation Ordinance violated their substantive due process
rights. Since our treatment of the several issues on appeal
is dependent upon a determination of whether these federal
constitutional mghts were violated, we address first the
issues of the alleged taking and claimed substantive due
process violation. The Robinsons’ claims require an analysis
of when, under state law, a substantive due process remedy
and a takings remedy are available when land use regula-
tions are alleged to be excessive. (This is so because in some
instances the availability of relief under state law bears
upon the accrual of a federal cause of action.) Our state law
inquiry is controlled by this court's decision in Presbytery of
Seattle v. King Cy., supra. In Presbytery, we held the plain-
tiff had not satisfied exhaustion requirements before bring-
ing an action, and thus this court did not have occasion to
apply the test delineated in its decision.

After addressing the contended violations of constitu-
tional nghts under the Presbytery decision, we will address,
in order, the propriety of the trial court's dismissal of the
Robinsons civil mghts actions against the City and the
individual officials, the refunds of payments to the Robin-
sons, the applicable limitation period for this type of action,
and the claim for attorney fees against the City. Like
handling fly paper, it is difficult to put down one piece of
this review when picking up the next. Evaluation of one
subject in this case impacts another issue that in turn
raises another for evaluation and decision. For clarity in
this involved opinion, we set forth the areas of law dis-
cussed separately, although they are interrelated.

ee

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Presbytery Analysis

(1, 2] Under our state regulatory takings jurisprudence,
when a regulation results in a taking, the remedy is just
compensation; and when the regulation violates substantive
due process, the remedy is invalidation of the regulation.
Presbytery, 114 Wn.2d at 331-32."

However, we note that although under Washington law
the remedy for claims that an ordinance violates substan-
tive due process is invalidation, under certain circum-
stances a substantive due process claim for damages may
still be lodged under federal law in state court through the
state court's concurrent jurisdiction in section 1983 cases.
See generally Bley, Use of the Civil Rights Acts To Recover
Money Damages for the Overregulation of Land, 14 Urb.
Law. 223 (1982); Regulating the Timing of Development:
Takings Clause and Substantive Due Process Challenges to
Growth Control Regulations, 24 Loy. L.A.L. Rev. 1205
(1990-1991); 1 S. Steinglass, Section 1983 Litigation in
State Courts § 3.4 (Release 5 1990).

A. Threshold Inquiry.

{3] Under this court's decision in Presbytery, a land use
regulation may be challenged either as an unconstitutional
taking without just compensation or as a violation of sub-
stantive due process. 114 Wn.2d at 329. To determine
whether a takings analysis is available, the first step is a
threshold inquiry. This inquiry asks first whether the
challenged regulation protects the public interest in health,
safety, the environment or fiscal integrity. We contrast such
police power regulation with a regulation that seeks less to
prevent a harm than to impose on those regulated the
requirement of providing an affirmative public benefit. Pres-
bytery, at 329. Second, we ask whether the regulation
destroys or derogates any fundamental attribute of owner-
ship: the rights to possess exclusively, to exclude others, and

‘For clarity, we analyze these theories of relief separately: "These two con-
stitutional theories are alternatives in cases where overly severe land use regu-
lations are alleged. It is critical that these two grounds be separately considered
and independently analyzed because the remedies for each of these types of
constitutional violation are different.” Presbytery, at 329.

10a

to dispose of property. Presbytery, at 329-30. If the regula-
tion does not destroy a fundamental attribute of ownership
and does no more than protect the public health, safety, and
welfare, then the regulation is not subject to a taking
challenge. The challenged regulation is still subject to a
substantive due process challenge for reasonableness.
However, if the regulation either infringes upon a fun-
damental attmbute of property ownership or goes beyond
mere harm prevention to require a property owner to pro-
vide a public benefit, then that regulation is susceptible to a
constitutional taking challenge. Presbytery, at 333.

B. Takings Analysis.

[4] Once a court determines that a regulation is vulner-
able to a taking challenge, it engages in a “taking” inquiry.
The court first determines whether the regulation substan-
tially advances legitimate state interests. If the answer to
this question is "no", then the regulation is a per se taking.
Presbytery, at 333. If the regulation does substantially
advance legitimate state interests, then the court next
determines whether the plaintiffs challenge to the regula-
tion is a facial challenge or an “as applied" challenge. If a
plaintiff alleges the application of the regulation to any
property is a taking, the challenge is a facial one. For facial
challenges, no exhaustion of administrative remedies is
required. Presbytery, at 333. However, if a_ plaintiff
challenges the regulation as it applies to a specific parcel of
property, the challenge to the regulation is "as applied”.
Presbytery, at 333. Exhaustion of administrative remedies is
generally required for “as applied" challenges. See Pres-
bytery, at 337, 338 & n.36; Estate of Friedman v. Pierce Cy.,
112 Wn.2d 68, 80, 768 P.2d 462 (1989).

[5] For a facial challenge to succeed, “the landowner
must show that the regulation denies all economically via-
ble use of any parcel of regulated property in order to con-
stitute a taking.” (Italics ours.) Presbytery, at 333-34. A
determination that a regulation denies all economically via-
ble use of any given parcel of property “should prove to be a
relatively rare occurrence.” Presbytery, at 335.

—————————— LDL

lla

In an “as applied" challenge (involving the application of
the regulation to specific property), the court considers “(1)
the economic impact of the regulation on the property; (2)
the extent of the regulation's interference with investment-
backed expectations; and (3) the character of the govern-
ment action.” (Footnote omitted.) Presbytery, at 335-36.
Once a court determines a taking has occurred, just com-
pensation is mandated. Presbytery, at 337.

C. Substantive Due Process Analysis.

{6, 7] Even if a regulation is not susceptible to a taking
challenge because it does not deny a fundamental attribute
of property ownership and is purely an exercise of the police
power designed to protect the public health, safety and wel-
fare from harm, the regulation is still subject to substantive
due process scrutiny for reasonableness. "The inquiry here
must be whether the police power (rather than the eminent
domain power) has exceeded its constitutional limits.” Pres-
bytery, at 330. The 3-prong due process test is applied,
which inquires: (1) whether the regulation aims to achieve a
legitimate public purpose, (2) whether the means adopted
are reasonably necessary to achieve that purpose, and (3)
whether the regulation is unduly oppressive on the property
owner. Presbytery, at 330; see also West Main Assocs. uv.
Bellevue, 106 Wn.2d 47, 52, 720 P.2d 782 (1986).

The first and second part of this test are often easily met
by challenged government action. The third part is a more
difficult determination. Accordingly, in Presbytery, this court
adopted the following set of guidelines for the third inquiry
for a determination that a regulation was “unduly oppres-
sive”:

The “unduly oppressive” inquiry lodges wide discretion in
the court and implies a balancing of the public's interest
against those of the regulated landowner. We have suggested
several factors for the court to consider to assist it in deter-
mining whether a regulation is overly oppressive, namely: the
nature of the harm sought to be avoided; the availability and

effectiveness of less drastic protective measures; and the eco-
nomic loss suffered by the property owner.

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12a

Presbytery, at 331 (citing Orion Corp. v. State, 109 Wn.2d
621, 655 n.24, 747 P.2d 1062 (1987) (Orion II), cert. denied,
486 U.S. 1022 (1988). This court also has noted a set of
nonexclusive factors for guidance in performing the “unduly
oppressive” balancing test:
On the public's side, the seriousness of the public problem, the
extent to which the owner's land contributes to it, the degree
to which the proposed regulation solves it and the feasibility of
less oppressive solutions would all be relevant. On the owner's
side, the amount and percentage of value loss, the extent of
remaining uses, past, on and future uses, temporary or
permanent nature of the regulation, the extent to which the
owner should have anticipated such regulation and how feas-

ible it is for the owner to alter present or currently planned
uses.

Presbytery, at 331 ‘(citing Stoebuck, San Diego Gas:
Problems, Pitfalls and a Better Way, 25 Wash. U.J. Urb. &
Contemp. L. 3, 33 (1983)).

_If the regulation fails to meet any of the three prongs of
the substantive due process analysis, then it is subject to
invalidation. Under Presbytery, “[n]o compensation (which
properly belongs with a ‘taking’ analysis) is warranted in
the face of a due process violation.” Presbytery, at 332. We
repeat that a violation of a plaintiffs rmghts to substantive
due process (that is, reasonable regulation) may under
limited circumstances form the basis for independent /ed-
eral statutory relief through a section 1983 action, which
affords a damages remedy. The measure of these damages
may differ from the "just compensation" measure.

D. Applying Presbytery to This Case.

[8] Applying the Presbytery analysis to this case, we
begin with the threshold analysis, as the plaintiffs contend
a taking occurred. The HPO regulated the demolition and
removal from the market of housing units by landowners.
Enforcement of the HPO did not destroy any fundamental
rights of property ownership and did not constitute a per-
manent invasion of the property. We conclude, however, that
the ordinance did go beyond preventing a harm, and
required landowners to provide a public benefit in requiring

13a

property owners to pay a fee or replace rental units lost
before removing units or demolishing them. We have on an
earlier occasion stated that the burden of providing this
public benefit was one best borne by the community rather
than by individuals:

(T]he City may not constitutionally pass on the social costs of
the development of the downtown Seattle area to current own-
ers of low income housing. The problem must be shared by the
entire city, and those who plan to develop their property from
low income housing to other uses cannot be penalized by being
required to provide more housing.

San Telmo Assocs. v. Seattle, 108 Wn.2d 20, 25, 735 P.2d
673 (1987). Having applied the threshold test, we conclude
that this case is not beyond a taking challenge. We would
distinguish our threshold determination in this case,
however, from that which may result when the development
of a particular piece of property would cause direct harm to
the environment, such as the destruction of an irreplaceable
wetland or shoreline ecosystem.

We therefore engage in a taking analysis and thus ask
first whether the HPO advanced any legitimate state
interests. Presbytery, at 333. The City persuasively contends
that the housing replacement and tenant assistance provi-
sions were substantially related to preserving low income
housing and assisting tenants experiencing relocation hard-
ships. We conclude the ordinance did advance legitimate
state interests in the general welfare of the citizens of Seat-
tle in attempting to preserve rental housing stock and assist
low income tenants, and therefore was not a per se taking.
Presbytery, at 333. Since the ordinance did advance legiti-
mate state interests, it is necessary to look further and
determine whether the Robinsons’ challenge is facial or “as
applied". Presbytery, at 333.

{9] The Robinsons’ complaint contends the HPO was
"facially invalid" and constituted a taking of whatever
property to which it was applied, and therefore is a facial
challenge. We therefore do not engage in an “as applied”
analysis. In the case of a facial challenge, a taking will be

a

l4a

found only if the landowner shows the regulation denied all
economically viable use of any regulated property. Pres-
bytery, at 333-34. The Robinsons do not provide adequate
basis for such an allegation, nor could they make this “rela-
tively rare’ showing, as the record indicates persons suc-
cessfully developed some properties after paying the HPO
license fees. We therefore hold the Robinsons’ taking claim
fails the Presbytery test for determining a challenged regu-
lation is on its face a taking.

However, we may still proceed to analyze the Robinsons’
claim that the City deprived them of substantive due
process through enforcement of the HPO. The substantive
due process analysis affords a different state law remedy
and is independently undertaken. Presbytery, at 329. Even if
a regulation is not a taking, it must nevertheless pass the
3-prong due process test for reasonableness. Presbytery, at
330. This court has observed that “many challenges to land
use regulations will most appropriately be analyzed under a
due process formula rather than under a ‘taking’ formula.”
Presbytery, at 332-33.

