Wash. Supreme Court published opinion — 1013299.pdf

Citation: Wash. Supreme Court published opinion — 1013299.pdf
Jurisdiction: Washington (state)
Source verification: official_capture_completeness_unverified
Original Source: https://www.courts.wa.gov/opinions/pdf/1013299.pdf ↗

Related Parts of This Source

Full Text

1,679 chars

I. Pursuant to the plain language of RCW 7.06.050 and SCCAR 7.1, a valid
trial de novo request requires an aggrieved party’s personal signature, and
this requirement is strictly construed

Washington law authorizes the arbitration of all civil actions where a money

judgment of no more than $100,000 is the sole relief sought. RCW 7.06.020. We

have promulgated “procedures to implement mandatory arbitration of civil actions,”

which are outlined in the SCCARs. 2 RCW 7.06.030. In the case before us, we first

address whether the trial court had the authority to waive the signature requirement

and accept the Lewises’ defective trial de novo request. We hold that it did not and

agree with the Court of Appeals that the Lewises’ failure to personally sign the

request rendered their trial de novo request ineffective.

Any aggrieved party may appeal an arbitration award by filing a trial de novo

request with the superior court clerk within 20 days after the arbitrator files the award

or a decision on a timely request for attorney fees or costs, whichever is later.

RCW 7.06.050(1); SCCAR 7.1(a). Critically, the trial de novo request “must be

signed by the [aggrieved] party.” RCW 7.06.050(1); SCCAR 7.1(b). The plain

language of both the statute and the court rule establish a mandatory requirement by

using “must.” Ohio Sec. Ins. Co. v. AXIS Ins. Co., 190 Wn.2d 348, 352, 413 P.3d

1028 (2018) (the word “must” “places a mandatory duty on the subject of the

2
The rules were formerly titled “Mandatory Arbitration Rules” (MARs) until the court
amended them in 2019. We use the current acronym SCCAR to refer to the rules, unless
referring to the former rules.