Opinion ID: 1182371
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: initiative section 40 (4) citizen suits

Text: Section 40(4), RCW 42.17.400(4) of Initiative 276 provides as follows: Sec. 40. ENFORCEMENT.... ... (4) Any person who has notified the attorney general in writing that there is reason to believe that some provision of this act is being or has been violated may himself bring in the name of the state any of the actions (hereinafter referred to as a citizen's action) authorized under this act if the attorney general has failed to commence an action hereunder within forty days after such notice and if the attorney general has failed to commence an action within ten days after a notice in writing delivered to the attorney general advising him that a citizen's action will be brought if the attorney general does not bring an action if the person who brings the citizen's action prevails, he shall be entitled to one-half of any judgment awarded, and to the extent the costs and attorney's fees he has incurred exceed his share of the judgment, he shall be entitled to be reimbursed for such costs and fees by the State of Washington: PROVIDED, that in the case of a citizen's action which is dismissed and which the court also finds was brought without reasonable cause, the court may order the person commencing the action to pay all costs of trial and reasonable attorney's fees incurred by the defendant. The trial court's reasoning was that section 40 (4) exposes potential defendants to abusive or capricious prosecution. Largely on this basis the trial court concluded that section 40(4) deprives appellants of due process and is therefore unconstitutional. [5] Section 40 (4) of the initiative is merely a codification of the ancient common-law qui tam procedure or doctrine. Essentially a qui tam action is brought by an informer or volunteer for violation of a particular civil or criminal statute which generally provides that the informer, if successful, may recover his costs and attorney fees, as well as a share of the penalty. It is called a qui tam action because the plaintiff states that he sues for the state as well as himself. Black's Law Dictionary 1414 (rev. 4th ed. 1968). The constitutionality of the qui tam action was resolutely upheld by the United States Supreme Court in Marvin v. Trout, 199 U.S. 212, 225, 50 L.Ed. 157, 26 S.Ct. 31 (1905), wherein an Ohio anti-gambling measure authorizing a qui tam action was squarely presented. With regard to who might bring an action under the statute, the court stated: Statutes providing for actions by a common informer, who himself had no interest whatever in the controversy other than that given by statute, have been in existence for hundreds of years in England, and in this country ever since the foundation of our Government. The right to recover the penalty or forfeiture granted by statute is frequently given to the first common informer who brings the action, although he has no interest in the matter whatever except as such informer. (Italics ours.) A later Supreme Court case involving a federal statute under which electrical contractors had been charged with collusive bidding on government projects was United States ex rel. Marcus v. Hess, 317 U.S. 537, 87 L.Ed. 443, 63 S.Ct. 379 (1942). Hess strongly reaffirmed the Marvin v. Trout holding, and Justice Black chided the circuit court for its mistaken and limiting interpretation of the qui tam action. See also United States v. Anaconda Wire & Cable Co., 342 F. Supp. 1116 (S.D.N.Y. 1972). The statute books are legion with enactments of a qui tam nature. See, e.g., Int. Rev. Code of 1954 § 7214; Rivers and Harbours Act of 1889, 33 U.S.C. § 411 (1970); Clean Air Amendments of 1970, amending 42 U.S.C. § 1857h-a (1970); Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972 § 505, Pub. L. 92-500, 86 Stat. 816; Noise Control Act of 1972 § 12, Pub. L. 92-574, 86 Stat. 1234. Our recent decision in Hockley v. Hargitt, 82 Wn.2d 337, 510 P.2d 1123 (1973), upheld the application of a modern qui tam provision in the Washington Consumer Protection Act, RCW 19.86.090, which provides for the award of attorney fees, costs and, in the discretion of the court, treble damages. See also Note, 17 Loyola L. Rev. 757 (1971). [6] [9] In our view, the qui tam provision of initiative section 40(4) poses no problem of constitutional dimension. We note respondents' assertion that they fear the threat of frivolous and unwarranted harassment suits. In this connection we can also note that should the suitor fail in his action the trial court, upon finding lack of reasonable cause, may reimburse the defendant for his costs and attorney's fees. In view of the current high costs of legal services, we regard this as no small deterrent against frivolous and harassing suits. Additionally, the plaintiff in such cases is required to give the Attorney General a 40-day notice of an alleged violation. The litigant may then proceed only after the service of a second 10-day notice results in no action on the part of the Attorney General. We feel that these specified safeguards are ample protection against frivolous and abusive lawsuits. Should, however, the courts experience a significant number of palpably frivolous lawsuits, this court may not be without the tools to fashion a remedy within its rule-making powers. Cf. CR 65(c) (security required as a prerequisite to the issuance of a restraining order or temporary injunction); RCW 23A.08.460 (bond for costs required by minority shareholders in derivative actions). We think the trial court's judgment in regard to section 40 (4) of the initiative should be reversed.