Applying the substantive due process analysis to this
case, we ask first whether the HPO was aimed at achieving
a legitimate public purpose; second, whether the means
used are reasonably necessary to achieve that purpose; and
third, whether the HPO was unduly oppressive. Presbytery,
at 330. The HPO had a legitimate public purpose and
employed reasonable means to achieve it; we therefore con-
clude the HPO satisfies the first two prongs of the due
process test for reasonableness. However, as this court has
previously noted, “[t]he third inquiry will usually be the
difficult and determinative one.” Presbytery, at 331. In the
third inquiry, we ask whether the HPO was unduly oppres-
sive and conclude that it was. We are assisted by the follow-
ing nonexclusive factors previously adopted by this court in
balancing the interests of the City against those of the own-
ers of property regulated by the HPO:

On the public's side, the seriousness of the public problem, the
extent to which the owner's land contributes to it, the degree

15a

to which the proposed regulation solves it and the feasibility of
less oppressive solutions would all be relevant. On the owner's
side, the amount and percentage of value loss, the extent of
remaining uses, past, present and future uses, temporary or
permanent nature of the regulation, the extent to which the
owner should have anticipated such regulation and how feas-
ible it is for the owner to alter present or currently planned
uses.

Presbytery, at 331 (citing Stoebuck, San Diego Gas:
Problems, Pitfails and a Better Way, 25 Wash. UJ. Urb. &
Contemp. L. 3, 33 (1983)).

We review these nonexclusive factors in balancing the
City's interests against the Robinsons’. The public problem
of homelessness is certainly serious. The extent to which an
owner's land or property particularly contributes to a public
problem may in certain instances be determinative, such as
in some environmental protection cases. However this factor
is not particularly crucial in this action because these urban
properties already have multiple potential uses. The prob-
lems of homelessness and a lack of low income housing in
Seattle are in part a function of how all Seattle landowners
are using their property. We further conclude that both the
feasibility of less harsh means of achieving the City's pur-
pose and the permanence of the nonzoning regulation in
controlling the type of use of the landowner's property mili-
tate against the City. This court has already said of the
HPO that solving the problem of the decrease in affordable
rental housing in the city of Seattle is a burden to be shoul-
dered commonly and not imposed on individual property
owners. San Telmo, 108 Wn.2d at 25. We hold the HPO to
be an unduly oppressive, and thus unreasonable, regulation.
It therefore violated the rights of the Robinsons to substan-
tive due process under our holding in Presbytery, at 331-32.

(10, 11] If an ordinance unduly oppresses a property
owner and is struck down as violative of due process, then
the law of this State provides a remedy of invalidation.
Presbytery, at 331-32. The ordinance in this case, the HPO,
has already been invalidated on other grounds. However, as
a substantive due process violation is a deprivation of a

i elle

16a

federal constitutional right, the Robinsons may also be enti-
tled to seek a damages remedy under federal statutes.
“Along with the vast majority of federal courts, we recognize
that denial of a building permit . . . may give rise to a
substantive due process claim” under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. R/L
Associates, at 412. The plaintiffs’ state law remedies are at
this point complemented by the resort to 42 U.S.C. § 1983;
federal relief in this instance picks up where state relief
leaves off. Property rights, in addition to personal liberties,
are within the protection of 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Gibson v.
Seattle (Wash.) Dep't of Police, 472 F.2d 1220 (9th Cir. 1973).
What must be proved by a section 1983 plaintiff may
involve more than is necessary for establishing a right to
relief under Presbytery. In many cases this means that bur-
dens will be more difficult, but also that additional remedies
will be available in section 1983 cases.

Before venturing further, we wish to reemphasize that
"[mJere regulation on the use of land has never constituted
a ‘taking’ or a violation of due process under federal or state
law.” Presbytery, at 327. In the exercise of the police power
regarding property use, such as in zoning and building per-
mit requirements, government may legitimately impose
many types of restrictions or development conditions on a
landowner. An inexhaustive sampling of regulations would
include building height, setbacks from the street, require-
ments for streets and access, dedication of easements for
the public use, and creation of parks or green space in
residential developments, and many environmental regula-
tions. Impositions of these conditions, regulations, or
restrictions are not per se violative of substantive due
process or the taking clause.

Section 1983 Remedy
The Robinsons assign error to the trial court's ruling dis-
missing their section 1983 claims on summary judgment.
They argue they are entitled to prevail on their section 1983
claims on the basis of a substantive due process violation
committed by the City. The basis for this section 1983

17a

substantive due process claim is the alleged violation of the
plaintiffs constitutional property rights by the City’s
unreasonable regulation of land use through enforcement of
invalidated ordinance provisions. The Robinsons submit
that imposition of an illegal condition on a land use permit,
and the violation of a court order, deprived their class of
substantive due process.

[12] State courts have concurrent jurisdiction in actions
brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. See Lange v. Nature Con-
servancy, Inc., 24 Wn. App. 416, 601 P.2d 963 (1979), cert.
denied, 449 U.S. 831 (1980); Martinez uv. California, 444
U.S. 277, 283 n.7, 62 L. Ed. 2d 481, 100 S. Ct. 553 (1980).
The trial court in the Robinsons’ case dismissed their civil
rights claims on summary judgment. The City argues the
trial court dismissal should be affirmed, as the Robinsons
failed to state a prima facie case for either inverse condem-
nation or a substantive due process violation.

{13] In considering an appeal from an order of summary
judgment, this court engages in the same inquiry as the
trial court. Neubert v. Yakima-Tteton TIrrig. Dist., 117 Wn.2d
232, 236, 814 P.2d 199 (1991). The reviewing court is to
consider all the facts submitted and all reasonable infer-
ences from the facts in the light most favorable to the non-
moving party. Marincovich v. Tarabochia, 114 Wn.2d 271,
274, 787 P.2d 562 (1990). Under CR 56(c), summary judg-
ment is only appropriate

if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and

admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show

that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that
the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.

We accordingly review the Robinsons’ action in light of the
whole record in determining whether the City was entitled
to judgment as a matter of law. The applicable law is 42
U.S.C. § 1983.

A. Basis for Section 1983 Complaint.

[14-16] 42 U.S.C. § 1983 is a remedial statute; it does not
create any new substantive rights. Its function is to allow
an avenue of redress to persons injured by the actions of

18a

government which violate federal constitutional rights. Sec-
tion 1983 has been used often as a means of redress when
government land use regulation infringes upon federal con-
stitutional or statutory rights through violations of the tak-
ing clause or of due process. See Bley, Use of the Civil
Rights Acts To Recover Money Damages for the Overregula-
tion of Land, 14 Urb. Law. 223, 225 n.12 (1982). 42 U.S.C. §
1983 states in pertinent part:

Every person who, under color of any statute, ordinance,
regulation, custom, or usage, or any State or Territory or the
District of Columbia, subjects, or causes to be subjected, any
citizen of the United States or other person within the juris-
diction thereof to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or
immunities secured by the Constitution and laws, shall be
liable to the party injured in an action at law, suit in equity, or
other proper proceeding for redress.

The main elements of a section 1983 action which a plaintiff
must demonstrate to state a cause of action are: (1) a per-
son has deprived the plaintiff of a federal constitutional or
statutory mght, and (2) that person acted under color of
state law. Wood v. Ostrander, 879 F.2d 583, 587 (9th Cir.
1989); Brower v. Wells, 103 Wn.2d 96, 104-05, 690 P.2d 1144
(1984). A municipality may be a “person” for purposes of
section 1983. Monell v. Department of Social Servs., 436
U.S. 658, 56 L. Ed. 2d 611, 98 S. Ct. 2018 (1978).

[17] A municipality may be subject to suit under section
1983 of the federal civil mghts statutes when that munici-
pality acts through an ordin. nce. R/L Assocs., Inc. v. Seat-
tle, 113 Wn.2a 402, 780 P.2d 838 (1989). In addition, a
municipality may be liable on a section 1983 civil rights
claim when a city employee violates a federally protected
right while executing a policy or ordinance officially adopted
and implemented by city officials. Learned v. Bellevue, 860
F.2d 928 (9th Cir. 1988), cert. denied, 489 U.S. 1079 (1989).
The plaintiffs in this case sued the City of Seattle, which
may be recognized as a “person” under section 1983, as well
as bringing action against several city employees in both
their official and individual capacities. The Robinsons
alleged a violation of their federal constitutional rights was

—————---—-——

19a

committed by the City and its employees acting pursuant to
an ordinance (the HPO); and a municipality may be subject
to section 1983 liability when it acts through an ordinance.
R/L Assocs., at 411-12.

We reject the City's contention that this court in R/L
Assocs. held as a matter of law that Seattle's enforcement of
the HPO could not give rise to a civil rights claim. As the
Robinsons point out, this court simply did not consider that
issue on appeal:

While R/L pleaded a section 1983 claim, it made no allega-
tion of irrational, or arbitrary or capricious conduct on the
part of the City in its denial of R/L's demolition license.
Moreover, this issue was not presented to or considered by the
trial court, and will not be considered on appeal.

R/L Assocs., Inc. v. Seattle, at 412. The city action at issue
in R/L Assocs. was the imposition of the HPO's tenant relo-
cation assistance requirement upon, the landowner prior to
the time that particular provision of the HPO was declared
facially invalid by the King County Superior Court. The
Robinsons submit that by contrast, in their case they do
plead arbitrary and capricious conduct, and that this case
involves the enforcement of HPO provisions even after the
time of the superior court decree ruling the provisions
invalid. According to the Robinsons, the “strongest” evi-
dence of irrationality in city action is the enforcement of the
HPO after trial courts had held it invalid and enjoined
further enforcement; e.g., in one instance, a trial court rul-
ing was followed by a press conference to the effect that the
City would continue enforcement of the HPO against all but
the successful plaintiffs in the action. See R/L Assocs., at
411.

The City did continue enforcement of the HPO's various
provisions after trial court declarations of invalidity. In San
Telmo Assocs. v. Seattle, 108 Wn.2d 20, 735 P.2d 673 (1987),
this court affirmed a superior court ruling of invalidity,
holding the HPO invalid as an unauthorized tax or fee on
the development of land prohibited by RCW 82.02.020. San
Telmo, at 23-24. Later, this court in R/L Assocs. held the

IB sniiicmneateinaiaitiea ieee

20a

tenant relocation assistance provisions of the HPO also
invalid. R/L Assocs., at 411. This court went further, uphold-
ing the contempt ruling of the Superior Court entered
against the City's officers for their continued enforcement of
the tenant relocation assistance provisions after the provi-
sions were ruled invalid. R/L Assocs., at 411. In our opinion,
we expressly’ rejected an argument by the City that a
Superior Court's ruling of invalidity was binding on the City
only as against the plaintiff to the action:

[T]he City’s argument would lead to the absurd conclusion
that it is free to enforce the provisions of a facially invalid
ordinance against the citizens of Seattle until and unless each
aggrieved party brings its own action challenging the ordi-
nance. This would lead to multiple and unnecessary litigation
upon an issue in which the City has clearly been denied
authority to proceed.

R/L Assocs., at 411. We went on to instruct the City further:

The City observes that an injunction does not determine the
rights and interests of persons who are not joined as parties.
We agree. However, the City overlooks the fact that it is a
party, and CR 65(d) provides that an order granting an injunc-
tion is binding upon the parties to the action and their officers
and agents.

