Wash. Supreme Court published opinion — 1013299.pdf

judgment order, the Lewises submitted the case to arbitration pursuant to the

SCCARs and the parties arbitrated the case in July 2020. The arbitrator entered an

award in favor of the Lewises in the amount of $1,695—the maximum amount of

their damages consistent with the summary judgment order. The Ridgways moved

for attorney fees and costs under the small claims statute, which authorizes such an

award to a defendant who offers more in settlement than the plaintiff ultimately

5
For the current opinion, go to https://www.lexisnexis.com/clients/wareports/.
Crossroads Management, LLC v. Ridgway et al., No. 101329-9

recovers. RCW 4.84.270. Because the Lewises’ could not recover more in damages

than $1,695 and the Ridgways’ settlement offer exceeded that amount, the arbitrator

awarded the Ridgways $14,386 in attorney fees and costs.

Unhappy with the fee award and wishing to appeal the partial summary

judgment order, the Lewises requested a trial de novo pursuant to SCCAR 7.1. They

filed online, as required by local court rule, and used the county’s form to request

the trial de novo. Unfortunately, the county had not updated its form to comply with

a 2019 amendment to SCCAR 7.1 requiring an aggrieved party to personally sign

the trial de novo request. The outdated form provided a space only for an attorney’s

signature, and the Lewises did not personally sign the trial de novo request.

The Ridgways moved to strike the trial de novo request because it lacked the

Lewises’ signatures. The trial court denied the motion, noting a problem with the

county’s online filing system as well as the impacts of COVID-19 and finding “that

Defendant made timely effort to file in good faith and that inability to load [the]