The Department appealed. The issue is whether the trial court erred by denying summary judgment dismissal to the Department of Mrs. Rabey' s survivor benefits claim based upon a one-year filing limitation and granting summary judgment to the employee on equitable grounds. Judicial review of a decision by the Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals is de novo, but is limited to the evidence and testimony presented to the Board. A superior court's review is governed by the civil appeal rules, including those for summary judgment. We review a summary judgment de novo by engaging in the same inquiry as the trial court.
Summary judgment is proper as a matter of law when no genuine issue exists as to any material fact.
The material facts are not disputed here. The issue before the Department and the Board was the applicability of the time limitation of RCW 51.32.040. RCW 51.32.040 permits a surviving spouse to claim benefits a deceased worker would have been entitled to before death. A claim must be filed within one year of the date of death. However, it matters not to our analysis because claims applications by a surviving spouse for benefits are also required within one year of the employee's death.