R/L Assocs., at 411. Finally, in affirming the order of con-
tempt, we observed:

The City's decision to continue to enforce the HPO was
deliberate. Two days after issuance of the injunction in this
case, the City issued a news release that the city attorney had
advised the Department of Construction and Land Use to con-
tinue to enforce the tenant relocation requirements. The
release stated that the City had been enjoined from enforcing
this provision in one case. The courts need not tolerate this
intentional violation of a valid judgment that prohibited the
City from enforcing those provisions.

R/L Assocs., at 411.

B. Civil Rights Claim Against City Valid.

[18-20] A city cannot be held liable in damages for the
mere enforcement of an unconstitutional or void ordinance
in the nature of a police power regulation. R/L Assocs., at
412. A land use decision denying substantive due process
states a cause of action under section 1983 only if it is

een

’ ei

2la

invidious or irrational, see R/L Assocs., at 412, or arbitrary,
Bateson v. Geisse, 857 F.2d 1300, 1303 (9th Cir. 1988).
However, in this case we conclude that the Robinsons state
a proper claim for violation of substantive due process
under section 1983, and further that genuine issues of
material fact remain. Therefore, the Robinsons’ action
should be allowed to proceed to trial for a decision on the
facts. We so hold not merely because the City enforced an
invalid or unconstitutional ordinance, but because the City
continued to enforce ordinance provisions after they had
been declared on separate, respective occasions to be invalid
by trial courts.

We first consider whether the Robinsons adequately
plead a violation of substantive due process for the purposes
of section 1983. To successfully challenge a governmental
action or regulation in a section 1983 action on substantive
due process grounds, the plaintiff must plead and prove
that the challenged government action is wholly arbitrary
and capricious or irrational, or utterly fails to serve a legiti-
mate purpose. See Regulating the Timing of Development:
Takings Clause and Substantive Due Process Challenges to
Growth Control Regulations, 24 Loy. L.A.L. Rev. 1205, 1225
(1990-1991) (citing Nelson v. Selma, 881 F.2d 836, 839 (9th
Cir. 1989); Greenbriar, Ltd. v. Alabaster, 881 F.2d 1570, 1577
(11th Cir. 1989); Pace Resources, Inc. v. Shrewsbury Town-
ship, 808 F.2d 1023, 1034-35 (3d Cir.), cert. denied, 482 U.S.
906, reh'g denied, 483 U.S. 1040 (1987)). The Robinsons’
allegation in the complaint that "Defendants have mali-
ciously, recklessly, and/or wantonly" violated constitutional
rights is sufficient to plead either “irrational or invidious" or
“arbitrary and capricious” conduct as required.

A substantive due process claim does not require proof
that all use of one’s property has been denied. Herrington v.
County of Sonoma, 834 F.2d 1488, 1498 (9th Cir. 1987).
Rather, the plaintiff must show that the interference with
property rights was irrational or arbitrary. Usery v. Turner
Elkhorn Mining Co., 428 U.S. 1, 15, 49 L. Ed. 2d 752, 96 S.
Ct. 2882 (1976). Where a plaintiff seeking section 1983

22a

relief alleges that a municipality's land use authorities vio-
lated plaintiff's rights to substantive due process, the plain-
tiff bears the burden of demonstrating that the govern-
mental action was arbitrary, irrational, or tainted by
improper motive. De Botton v. Marple Township., 689 F.
Supp. 477, 481 (E.D. Pa. 1988). The plaintiff's complaint
must allege facts that would support a finding of irrational
or arbitrary action. De Botton, at 481 (citing Pace Resources,
Inc. v. Shrewsbury Township, supra).

In Pace Resources, the court upheld the denial of the
defendant's motion to dismiss the plaintiffs substantive due
process claims since the plaintiff alleged facts from which a
jury could conclude the municipality acted in an arbitrary
or irrational manner in land use decisions. The court noted
that although the town claimed its actions were taken in an
entirely reasonable manner, this was a question that could
be addressed at trial. De Botton, at 481.

{21] Property owners may also raise due process claims
without first seeking just compensation through state court
remedies. Sinaloa Lk. Owners Ass'n v. Simi Vly., 882 F.2d
1398, 1404-05 (9th Cir. 1989) (amended opinion), cert.
denied sub nom. Doody v. Sinaloa Lk. Owners Ass'n, Inc.,
494 U.S. 1016, 108 L. Ed. 2d 493, 110 S. Ct. 1317 (1990). A
plaintiff is not required to seek compensation from a state
entity before bringing a substantive due process claim
because substantive due process is violated at the moment
harm occurs; thus, the existence of postdeprivation state
remedies does not bar a section 1983 action. Bateson v.
Geisse, 857 F.2d 1300, 1303 (9th Cir. 1988) (citing Ruther-
ford v. Berkeley, 780 F.2d 1444, 1447 (9th Cir. 1986)). In
Bateson, the Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court finding
that the Billings, Montana, city council's refusal to issue a
building permit to the plaintiff after he had satisfied all
permit requirements was an arbitrary and capricious act
which denied Bateson substantive due process. The City
points to distinctions between this case and Bateson, such
as the fact that in Bateson the city council acted contrary to

23a

the advice of counsel and singled out one individual for its
conduct.

[22] Because a finder of fact could determine the City
acted arbitrarily and capriciously in repeatedly continuing
enforcement of the HPO, rather than seeking to stay the
force or effect of rulings of invalidity and injunctions against
enforcement, genuine issues of material fact remain to be
determined. CR 56(c). This determination is for the finder of
fact after hearing testimony and receiving evidence.

We hold the Robinsons properly stated a cause of action
under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, having alleged their constitutional
rights (to substantive due process) were violated by "per-
sons” (the City of Seattle and its officials) acting under color
of law (the Housing Preservation Ordinance). Their claim is
based in an impairment of constitutional property rights
caused by the City of Seattle's unreasonable, continued
enforcement of a land use regulation previously invalidated
by a trial court. As genuine issues of material fact remain to
be decided, the trial court erred in dismissing the Robin-
sons’ civil rights action against the City on summary judg-
ment. The liability of the City to the Robinsons under
section 1983, and to what degree possible civil rights

damages are available, are matters to be determined in trial
court.

Qualified Immunity

In the Robinsons’ consolidated action from the Court of
Appeals, they challenge the dismissal of their 42 U.S.C. §
1983 claims against the individual city officials who were
also defendants in their personal capacities in the original
suit. The officials being pursued in their individual capaci-
ties by the Robinsons are: William Justen, Holly Miller, and
Beatrice Ryan, successive directors of the Department of
Construction and Land Use; and Ovid Thompson, an officer
responsible for enforcement of the HPO. The Robinsons con-
tend the officials are not proper candidates for qualified
immunity from liability, arguing that under Harlow v. Fitz-
gerald, 457 U.S. 800, 73 L. Ed. 2d 396, 102 S. Ct. 2727

24a

(1982), the officials violated “clearly established rights” of
which a reasonable person would have known.

The City contends that William Justen, Holly Miller, Bea-
trice Ryan and Ovid Thompson are entitled to qualified
immunity because these officials enforced the HPO on the
advice of counsel at a time when the land use doctrines on
regulatory takings and substantive due process violations
were in a state of change and uncertainty, with the rights of
the Robinsons being not “clearly established”. The City sub-
mits that the validity of the HPO was an issue on the
cutting edge of land use regulatory law in the United States
during the time the superior court rulings invalidating the
HPO were entered. As support for this argument, the City
cites several cases indicating that other jurisdictions have
upheld police power regulations restricting the removal of
rental units from the market in order to maintain a low
income rental housing base in a city or restricting a
landowner's rights to demolish property. See Terminal Plaza
Corp. v. City & Cy. of San Francisco, 177 Cal. App. 3d 892,
223 Cal. Rptr. 379 (1986); Help Hoboken Housing uv.
Hoboken, N.J., 650 F. Supp. 793 (D.N.J. 1986); Nash v.
Santa Monica, 37 Cal. 3d 97, 207 Cal. Rptr. 285, 688 P.2d
894 (1984), appeal dismissed, 470 U.S. 1046 (1985); Grace v.
Brookline, 379 Mass. 43, 399 N.E.2d 1038 (1979).

[23] Local government entities are not entitled to the
qualified immunity available to their officials. Owen v.
Independence, Mo., 445 U.S. 622, 63 L. Ed. 2d 673, 100 S.
Ct. 1398 (1980). Further, in contrast to the rule in section
1983 actions against municipalities, or against municipal
officers sued in their official capacities, plaintiffs who bring
personal capacity suits against officials need not establish a
connection to governmental “policy or custom" in the
defendant's actions. Hafer v. Melo, __ U.S. ___, 116 L. Ed.
2d 301, 112 S. Ct. 358, 361-62 (1991) (citing Kentucky v.
Graham, 473 U.S. 159, 166, 87 L. Ed. 2d 114, 105 S. Ct.
3099 (1985)). Government officials performing discretionary
functions, however, cannot be held personally liable for
damages under section 1983 of the federal civil rights

25a

statute unless their conduct violates clearly established fed-
eral constitutional or statutory rghts; such persons are
entitled to qualified immunity from a claim under section
1983 if their conduct is objectively reasonable when mea-
sured against clearly established law. Thorsted v. Kelly, 858
F.2d 571 (9th Cir. 1988); Wood v. Ostrander, 879 F.2d 583
(9th Cir. 1989). Qualified immunity from suit must be
granted when the law or right allegedly violated is not
clearly established. Conner v. Santa Ana, 897 F.2d 1487,
1492 (9th Cir. 1990).

Qualified immunity protects government officials from
insubstantial suits and harassing litigation while at the
same time not foreclosing suits for damages which may be
the only realistic avenue for the vindication of constitutional
rights of the plaintiff. Harlow v. Fitzgerald, supra at 814.
The standard for an oificial seeking the shield of the quali-
fied immunity defense is an objective, and not a subjective,
standard. Anderson v. Creighton, 483 U.S. 635, 97 L. Ed. 2d
523, 107 S. Ct. 3034 (1987). It is no defense to a section
1983 action that a defendant had no specific intent to cause
a deprivation of civil rights. United Steelworkers v. Mil-
stead, 705 F. Supp. 1426, 1436 (D. Ariz. 1988); Gomez v.
Toledo, 446 U.S. 635, 64 L. Ed. 2d 572, 100 S. Ct. 1920
(1980).

[24] Since qualified immunity entitles government offi-
cials to “an immunity from suit rather than a mere defense
to liability" under Mitchell v. Forsyth, 472 U.S. 511, 526, 86
L. Ed. 2d 411, 105 S. Ct. 2806 (1985), it is critical that
insubstantial claims be resolved as quickly as _ possible.
Thorsted, 858 F.2d at 575 (citing Anderson v. Creighton, 483
U.S. at 640 n.2). Thus, when available, the defendant's
entitlement to qualified immunity may be established as a
matter of law on a motion for summary judgment or for a
directed verdict.

[25] Once the affirmative defense of qualified immunity
has been raised in a case on a defendant's motion for sum-
mary judgment, the plaintiff bears the burden of demon-
strating the existence of the allegedly “clearly established”

26a

constitutional right. See Mitchell v. Forsyth, 472 U.S. at

526:
Unless the plaintiffs allegations state a claim of violation of
clearly established law, a defendant pleading qualified immu-
nity is entitled to dismissal before the commencement of dis-
covery. .. . Even if the plaintiffs complaint adequately alleges
the commission of acts that violated clearly established law,
the defendant is entitled to summary judgment if discovery
fails to uncover evidence sufficient to create a genuine issue as
to whether the defendant in fact committed those acts.

