Opinion ID: 2604593
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Keene v. Edie

Text: In 1991, Sharon Keene brought suit in King County Superior Court against Ronald Edie and Edie's spouse, Judith Evans. Keene alleged in her suit that Edie had molested her when she was a child and that Evans had negligently permitted the molestation. Contemporaneous with the initiation of her lawsuit, Keene obtained a prejudgment writ of attachment against a parcel of community real property owned by Edie and Evans. Evans then brought several motions to quash the writ of attachment, but each was denied. Several months before trial, the trial court granted Evans's motion to dismiss Keene's complaint against her. Prior to the conclusion of the trial on Keene's remaining claim against Edie, Evans obtained a divorce from Edie in the state of Idaho. Pursuant to a provision in the divorce decree, Edie executed a quit claim deed in favor of Evans, ostensibly conveying his entire interest in the community property that was the subject of Keene's writ of attachment. A jury found in favor of Keene. Consistent with that determination, the trial court entered a judgment against Edie in the amount of $313,000. On the day the judgment was entered, Evans recorded a declaration of homestead on the real property described in Keene's writ of attachment. Evans again sought to have the attachment released, but was unsuccessful in that effort. When Keene found Edie's separate property and interest in community personal property insufficient to satisfy her judgment, she attempted to execute on Edie's interest in the community real property. After Evans was unsuccessful in an effort to quash a sheriff's sale of the property, Keene bid $133,000 of her judgment and obtained an undivided one-half interest in the property. The superior court subsequently entered an order confirming the sale. Evans appealed the order confirming the sheriff's sale, as well as the order denying her motion to quash the sale. The Court of Appeals reversed, concluding that Keene had no right to execute her judgment against community real property. In doing so, it indicated that [m]arried tortfeasors whose assets include only real property are effectively immune from judgment for separate torts. Keene v. Edie, 80 Wash.App. 312, 318, 907 P.2d 1217 (1995), review granted, 129 Wash.2d 1010, 917 P.2d 130 (1996). In light of that holding, the Court of Appeals found it unnecessary to address Evans's additional arguments that the prejudgment attachment was unconstitutional and violative of Washington's homestead statute. We granted review.