Wash. Supreme Court published opinion — 1013299.pdf

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Wash. Supreme Court published opinion — 1013299.pdf
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Washington (state)
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merits of their appeal. Id. at 16. The court remanded to the trial court to determine

the amount of fees to be awarded to the Ridgways. Id. at 17.

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

We granted the Lewises’ petition for review and accepted amicus curiae

briefing from the Washington State Association for Justice Foundation.

ANALYSIS

This case asks us to clarify the requirements for appealing from an adverse

arbitration award. Specifically, we must answer whether a party’s failure to

personally sign a trial de novo request invalidates the request and, if so, whether in

the absence of a trial de novo, a party may appeal a prearbitration order granting

partial summary judgment.

Answering this question requires us to interpret SCCAR 7.1 and

RCW 7.06.050. As with all court rules, we interpret the arbitration rules “as though

they were drafted by the Legislature.” Nevers v. Fireside, Inc., 133 Wn.2d 804, 809,

947 P.2d 721 (1997) (citing State v. Wittenbarger, 124 Wn.2d 467, 484, 880 P.2d

517 (1994)). “Our review of the application of a court rule or law to the facts is de

novo.” Malted Mousse, Inc. v. Steinmetz, 150 Wn.2d 518, 525, 79 P.3d 1154 (2003).

Issues of statutory interpretation are also reviewed de novo. Dep’t of Ecology v.

Campbell & Gwinn, LLC, 146 Wn.2d 1, 9, 43 P.3d 4 (2002). The goal of statutory

interpretation is to carry out the legislature’s intent, and we begin with the plain

language of the statute. Id. at 9-10.

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