Regarding the "clearly established" standard, the
Supreme Court has indicated that a certain degree of
predictability is required: ;

The contours of the mght must be sufficiently clear that a

reasonable official would understand that what he is doing

violates that right. This is not to say that an official action is
protected by qualified immunity unless the very action in
question has previously been held unlawful . . . but it is to say

that in the light of pre-existing law the unlawfulness must be
apparent.

Anderson v. Creighton, 483 U.S. at 640. See Sintra, Inc. v.
Seattle, 119 Wn.2d 1, 25, __. P2d ___ (1992). The City has
pointed to cases in other jurisdictions upholding the con-
stitutional validity of ordinances which the City convinc-
ingly argues are similar to the HPO in intent and effect. We
are therefore persuaded that it was not “clearly established"
when HPO-1 and HPO-2 were enacted that these regula-
tions would violate substantive due process or other federal
constitutional or statutory rights of persons owning the
regulated property. Thus, while we have concluded that the
ordinance in question violated substantive due process
under Presbytery, this holding does not by itself lead to the
conclusion that a section 1983 claim may proceed against
the individual defendants. Rather, the substantive due
process violation underlying this section 1983 action is the
enforcement of HPO provisions after they were declared
invalid on separate occasions. Therefore, we focus our
inquiry on the question of whether enforcement of HPO
provisions by city officials after such provisions had been
declared invalid would violate “clearly established” nghts.

27a

{26] In the absence of binding precedent as to whether
the conduct of officials violated clearly established statutory
or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would
have known, a court should look to whatever decisional law
is available to ascertain whether the law is “clearly estab-
lished". Capoeman v. Reed, 754 F.2d 1512 (Sth Cir. 1985).

There existed, at the time of the HPO enforcement,
authority in our federal circuit denying immunity of any
kind to officials who violate an order of a duly appointed
administrative body, let alone a court of law, when the
result of this violation implicated federal constitutional
rights. In Donovan v. Reinbold, 433 F.2d 738 (9th Cir. 1970),
a case predating Harlow, officials disobeyed an administra-
tive order directing reinstatement of an employee who had
been discharged in violation of his First Amendment rights.
The court reasoned that the administrative order was like a
court order and said: “'Obviously no immunity should be
granted to the officials who wilfully disobeyed an order of
court, " Donovan, at 744 (quoting Hoffman v. Halden, 268
F.2d 280, 300 (9th Cir. 1959)).

[27] In general, the shield of qualified immunity does not
extend to those officials who knowingly violate the law.
Mills v. Graves, 930 F.2d 729 (9th Cir. 1991). Here, it is
acknowledged by the City that “it may be clearly estab-
lished that a knowing violation of a court order or adminis-
trative regulation violates substantive due _ process’.
Consolidated Appeal Brief of Respondents, at 39 (citing
Donovan v. Reinbold, supra). The City, however, contends
that while officials Miller and Thompson were held in con-
tempt for violating a court order, this does not establish a
knowing violation, since only an intentional, deliberate
action which violates a court order is required for a finding
of contempt, and knowledge that one is committing a viola-
tion is not required. R/L Assocs., Inc. v. Seattle, 113 Wn.2d
402, 410-11, 780 P.2d 838 (1989). We do not deny qualified
immunity to Miller and Thompson simply because they
were found in contempt. The record in this case indicates all
the individual defendants possessed actual knowledge of

28a

court rulings invalidating the HPO and yet continued
enforcement. By so doing, these officials exposed the City of
Seattle and themselves to liability for unreasonable enforce-
ment of land use regulations in violation of the plaintiffs’
constitutional property rights.

The individual defendants maintain, however, that they
only followed advice of the city attorneys. We note the
Supreme Court has recently held that in the context of
section 1983 actions prosecutors are not entitled to absolute
immunity for legal advice given to police officers and has
indicated that the Harlow objective standard applies to
police conduct without reference to legal advice rendered by
the prosecuting attorney:

Although the absence of absolute immunity for the act of giv-

ing legal advice may cause prosecutors to consider their advice

more carefully, " [w]here an official could be expected to know
that his conduct would violate statutory or constitutional
rights, he should be made to hesitate.'" . . . (quoting Harlow,

457 U.S., at 819, 102 S.Ct., at 2738). Indeed, it is incongruous

to allow prosecutors to be absolutely immune from liability for

giving advice to the police, but to allow police officers only

qualified immunity for following the advice. Cf. Butz [v.

Economou,] 438 U.S. [478], at 505-506, [57 L. Ed. 2d 895,] 98

S.Ct. [2894 (1978)]. Ironically, it would mean that the police,

who do not ordinarily hold law degrees, would be required to
know the clearly established law, but prosecutors would not.

Burns v. Reed, __ U.S. __, 114 L. Ed. 2d 547, 111 S. Ct.
1934, 1944 (1991).* It was suggested in Donovan that even
the city attorney who advises disregard of a court order
would also be liable rather than immune from suit. 433 F.2d
at 744.

‘In contrast the prosecutor's participation in a probable cause hearing in
Burns was held absolutely immune. Burns, 111 S. Ct. at 1942. The distinction is
based on the function the prosecutor performs.

|Plrosecutors are absolutely immune from liability under § 1983 for their

conduct in “initiating a prosecution and in presenting the State's case,” . .

{Imbler v. Pachtman, 424 U.S. 409, 47 L. Ed. 2d 128, 96 S. Ct. 984 (1976)] 96

S.Ct, at 995, insofar as that conduct is “intimately associated with the

judicial phase of the criminal process,” . . . 96 S.Ct., at 995.

Burns, 111 S. Ct. at 1939 :

29a

In this case, the individual defendants, while officials of
the City, continued to enforce provisions of the HPO after
such provisions had been declared invalid by a court of
competent jurisdiction. The record indicates that all of the
individual defendants possessed actual knowledge of the
superior court rulings invalidating the HPO. We find no
basis for extending qualified immunity to the individual
defendants in this case in the contention that they were
acting pursuant to the advice of city attorneys in continuing
to enforce the HPO provisions in spite of the superior court
decisions. The city officials may very well have had the
public welfare in mind in continuing enforcement of judi-
cially invalidated HPO provisions, but intentional violations
of court orders cannot be tolerated. At least one official
stated in a deposition that it was his responsibility to con-
tinue enforcement of the HPO provisions even if he believed
the ordinance to be unconstitutional. Regardless of an
individual official's beliefs, a court's rulings which invali-
date an ordinance and order a City to stop enforcement are
to be obeyed. Respect for the rule of law is central to due
process.

The trial court in this case erred in extending the shield
of qualified immunity to the individual city officials for their
enforcement of HPO provisions after respective provisions
had been declared facially invalid by courts of competent
jurisdiction and injunctions against continued enforcement
had been entered.° Although we decline to extend qualified
immunity to the individual defendants, the ultimate issue
of their liability under section 1983 is a question which
remains to be determined by the finder of fact.

We distinguish for elucidation the case of Walnut Proper-
ties, Inc. v. Whittier, 861 F.2d 1102 (9th Cir. 1988), cert.
denied, 490 U.S. 1006 (1989). In Walnut Properties, a city
attorney and city planning director were sued by an adult

“We note that another court has declined to extend qualified immunity to
section 1983 defendants by holding that disobedience of a court order was not a
discretionary act entitled to immunity. See Front Royal & Warren Cy. Indus
Park Corp. v. Front Royal, Va., 708 F. Supp. 1477 (W.D. Va. 1989)

j

30a

theater after they recommended reenactment of the City's
adult business zoning ordinance which had previously been
ruled unconstitutional. While a prior district court opinion
had ruled the earlier ordinance unconstitutional, a lack of
circuit precedent on point demonstrated that the reenact-
ment of the ordinance was not clearly established to be in
violation of the plaintiffs rights, when that reenactment fol-
lowed a new counsel study with special findings which had
been prepared. Thus the city attorney and city planning
director were held entitled to qualified immunity in that
case. Since the City of Whittier had to reenact the
ordinance in question, this indicates that contrary to the
facts in the present case, the Whittier officials first with-
drew their challenged ordinance from enforcement before
advising the reenactment. Unlike the Walnut Properties
case, the HPO provisions struck down by trial courts in this
case were never withdrawn until this court spoke, not even
during the time of the ordinance's redrafting after the first
superior court declaration of invalidity in King County
cause 83-2-06176-8 (Oct. 13, 1983). Nor did the City in this
case seem to acknowledge the authority of the trial court by
asking for a stay.

The longstanding rule for section 1983 actions in the
Ninth Circuit is that an official who acts in knowing viola-
tion of an order of court is not entitled to qualified immu-
nity when these same acts contribute to the basis of the
plaintiff's section 1983 claim. The defendants in this case
had actual notice of the court rulings of HPO invalidity. We
therefore reverse the trial court grant of qualified immunity
to the individual defendants and remand with instructions
to reinstate those section 1983 substantive due process
claims against individual defendants which are not time
barred by the applicable statute of limitation discussed
below.

We emphasize in this case the presence of injunctive relief
precluding enforcement, as well as declarations of invalidity,
and not merely an adverse ruling against the City. The City
neither sought a stay nor appealed these rulings but

3la

instead chose to continue enforcement in the face of court
orders to the contrary.

VALIDITY OF REFUNDS OF HPO PayMENTS

While the City submits that refunds of HPO payments
were correctly restricted by the trial court to a 3-year
statute of limitation period, the City alternatively argues on
cross appeal that the trial court erred in refunding any
moneys paid by the Robinsons prior to this court's decisions
in San Telmo Assocs. v. Seattle, 108 Wn.2d 20, 735 P2d 673
(1987) and R/L Assocs., Inc. v. Seattle, 113 Wn.2d 402, 780
P.2d 838 (1989).

A. Retroactive vs. Prospective Application.

The City contends the refunds the trial court awarded
were based upon an improper retroactive application of the
San Telmo and R/L Assocs. decisions which invalidated the
HPO. To apply an appellate decision "retroactively" means
to apply its holding to causes of action which arose prior to
the announcement of the decision. Retroactive application of
the San Telmo and R/L Assocs. decisions, the City submits,
would be contrary to this court's decision in National Can
Corp. v. Department of Rev., 109 Wn.2d 878, 749 P.2d 1286,
appeal dismissed, cert. denied, 486 U.S. 1040 (1988).° The
Robinsons argue that, to the contrary, the criteria stated by
this court in National Can favor the trial court's award of
refunds to the plaintiffs in this class action.

“National Can dealt with the appropriateness of refunds of money collected
pursuant to taxes invalidated on constitutional grounds. The United States
Supreme Court had held Washington's multiple activities exemption to the state
business and occupation tax discriminated against interstate commerce in viola-
tion of the commerce clause; and after vacating this court's decisions in Tyler
Pipe Indus., Inc. v. Department of Rev., 105 Wn.2d 318, 715 P.2d 123 (1986) and
National Can Corp. v. Department of Rev., 105 Wn.2d 327, 732 P.2d 134 (1986),
vacated, 483 U.S. 232, 97 L. Ed. 2d 199, 107 S. Ct. 2810 (1987), remanded for a
decision of the refund issues raised by the federal ruling:

The decisive issues before this court are whether state law mandates
refunds, and if not, whether this is an appropriate case for prospective
application. We hold state law does not require refunds, and prospective
application is appropriate.

National Can, 109 Wn.2d at 880.

Basia aan

32a

In National Can, this court held the invalidation of a
statutory taxing scheme does not automatically entitle a
taxpayer to a refund. Before an HPO refund is allowed in
this case, the City submits that under National Can this
court must determine whether a refund (requiring retroac-
tive application of the cases invalidating the HPO to the
Robinsons’ claims) is equitable. “Since Washington law does
not foreclose an inquiry into prospective application, we
turn to the factors enunciated by the United States
Supreme Court to determine whether prospective applica-
tion is to be afforded in this case.” National Can, at 881. In
making this analysis, the court in National Can utilized the
following 3-factor approach:

(1) determine whether the decision establishes a new principle

of law either by overruling clear past precedent on which

litigants may have relied, or by deciding an issue of first

impression whose resolution was not clearly foreshadowed; (2)

weigh the merits and dements in each case by looking to the

prior history of the rule in question, its purpose and effect and
whether retrospective operation will further or retard its oper-

ation; and (3) weigh the inequity imposed by retroactive appli-
cation.

National Can, at 881 (citing Chevron Oil Co. v. Huson, 404
U.S. 97, 30 L. Ed. 2d 296, 92 S. Ct. 349 (1971)).

The City contends, citing the Chevron Oil analysis upon
which National Can rests, that this case calls for prospec-
tive application of both the San Telmo and R/L Assocs.
decisions. This is because those decisions established a new
principle of law, and (1) this new principle was not clearly
foreshadowed, (2) this new principle would not. further the
purposes of those two cases to apply their rules retrospec-
tively, and (3) retroactive application of this new principle
would be inequitable.

The Robinsons claim to the contrary that even if appli-
cable, National Can's analysis under the Chevron Oil rule
favors retroactive application. The Robinsons argue they are
entitled to refunds of payments made pursuant to the HPO,
as neither their case nor the San Telmo or R/L Assocs.
decisions involved the overruling of clear past precedent. As

33a

to purpose, they add that neither the San Telmo nor
the R/L Assocs. decisions limited recovery of fees to prospec-
tive application only, unlike the decision in National Can.
The Robinsons finally argue they would be entitled to
refunds even in the absence of the holdings of San Telmo
and R/L Assocs., as their suit relied on preexisting law, and
note that their suit was filed before this court's decision in
R/L Assocs.

Both parties to this action agree that the Chevron Oil Co.
v. Huson, supra, analysis relied upon in National Can is
relevant to our determination of whether the rules of our
San Telmo and R/L Assocs. decisions should be applied
retroactively. However, the United States Supreme Court
has recently limited. the Chevron Oil Co. v. Huson, supra,
rule regarding retroactive application in the case of James
B. Beam Distilling Co. v. Georgia, __ U.S. __, 115 L. Ed.
2d 481, 111 S. Ct. 2439 (1991).

B. Beam Distilling Rule.

Beam Distilling dealt with a challenge to a pre-1985
Georgia law imposing an excise tax on imported liquor at a
rate double the rate imposed on liquor manufactured from
Georgia-grown products. After the United States Supreme
Court struck down a similar Hawaii law as violative of the
commerce clause in Bacchus Imports, Ltd. v. Dias, 468 U.S.
263, 82 L. Ed. 2d 200, 104 S. Ct. 3049 (1984), the Beam
Distilling petitioner, a Kentucky bourbon manufacturer,
then filed suit in Georgia state court seeking a refund of
taxes it had paid under the Georgia law in 1982, 1983, and
1984. The Georgia trial court declared the Georgia statute
unconstitutional, but refused to apply its ruling retroac-
tively; and thus it would not allow a refund of taxes paid by
the Kentucky bourbon manufacturer for 1982, 1983, and
1984. As support for this ruling, the trial court cited the
rule of Chevron Oil Co. v. Huson, supra, that a decision will
be applied prospectively when that decision displaces a
principle of law on which the defendant may reason-
ably have relied, when retroactivity does not further the
objectives of the new rule, and when the equities favor

eens

DRT LLLLaaQYE

34a

prospective application. The State Supreme Court in Geor-
gia affirmed the decision of the tmal court. However, the
United States Supreme Court reversed that decision and in
a plurality held in favor of retroactive application of the
Bacchus decision to the parties in Beam Distilling. 115 L.
Ed. 2d at 491.

[28] Justice Souter delivered the opinion of the court in
Beam Distilling. It states that the question of whether a
newly announced rule of an appellate decision should apply
retroactively is a choice of law question for which there are
three possible answers. The first possible choice of law
approach is to apply a new rule completely retroactively:

First, a decision may be made fully retroactive, applying both
to the parties before the court and to all others by and against
whom claims may be pressed, consistent with res judicata and
procedural barriers such as statutes of limitations. This prac-
tice is overwhelmingly the norm .. . and is in keeping with the
traditional function of the courts to decide cases before them
based upon their best current understanding of the law.

(Italics ours.) Beam Distilling, 115 L. Ed. 2d at 488. The
second choice of law approach is to apply the new rule
completely prospectively:

Second, there is the purely prospective method of overruling,
under which a new rule is applied neither to the parties in the
law-making decision nor to those others against or by whem it
might be applied to conduct or events occurring before that
decision. The case is decided under the old law but becomes a
vehicle for announcing the new, effective with respect to all
conduct occurring after the date of that decision. This Court
has, albeit infrequently, resorted to pure prospectivity . . .
although in so doing it has never been required to distinguish
the remedial from the choice-of-law aspect of its decision. . . .
This approach claims justification in its appreciation that
“[t]he past cannot always be erased by a new judicial declara-
tion,’ . .. and that to apply the new rule to parties who relied
on the old would offend basic notions of justice and fairness.
But this equitable method has its own drawback: it tends to
relax the force of precedent, by minimizing the costs of over-
ruling, and thereby allows the courts to act with a freedom
comparable to that of legislatures.

(Italics ours.) Beam Distilling, 115 L. Ed. 2d at 488-89. The
third choice of law approach, “selective prospectivity’,

ee

ee

35a

involves applying the new rule to the parties in the case
announcing the new rule, but otherwise to apply the new
rule prospectively:

Finaily, a court may apply a new rule in the case in which
it is pronounced, then return to the old one with respect to all
others arising on facts predating the pronouncement. This
method, which we may call modified, or selective, prospectivity.
enjoyed its temporary ascendancy in the criminal law during a
period in which the Court formulated new rules, prophy-
lactic or otherwise, to insure protection of the rights of the
accused... .

But selective prospectivity also breaches the principle that
litigants in similar situations should be treated the same, a
fundamental component of stare decisis and the rule of law
generally. ... For this reason, we abandoned the possibility of
selective prospectivity in the criminal context in Griffith v.
Kentucky, 479 US 314, 328, 93 L Ed 2d 649, 107 S Ct 708
(1987), even where the new rule constituted a “clear break”
with previous law, in favor of completely retroactive applica-
tion of all decisions to cases pending on direct review. Though
Griffith was held not to dispose of the matter of civil retroac-
tivity, see id., at 322, n 8, 93 L Ed 2d 649, 107 S Ct 708,
selective prospectivity appears never to have been endorsed in
the civil context.

(Citations omitted. Italics ours.) Beam Distilling, 115 L. Ed.
2d at 489-90.

After reviewing the three approaches to the choice of law
question, Justice Souter frames Beam Distilling as present-
ing one issue: whether the selective prospectivity approach,
no longer available in the criminal context, is available in
the civil cases. Beam Distilling, 115 L. Ed. 2d at 490. The
plurality in Beam Distilling holds that selective prospec-
tivity is not available in the civil context. The opinion con-
cludes that once the Supreme Court has applied a rule of
law to the litigants in one case, it must do so with respect to
all others not barred by procedural requirements or res
judicata: “Thus, the question is whether it is error to refuse
to apply a rule of federal law retroactively after the case
announcing the rule has already done so. We hold that it is,
principles of equality and stare decisis here prevailing over

j

36a

any claim based on a Chevron Oil analysis."’ Beam Distill-
ing, 115 L. Ed. 2d at 491.

Thus, the Supreme Court in Beam Distilling held that
since its decision in Bacchus did not reserve the question of
retroactive application and remanded the case for consider-
ation of remedial and refund issues, the Supreme Court was
itself later barred from denying retroactive application of
the Bacchus rule to other subsequent litigants whose causes
of action also arose prior to the Bacchus decision. This was
held in spite of the fact that, by all accounts, the Bacchus
decision clearly overruled existing past precedent.

Beam Distilling's limitation on Chevron Oil is not
implied, but express:

To this extent, our decision here does limit the possible appli-

cations of the Chevron Oil analysis, however irrelevant Chev-

ron Oil may otherwise be to this case. Because the rejection of

modified prospectivity precludes retroactive application of a

new rule to some litigants when it is not applied to others, the

Chevron Oil test cannot determine the choice of law by relying

on the equities of the particular case. . . . Once retroactive

application is chosen for any assertedly new rule, it is chosen
for all others who might seek its prospective application. The
applicability of rules of law are not to be switched on and off
according to individual hardship; allowing relitigation of
choice-of-law issues would only compound the challenge to the

stabilizing purpose of precedent posed in the first instance by
the very development of “new” rules.

(Italics ours.) Beam Distilling, 115 L. Ed. 2d at 493. The
Beam Distilling decision has effected a limitation on the
Chevron Oil analysis, which both parties in this case have

‘Justice Stevens joined in Justice Souter's opinion. Justice White concurred
in the judgment, but reasserted the validity of the “pure prospectivity” approach
he argued was called into question by Justice Souter's opinion. 115 L. Ed. 2d at
494-95. Justices Blackmun, Marshall and Scalia concurred in the judgment, but
favored abandonment of any prospectivity approach on constitutional grounds:
“Unhke a legislature, we do not promulgate new rules to ‘be applied prospec-
tively only, . . . We fulfill our judicial responsibility by requiring retroactive
application of each new rule we announce. . . . |Plrospectivity, whether selec-
tive or pure. breaches our obligation to discharge our constitutional function.”
115 L. Ed 2a at 496 (Blackmun, J., concurring). Justice O'Connor, joined by
Chief Justice Rehnquist and Justice Kennedy, dissented

37a

argued must be considered to the extent it was relied on in
our National Can decision.

To state it another way, under Beam Distilling, retroac-
tive application of a principle in a case announcing a new
rule precludes prospective application of the rule in any sub-
sequently raised suit based upon the new rule. Such selec-
tive, or “modified”, prospectivity would be unequal and
unmindful of stare decisis as it treats similarly situated
litigants unequally.” Beam Distilling, 115 L. Ed. 2d at 493.
We are persuaded that the Beam Distilling holding is
sound. While our decision in National Can relied in part on
the Chevron Oil analysis, we now modify our rule from
National Can in a manner consistent with the limitations
on the Chevron Oil rule effected in Beam Distilling. We
expressly limit our holding in this case to the abolishment
of selective prospectivity in the application of our state
appellate decisions.

C. Applying Beam Distilling to This Case.

In accordance with Beam Distilling, as we have noted,
ohce this court has applied a rule retroactively to the par-
ties in the case announcing a new rule, we will apply the
new rule to all others not barred by procedural require-
ments, such as the statute of limitation or res judicata. We
begin by recognizing that our decisions in San Telmo and
R/L Assocs. have established, while invalidating HPO provi-
sions, that the plaintiffs in those cases were entitled to the
benefit of those holdings. In R/L Assocs. v. Seattle, 113

“In announcing the decision of the court, Justice Souter's opinion states: "We
do not speculate as to the bounds or propriety of pure prospectivity”, thus
reserving the Court's opinion as to the validity of dispositions in which the
Court in making a new rule does not apply it to the litigants in the case
announcing the new rule. 115 L. Ed. 2d at 493. But apparently the Beam
Distilling decision has called into question the viability of any rules of prospec-
tive application under Chevron Oil Co. v. Huson, supra:

Justice Souter purports to have restricted the application of Chevron Oi!
only to a limited extent. The effects appear to me far greater... . The inquiry
the Court summarized in Chevron Oil represents longstanding doctrine on
the application of nonretroactivity to civil cases. Justice Souter today ignores
this well-established precedent, and sernously curtails the Chevron Oil
inquiry.

(Citations omitted.) 115 L. Ed. 2d at 499 (O'Connor, J., dissenting).

38a

Wn.2d 402, 780 P.2d 838 (1989), this court stated: "Because
we hold the tenant assistance provisions invalid, R/L is
entitled to a refund of the fees already paid to comply with
the provisions.” 113 Wn.2d at 411. Similarly, the plaintiffs
in San Telmo were relieved of the requirement of building
replacement housing or paying housing replacement fees.
The City incorrectly argues the refund in R/L Assocs. was
not retroactive, as the plaintiff R/L Associates had
challenged the fee and only paid into the court's registry to
continue its court action. 113 Wn.2d at 405. However, in
National Can, this court stated: “Whether the taxes had
been collected or still remained to be collected is not rele-
vant to the issue of retroactive application."” National Can,
109 Wn.2d at 891.

We have observed that this court's San Telmo and R/L
Assocs. decisions were applied to the parties in those
actions. The City argues that the San Telme and R/L
Assocs. decisions should not be applied to cases arising on
facts predating the pronouncement of those decisions, even
though those decisions were applied to the parties in those
cases. We may conclude then that the City is asking for this

“This rule for defining retroactivity is consistent with the distinctions drawn
in Beam Distilling between “pure” prospective application and “modified” or
“selective” application. “Pure” prospective application (not expressly eliminated
as an option by Beam Distilling) requires the new rule be applied “neither to
the parties in the law-making decision nor tothose others against or by whom it
might be applied to conduct or events occurring before that decision.” Beam
Distilling, 115 L. Ed. 2d at 488. On the other hand, “modified” or “selective”
prospectivity (expressly eliminated as an option in civil cases by Beam Distiil-
ing) is manifested when “a court {applies} a new rule in the case in which it is
pronounced, then return(s] to the old one with respect to all others arising on
facts predating the pronouncement.” Beam Distilling, 115 L. Ed. 2d at 489.

The assertion that the R/L Assocs. invalidation was not applied retroactively
because the plaintiff had challenged the fee and only paid into the court's
registry in order to continue its court action fails. According to the Beam
Distilling definition, the City cannot argue at this point for a purely prospective
application of the San Telmo and R/L Assocs. decisions because the rules
announced in those cases were applied to the parties in those law-making deci-
sions. The R/L Assocs. and San Telmo decisions were retroactively applied, as it
dues not matter that the parties in those cases had not actually paid fees to the
City before challenging the ordinances in question.

39a

court to apply those decisions in a selectively prospective
manner, an approach we decline to follow.

The City further contends it is unfair to grant refunds to
plaintiffs who paid fees, did not challenge the HPO, and
now sue based on the benefit of hard-fought battles won by
others. It argues that in this case, unlike the case in R/L
Assocs., no class member challenged the ordinance fees
and "[a]s far as the record shows, they paid their fees will-
ingly and went on to build successful projects.” Brief
of Respondent-Cross Appellant, at 45. Beam Distilling
addresses precisely this question of whether it is fair to
allow parties who have not challenged a tax or fee regime to
then, after an invalidation of a tax or fee, ride the coattails
of successful challengers into court and enjoy the fruits of
the labors of those who have struggled to defeat existing
laws:

[T]he petitioner now before us . . . did not challenge the Geor-
gia law until after its fellow liquor distributors had won their
battle in Bacchus. . . . Insofar as equality drives us, it might
be argued that the new rule . . . should not be applied to those
= only exploit others’ efforts by litigating in the new rule's
wake.

... As for the putative hangers-on, they are merely assert-
ing a right that the Court has told them is theirs in law, that
the Court has not deemed necessary to apply on a prospective
basis only, and that is not otherwise barred by state proce-
dural requirements. They cannot be characterized as freeload-
ers any more than those who seek vindication under a new
rule on facts arising after the rule's announcement. Those in
each class rely on the labors of the first successful litigant. We
might, of course, limit retroactive application to those who at
least tried to fight their own battles by litigating before vic-
tory. was certain. To this possibility, it is enough to say that
are a pes between those with cases pending and those
without would only serve to encourage the filing of replicative
suits when this or any other appellate court created the possi-
bility of a new rule by taking a case for review.

(Citations omitted.) Beam Distilling, 115 L. Ed. 2d at
492-93. We agree.

We hold that refunds were properly available in this case,
pursuant to an alternative theory of relief independent of a
civil rights action, as the decisions of this court in San

40a

Telmo and R/L Assocs. were properly applied retroactively.
The practice of retroactive application is “overwhelmingly
the norm”. Beam Distilling, 115 L. Ed. 2d at 488. Further-
more, under the Beam Distilling holding which we adopt,
there is no balancing the equities to determine whether we
should now apply rules which were applied retroactively in
the San Telmo and R/L Assocs. decisions prospectively to
the parties in this case:

Nor, finally, are litigants to be distinguished for choice-of
law purposes on the particular equities of their claims to
prospectivity: whether they actually relied on the old rule and
how they would suffer from retroactive application of the new.
It is simply in the nature of precedent, as a necessary compo-
nent of any system that aspires to fairness and equality, that
the substantive law will not shift and spring on such a basis.
To this extent, our decision here does limit the possible appli-
cations of the Chevron Oil analysis . . . Because the rejection
of modified prospectivity precludes retroactive application of a
new rule to some litigants when it is not applied to others, the
Chevron Oil test cannot determine the choice of law by relying
on the equities of the particular case.

Beam Distilling, 115 L. Ed. 2d at 493. We accordingly affirm
the trial court award of refunds.

As to any property owners who may be present in the
class who paid HPO fees pursuant to ordinance provisions
prior to the invalidation of those provisions, such plaintiffs’
remedies lie solely in refund relief, since there will be no
initial showing of arbitrary and capricious conduct neces-
sary for a section 1983 action. The right to refund relief is
subject to the statute of limitation for refund actions, dis-
cussed below. By contrast, property owners who were
assessed fees after trial court invalidation of applicable
ordinance provisions may pursue damages remedies under
section 1983, subject to the applicable limitations period for
such actions in Washington.

Applicable Statute of Limitation
In determining the applicable statute of limitation for
this case, we address the proper limitations period not only
for the trial court's grant of HPO payment refunds under

4la

RCW 4.16.080(3), but also to what extent such considera-
tions impact the Robinsons’ section 1983 claims.

The trial court in this case imposed a 3-year statute of
limitation on the Robinsons’ class claims, meaning that all
class claims arising more than 3 years prior to the date the
action was filed, May 1988, were time barred.

The Robinsons argue that no statute of limitation applies
to their claims for compensation because it is an inverse
condemnation action and that actions against the govern-
ment for the taking or damaging of property are not time
barred. They submit the trial court erred when it applied a
3-year limitation period by characterizing their claims as a
refund action for invalidly imposed taxes or charges in reli-
ance on Hart v. Clark Cy., 52 Wn. App. 113, 758 P.2d 515
(1988). Alternatively, they argue that the 6-year statute of
limitation, available in actions for lost rents and profits for
the use and occupation of real estate, would be “preferable”.
Furthermore, argue the Robinsons, the City ought to be
equitably estopped from asserting a statute of limitation
defense at all.

A. Equitable Estoppel Rejected.

We address first the Robinsons’ equitable estoppel argu-
ment as it attacks the ability of the City to even assert the
defense. The Robinsons rely on a statement in Hart v. Clark
Cy., supra, that the County in that case collected its fees in
good faith and thus was not estopped from asserting the
statute of limitation. By contrast, the Robinsons argue, in
this case the City knew the HPO was invalid and therefore
should be estopped. The Hart court noted that estoppel is
available to prevent a defendant from raising a statute of
limitation defense where the defendant has fraudulently or
inequitably invited a plaintiff to forebear from commencing
suit until the applicable statute of limitation has run, bar-
ring the plaintiffs action. Hart, at 119. The court in Hart
did not apply the estoppel doctrine, however, because the
~ requisite showing was not made. Nor have the Robinsons
made the required showing in this case.

42a

{29, 30] Equitable estoppel is not favored, and the party
asserting estoppel must prove each of its elements by clear,
cogent, and convincing evidence. Mercer v. State, 48 Wn.
App. 496, 500, 739 P.2d 703, review denied, 108 Wn.2d 1037
(1987). The elements to be proved are: first, an admission,
statement, or act inconsistent with a claim afterward
asserted; second, action by another in reasonable reliance
on that act, statement, or admission; and third, injury to
the party who relied if the court allows the first party to
contradict or repudiate the prior act, statement, or admis-
sion. Board of Regents of UW v. Seattle, 108 Wn.2d 545,
551, 741 P.2d 11 (1987). Estoppel is appropriate to prohibit
a defendant from raising a statute of limitations defense
when a defendant has “fraudulently or inequitably invited a
plaintiff to delay commencing suit until the applicable sta-
tute of limitation has expired." Del Guzzi Constr. Co. v.
Global Northwest Ltd., 105 Wn.2d 878, 885, 719 P.2d 120
(1986). The Robinsons do not argue or show that the City or
any of its officials in any way invited any member of the
Robinsons’ class to delay filing suit. The existence of earlier
decisions in this court upholding lower court challenges to
the HPO bears testament to the fact that while the Robin-
sons and their class relented, others did bring suit. Because
the City did nothing to induce delay in the filing of this
action, we reject the plaintiffs’ equitable estoppel argument.

B. 6-Year Limitation Period -Inapplicable.

The Robinsons alternatively contend the 6-year statute of
limitation period which governs actions "for the rents and
profits or for the use and occupation of real estate" under
RCW 4.16.040(3) is “preferable”. This statute's limitation
period is not applicable. The HPO requirement that owners
replace housing or pay into the housing replacement fund
cannot be equated with a dispute over rents or profits or the
occupation of land; furthermore, the Robinsons cite no
authority which would compel such an equation. We there-
‘fore reject the Robinsons’ suggested statute of limitation
preference.

43a

C. RCW 4.16.080(3) Applicable to Refunds.

[31] While the trial court's order does not expressly cite
the basis for the court's conclusion that a 3-year limitation
period is applicable, both parties appear to agree that the
trial court relied upon Hart v. Clark Cy., 52 Wn. App. 113,
758 P.2d 515 (1988). In Hart, the 3-year limitation period of
RCW 4.16.080(3) was applied to an action for refund of
money paid pursuant to a county ordinance, later held to
impose an invalid tax, which required park development
fees. Following this court's decision in Hillis Homes, Inc. v.
Snohomish Cy., 97 Wn.2d 804, 650 P2d 193 (1982), the
County in Hart ceased imposing the fees and the plaintiffs
filed suit. By affirming the trial court's application of the
3-year statute of limitation, the Court of Appeals in Hart
barred the majority of the plaintiffs’ claims. The court
characterized the action as one based partly on an implied
liability to repay money unlawfully received, and partly
upon a theory of unjust enrichment, both theories subject to
application of a 3-year statute. Hart, 52 Wn. App. at 116,
118. RCW 4.16.080(3) limits actions to 3 years for "an action
upon a contract or liability, express or implied, which is not
in writing, and does not arise out of any written instru-
ment”. (Italics ours.)

The court in Hart relied on decisions in which this court
had applied the 3-year limitation period to refund actions
for invalid taxes:

The Washington Supreme Court has applied RCW
4.16.080(3) to refund actions for invalid taxes. In Corwin Inu.
Co. v. White, 166 Wash. 195, 6 P2d 607 (1932), the court
stated that “[a)n action against a county to recover void taxes
is one which arises upon an implied contract, not in writing,
and the three-year statute of limitations applies." . . . The
underlying principle for the application of the 3-year statute of
limitations is that suits seeking tax refunds “are actions aris-
ing out of implied liabilities to repay money unlawfully
received .. .” ms Cy. v. Ritzville State Bank, 154 Wash.
140, 144, 281 P. 332 (1929).

In the present case, the trial court properly applied the
3-year statute of limitations. The Supreme Court in Hillis
Homes ruled that the fees imposed upon residential develop-
ments constitute taxes for which there had been no express

44a

grant of authority by the State Legislature. Therefore, these
fees are “without authority and invalid.” Hillis Homes, 97
Wn.2d at 808.

Hart, 52 Wn. App. at 115-16. We observe that in the Brief of
Appellants, at 21, it is stated: "Here the City is improperly
holding fees involuntarily paid under an invalid ordinance
for real property development”. This characterization of the
Robinsons’ demand for recovery is entirely consistent with
the theory in Hart. Accordingly, we hold that to the extent
relief is available to the plaintiffs on a basis other than the
federal statutory civil rights relief of section 1983 (i.e., if the
plaintiffs are unsuccessful in their section 1983 action or
seek refunds for payments made prior to declarations of
ordinance invalidity), the 3-year statute of limitation of
RCW 4.16.080(3) properly applies to the Robinsons’ claims.

D. Inverse Condemnation Claims.

The Robinsons contend their action does not merely
involve collection of invalid taxes or fees, but also interfer-
ence with the use and enjoyment of property. They claim
Hart does not apply, or should be limited or overruled,
because governmental taking or damaging of property is of
constitutional magnitude, so that mere passage of time can-
not bar such a claim. In support of this contention they cite
Petersen v. Port of Seattle, 94 Wn.2d 479, 618 P.2d 67 (1980)
and Highline Sch. Dist. 401 v. Port of Seattle, 87 Wn.2d 6,
548 P2d 1085 (1976). In those cases plaintiffs brought
inverse condemnation actions against the Port of Seattle
seeking compensation for increased noise at Seattle-Tacoma
International Airport. This court held the claims were not
subject to any time bar save the 10-year period for prescrip-
tive mght acquisition. Petersen, at 483; Highline Sch. Dist.,
at 11. We have already concluded that this action is not one
in inverse condemnation, as no taking has been established
under this court's rule in Presbytery. Therefore, we do not
engage in the analysis offered in reliance upon the Petersen
and Highline Sch. Dist. cases.

In analyzing the Robinsons’ secticn 1983 substantive due
process claim, we have concluded that to the extent they

45a

can show that the continued enforcement of respective HPO
provisions (after trial court declarations of invalidity and
injunctions against continued enforcement) was arbitrary
and capricious, the Robinsons can maintain a federal cause
of action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. We must therefore
address the applicable limitation period for the Robinsons’
claims to federal relief for violations of substantive due
process.

E. Limitation Period for Section 1983 Claims.

[32] The Robinsons stated a prima facie case for civil
rights relief for their claims of substantive due process vio-
lations. Since these claims were improperly dismissed and
may now be set for trial, the Robinsons have a valid theory
of relief other than "an action upon a contract or liability,
express or implied, which is not in writing, and does not
arise out of any written instrument” under RCW 4.16-
.080(3). We therefore seek the applicable limitation period
for what may stand as an independent theory of relief, i.e.,
the Robinsons’ substantive due process claims under section
1983. We note that damages, if awarded, could differ in
amount from refunds. Because there is no statute of limita-
tion for section 1983 actions, federal courts formerly used
the state statute of limitation applicable to a similar cause
of action under the law of the State in which the action
arose, as provided in Board of Regents v. Tomanio, 446 U.S.
478, 483-84, 64 L. Ed. 2d 440, 100 S. Ct. 1790 (1980). This
rule was changed by the Supreme Court in Wilson v. Gar-
cia, 471 U.S. 261, 276, 85 L. Ed. 2d 254, 105 S. Ct. 1938
(1985), in which it was held that the appropriate statute of
limitation for section 1983 actions is the same as the forum
state's limitations period for personal injury cases. See Krug
v. Imbordino, 896 F.2d 395 (9th Cir. 1990). Thus federal
precedent under the Wilson v. Garcia, supra, rule requires
the use of a single limitation period for section 1983 actions
in each state. The Supreme Court has stated that courts
entertaining section 1983 actions may in certain instances
employ the general or residual state statute of limitation for
personal injury actions. Owens v. Okure, 488 U.S.

46a

235, 249-50, 102 L. Ed. 2d 594, 109 S. Ct. 573 (1989).
However, this is only when state law provides multiple
statutes of limitation for personal injury actions:

Courts should resort to residual statutes of limitations only
where state law provides multiple statutes of limitations for
personal injury actions and the residual one embraces, either
explicitly or by judicial construction, unspecified personal
injury actions.
Owens v. Okure, 488 U.S. at 250 n.12. See 1 S. Steinglass,
Section 1983 Litigation in State Courts § 6.6(d) (Release 2
1989); see also Kibble-Smith, Statutes of Limitation and Sec-
tion 1983: Implications for Illinois Civil Rights Law, 20 J.
Mar. L. Rev. 415 (1986-1987).

The statute of limitation for personal injury actions in the
state of Washington is 3 years under RCW 4.16.080(2). This
3-year period was held applicable to Bivens claims, Bivens v.
Six Unknown Named Agents of Fed. Bur. of Narcotics, 403
U.S. 388, 29 L. Ed. 2d 619, 91 S. Ct. 1999 (1971), arising in
the state of Washington in Johnston v. Horne, 875 F.2d 1415
(9th Cir. 1989). Thus the 3-year limitation period for per-
sonal injuries under Washington law applies to this section
1983 action.

1. Accrual of Cause of Action.

[33] The next question to be addressed is when the
Robinsons’ substantive due process cause of action (in this
instance, a class suit) accrued. While state law requires the
use of state policies on tolling and revival of statutes of
limitation, federal law controls the question of when a cause
of action accrues when we discuss statutes of limitation for
section 1983 purposes. Norco Constr., Inc. v. King. Cy., 801
F.2d 1143, 1145 (9th Cir. 1986). See also 1 S. Steinglass, at
6-37; Chardon v. Fernandez, 454 U.S. 6, 8, 70 L. Ed. 2d 6,
102 S. Ct. 28 (1981) (section 1983 claim accrued when a
plaintiff knew or should have known of the injury that was
basis of suit). In Norco Constr., it was held that a
developer's civil rights action against King County based on
the County's delay in acting on the developer's preliminary
plat application accrued when the County made its final

47a

decision approving the application rather than when the
developer became aware the County had treated it differ-
ently and would not act within the period provided by sta-
tute.

We note that in the land use context, it has been
observed that other land use claims may be stated indepen-
dent of a taking claim, and it is possible for section 1983
due process or other nontaking claims to accrue earlier than
taking claims; taking claims entail more stringent ripeness
requirements.” S. Steinglass, at 6-39. There has been con-
siderable controversy on whether the ripeness requirements
for takings claims announced in Williamson Cy. Regional
Planning Comm'n v. Hamilton Bank, 473 U.S. 172, 87 L.
Ed. 2d 126, 105 S. Ct. 3108 (1985) and MacDonald, Sommer
& Frates v. County of Yolo, 477 U.S. 340, 91 L. Ed. 2d 285,
106 S. Ct. 2561 (1986) are applicable as an impediment to
related, nontaking claims on the grounds that such claims
have not yet accrued until taking claims are npe. William-
son held that a Fifth Amendment taking claim is not ripe
(and thus a cause of action does not accrue) until the lan-
downer has sought and received a final judgment on state
compensation procedures. Williamson, 473 U.S. at 194-95.
However, the Ninth Circuit has held that the Williamson
requirement that a federal takings plaintiff exhaust his or
her state law remedies prior to bringing a claim did not
extend to the plaintiffs claims that he or she had been
denied due process by the same state action. Sinaloa Lk.
Owners Ass'n v. Simi Vly., 882 F.2d 1398, 1404-05 (9th Cir.

“The application of [the] federal accrual policy to §1983 land use litigation
depends upon the nature of the claim being advanced. For example, in a §1983
inverse condemnation [i.e., taking] action a property owner is challenging not
simply the regulatory taking but also the failure of the governmental entity to
provide just compensation. Thus, in McMillan v. Goleta Water District (792 F.2d
1453 (9th Cir. 1986), cert. denied, 480 U.S. 906 (1987)], the Ninth Circuit relied
on the ripeness requirement applied by the Supreme Court in taking claims to
conclude that the $1983 taking claim did not accrue either when the Water
District imposed a moratorium on new water connections (and thus interrupted
the property owners’ water service) or when it became clear that the interrup-
tion was not temporary. Rather, the action accrued almost ten years later when
the Water District denied the property owners formal application for an excep-
tion to the moratorium.” (Footnotes omitted.) 1 S. Steinglass, at 6-38.

48a

1989), cert. denied sub nom. Doody v. Sinaloa Lk. Owners
Ass'n, Inc. 494 U.S. 1016, 108 L. Ed. 2d 493, 110 S. Ct. 1317
(1990). In Sinaloa, the Ninth Circuit concluded that lan-
downers’ substantive due process claims arising out of the
State's breaching of a privately owned dam and destruction
of a lake was ripe, notwithstanding the fact that the land-
owners failure to exhaust state law remedies had precluded
their federal taking claims. Sinaloa, 882 F.2d at 1407. The
Sinaloa decision was cited as consistent with the Ninth
Circuit's decision in Kaiser Dev. Co. v. Honolulu, 898 F.2d
112, 113 (9th Cir. 1990). The Kaiser decision relied totally
on the reasoning from Kaiser Dev. Co. v. City & Cy. of
Honolulu, 649 F. Supp. 926 (D. Hawaii 1986), in which it
was noted that the Williamson and Yolo concepts of ripeness
and exhaustion do not preclude a plaintiff's claim that
arbitrary and capricious state action violated substantive
due process. 649 F. Supp. at 943 n.24.

[34] Substantive due process claims differ from taking
claims in that the plaintiff who has suffered a violation
need not wait for the State to deny an adequate postdepri-
vation remedy before commencing suit. Substantive due
process is violated at the moment harm occurs; thus, the
existence of postdeprivation state remedies does not bar a
section 1983 action. Bateson v. Geisse, 857 F.2d 1300, 1303
(9th Cir. 1988) (citing Rutherford v. Berkeley, 780 F.2d 1444,
1447 (9th Cir. 1986)).

2. Continuing Wrong Theory Inapplicable.

It is also noted in commentary that some federal courts
have considered tolling the running of, or delaying the
accrual of, the statute of limitation in section 1983 land use
actions under the “continuing wrong” theory. See 1 S. Stein-
glass, § 6.6(d) (citing Ocean Acres Ltd. Partnership v. Dare
Cy. Bd. of Health, 707 F.2d 103, 106 (4th Cir. 1983); Gordon
v. Warren, 579 F.2d 386, 391 (6th Cir. 1978); De Botton v.
Marple Township, 689 F. Supp. 477, 480 (E.D. Pa. 1988);
Moore v. Costa Mesa, 678 F. Supp. 1448, 1449 (C.D. Cal.
1987); Jackson v. City Coun., 659 F. Supp. 470, 474-75 (W.D.
Va. 1987), affd in part, vacated in part on other grounds,

49a

840 F.2d 10 (4th Cir. 1988)). There is a split among junsdic-
tions as to the function and availability of the continuing
wrong theory.

[35] However, the Ninth Circuit has rejected this theory
in the regulatory taking and land use context. See Azul
Pacifico, Inc. v. Los Angeles, 948 F.2d 575, 584 (9th Cir.
1991); De Anza Properties X, Ltd. v. County of Santa Cruz,
936 F.2d 1084, 1087 (9th Cir. 1991). Since the Ninth Circuit
has not embraced the continuing wrong theory, it is not
available in this case.

The policy behind statutes of limitation is to ensure
essential fairness to defendants and to bar plaintiffs who
have “slept on [their] rights.” Burnett v. New York Cent.
R.R., 380 U.S. 424, 428, 13 L. Ed. 2d 941, 85 S. Ct. 1050
(1965). The plaintiffs in this case did not bring state actions
prior to raising their federal claims so as to toll the statute
of limitation during the pendency of their state court
proceedings. The nature of the wrongful conduct alleged in
this section 1983 action is the enforcement of respective
HPO provisions after trial courts had declared them invalid
and issued injunctions against continued enforcement. Inso-
far as the section 1983 claim is concerned, the federal sub-
stantive due process rights of the respective class members,
if violated, were violated at the instant this improper
enforcement came to bear upon each of them. We are there-
fore not persuaded that this case presents a “continuing
wrong’ vis-a-vis the respective class members.

In this case the respective class members’ section 1983
causes of action accrued (i.¢., substantive due process was
violated by allegedly arbitrary and capricious conduct) when
they were assessed fees by the City pursuant to the HPO,
as a requirement for obtaining a license, after the applicable
provisions of the ordinance had been declared invalid by
trial courts and further enforcement had been enjoined.

[36] We hold that the moment of imposition of fees pur-
suant to invalidated HPO provisions by the City against
each of the respective class members as a condition of
removing low income housing gave each respective class

|
|
{a ‘

50a

member a basis for asserting a section 1983 substantive due
process claim against the City. The 3-year statute of limita-
tion began running on each of these respective claims at the
moment of fee imposition, which was the moment the
respective causes accrued.

We accordingly hold that since the 3-year statute of limi-
tation applies, all section 1983 claims by class members
which arose prior to the period of 3 years before May 27,
1988, the date of the filing of the complaint, are time
barred.

Attorney Fees
Due to the fact that the dismissal of the Robinsons’ action
under section 1983 has been reversed and the cause may
proceed to trial, it is not necessary at this time to address
the issue of attorney fees.

CONCLUSION

We remand this case to the trial court for determination
of the liability of individual defendants and the liability of
the City of Seattle under the plaintiffs’ section 1983 sub-
stantive due process claims, and to decide to what degree
civil rights damages, if awarded, would differ or exceed
refunds validly awarded the Robinsons. The question of
attorney fees must await the settlement, or the outcome, of
the reinstated civil mghts action.

Dore, C.J., and UTrerR, BRACHTENBACH, DOLLIVER, ANDER-
SEN, DURHAM, SMITH, and JOHNSON, JJ., concur.

5la

THE SUPREME COURT OF WASHINGTON

NO. 57038-8

ROY W. and KATHLEEN ROBINSON, husband and wife,
individually and as partners d/b/a COMPUTER SLIDE
COMPANY and the class of persons and entities
similarly situated,

Appellants,
¥.

THE CITY OF SEATTLE, a municipal corporation,
Respondent,

WILLIAM JUSTEN and JANE DOE JUSTEN, husband
and wife; BEATRICE RYAN and JOHN DOE RYAN,
wife and husband; HOLLY MILLER and JOHN
GAYMAN,wife and husband; and OVID THOMPSON, a
single person,

Defendants.

[Filed February 4, 1991]

ORDER

This matter came before Department One of this court for
preliminary consideration on February 4, 1991.

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED:

(1) The appeal will be retained for rehearing on the merits
by this court;

(2) The related appeal now pending in Division One of

the Court of Appeals under cause No. 24177-0 is transferred
to this court and consolidated with this case;

a

CRI wT

52a

(3) The case will be scheduled for oral argument as a
companion to Sintra, Inc., et al. v. Seattle, et al., cause No.
57029-9, on a date to be set later.

February 4, 1991 /s/ Fred Dore
CHIEF JUSTICE

53a

IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE
OF WASHINGTON FOR KING COUNTY

CLASS ACTION
NO. 88-2-09850-6

ROY W. and KATHLEEN ROBINSON, husband and wife,
individually and as partners d/b/a COMPUTER SLIDE
COMPANY and that class of persons and entities similarly
situated,

Plaintiffs,

VS.

THE CITY OF SEATTLE, a municipal corporation,
WILLIAM JUSTEN and JANE DOE JUSTEN, his wife,
BEATRICE RYAN and JOHN DOE RYAN, her husband,
HOLLY MILLER and JOHN GAYMAN, her husband,

OVID THOMPSON, a single person,
Defendants.

NOTICE OF APPEAL TO STATE SUPREME COURT

Roy W. and Kathleen Robinson husband and wife, indi-
vidually and as partners d/b/a Computer Slide Company and
that class of persons and entities similarly situated,
plaintiffs, seek review by the Supreme Court of the State
of Washington of the Final Judgment that was entered on
February 28, 1990 as well as the Order Denying Attorney
Fees entered on March 21, 1990 by the trial court.

DATED: March 22, 1990.

ATTORNEY FOR DEFENDANTS /s/ Richard B. Sanders
SANDRA M. WATSON RICHARD B. SANDERS

Assistant City Attorney Attorney for Plaintiffs
10th Floor Municipal Bldg. WSBA No. 2813

600 - 4th Avenue

Seattle, WA 98104

(206) 684-8200

a ee

54a

IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF THE
STATE OF WASHINGTON
FOR KING COUNTY

CLASS ACTION
NO. 88-2-09850-6

ROY W. and KATHLEEN ROBINSON, husband and wife,
individually and as partners d/b/a COMPUTER SLIDE
COMPANY and that class of persons and entities similarly
situated,

Plaintiffs,
vs.

THE CITY OF SEATTLE, a municipal corporation,
WILLIAM JUSTEN and JANE DOE JUSTEN, his wife,
BEATRICE RYAN and JOHN DOE RYAN, her husband,
HOLLY MILLER and JOHN GAYMAN, her husband,

OVID THOMPSON, a single person,
Defendants.

NOTICE OF APPEAL TO STATE SUPREME COURT

The City of Seattle, defendant, seeks review by the
Supreme Court of the State of Washington of the final
judgment entered on February 28, 1990.

DATED this 9th day of April, 1990.
ATTORNEY FOR PLAINTIFFS MARK H. SIDRAN

RICHARD B. SANDERS City Attorney
4122 -128th Avenue Southeast By /s/ Sandra M. Watson

Suite 301 SANDRA M. WATSON,
Bellevue, WA 98006 WSBA #12874
(206) 746-3790 Assistant City Attorney

Attorneys for Defendants

55a

IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF THE
STATE OF WASHINGTON
FOR KING COUNTY

CLASS ACTION
NO. 88-2-09850-6
FINAL JUDGMENT
(Clerk’s Action Required)

ROY W. and KATHLEEN ROBINSON, husband and wife,
individually and as partners d/b/a COMPUTER SLIDE
COMPANY and that class of persons and entities similarly
situated,

Plaintiffs,
vs.

THE CITY OF SEATTLE, a municipal corporation,
WILLIAM JUSTEN and JANE DOE JUSTEN, his wife,
BEATRICE RYAN and JOHN DOE RYAN, her husband,
HOLLY MILLER and JOHN GAYMAN, her husband,

OVID THOMPSON, a single person,

Defendants.

[Filed February 28, 1990]

JUDGMENT SUMMARY
1. Judgment Roy W. and Kathleen Robinson, hus-
Creditors: band and wife, individually and as part-

ners d/b/a COMPUTER - SLIDE
COMPANY and that class of persons and
entities similarly situated.

2. Judge Debtor: The City of Seattle, a municipal cor-
poration.

3. Principal Judgment Amount: $ 430,271.47

4. Attorney Fees: $ 125.00

5. Costs: $ To be taxed

6. Other Recovery Amounts: $ None

7. Principal Judgment Amount and Attorney Fees Shall
Bear Interest at 12% per annum.

8. Costs Shall Bear Interest at 12% per annum from the
date of taxation.

9. Attorney for Judgment Creditors: RICHARD B. SANDERS

The undersigned Judge of the above-entitled court being
fully apprised of the premises herein, finding that all re-
maining factual issues have been resolved by stipulation en-
tered February 28, 1990 and further finding that entry of
final judgment is now appropriate this court does now
ORDER, ADJUDGE AND DECREE that plaintiff class should
be and hereby is awarded judgment against defendant City
of Seattle, a municipal corporation, in the amount of
$430,271.47 inclusive of principal and interest calculated in
accordance with the stipulation of the parties entered Feb-
ruary 28, 1990 1990, plus statutory attorney fees, and costs
to be taxed.

DONE IN OPEN COURT this 28 day of February, 1990.
Presented by: /s/ Marsha J. Pechman
/s/ Sandra M. Watson JUDGE

SANDRA M. WATSON
Assistant City Attorney
Attorney for Defendants
WSBA No. 12874

Approved for Entry, Notice
of Presentation Waived:

/s/ Richard B. Sanders
RICHARD B. SANDERS
Attorney for Plaintiff Class
WSBA No. 2813

57a

IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF
WASHINGTON FOR KING COUNTY

CLASS ACTION
NO. 88-2-09850-6

ROY W. and KATHLEEN ROBINSON, husband and wife,
individually and as partners d/b/a COMPUTER SLIDE
COMPANY and that class of persons and entities similarly
situated,

Plaintiffs,
VS.

THE CITY OF SEATTLE, a municipal corporation,
WILLIAM JUSTEN and JANE DOE JUSTEN, his wife,
BEATRICE RYAN and JOHN DOE RYAN, her husband,

HOLLY MILLER and JOHN GAYMAN, her husband, OVID
THOMPSON, a single person,
Defendants.

[Filed January 30, 1990]

PARTIAL SUMMARY JUDGMENT

The undersigned Judge of the above-entitled court heard
plaintiffs’ motion for partial summary judgment on this date.
With respect thereto this court considered the following
pleadings:

1. Discovery Declaration of Richard B. Sanders;

2. Plaintiffs’ First Request for Admissions and Amended
Answers Thereto,

3. Plaintiffs’ Second Request for Admissions and
Amended Answers Thereto;

4. Declaration of William Courtney;
This motion.

our

58a

6. Affidavits of Watson, Hepfer, Kipp and attachments;
7. Cross motion of Seattle and memorandum

8. Reply of Plaintiffs

WHEREFORE this court does now

ORDER,

[Text truncated at 120,000 characters. The full text is on the page linked above.]

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/documents/brief%3Amicro_IA40386011_1318%3A2. Public record. Not legal advice.
