Opinion ID: 2632563
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Did Diehl comply with the service requirements of the APA?

Text: To invoke the superior court's jurisdiction over his petition for review, Diehl was required to file and serve his petition on the agency at its principal office, serve the other parties of record, and serve the office of the attorney general within 30 days after service of the final order. RCW 34.05.542(2), (3), (4). Under RCW 34.05.010(19), Diehl could serve his petition by mail or by personal service. Diehl's service by mail was deemed complete upon deposit in the United States mail, as evidenced by postmark. RCW 34.05.542(4). Diehl's petition for judicial review lists the parties and their addresses. His certificate of service indicates that he personally served or served by United States Mail his petition on the parties listed in his petition. Both personal service and service by mail are authorized by the APA. Although his petition and certificate do not list the office of attorney general, he later asserted that he served her office by mail in his May 3, 2002 letter. The record clearly shows that the attorney general had actual notice of Diehl's petition as she has both appeared and filed an amicus brief in this case. However, if Diehl had not served the attorney general, his failure to do so would not be dispositive under RCW 34.05.542(5). The Court of Appeals erred in so holding. The Court of Appeals also erred in holding that the APA required Diehl to serve the county auditor under RCW 4.28.080(1) [1] because RCW 34.05.510 establishes the exclusive means for review of an agency decision and does not require service on the county auditor. Neither the Court of Appeals nor the trial court found that the parties lacked actual notice or that Diehl had failed to timely serve his petition. Nor does any party specifically allege that Diehl failed to serve them or that the petition was untimely, which would preclude subject matter jurisdiction under RCW 34.05.542. Mason County asserts that it has never been clear as to who was served with Diehl's petition for review, how it was served, and on what day it was served. However, the county does not assert it was not timely served, and clearly has actual notice of the proceeding. Given the facts of this case, we hold that Diehl complied with the APA service requirements.
Whether or not the form of proof of service is an ancillary matter, CR 4 does not apply because it is inconsistent with the service requirements of the APA. The courts below erred in treating the issue of proof of service as a jurisdictional requirement. While the trial court could have required reasonable assurances that Diehl complied with service requirements of the APA in a manner not inconsistent with the APA, it erred in requiring proof of service of a kind pursuant to CR 4(c) and (g), which are inconsistent with the APA. Diehl needed only to comply with the service requirements of the APA, not the more rigorous requirements of the civil rules. The APA service requirements are met when parties are served in person or by mail under RCW 34.05.010(19), within 30 days of the agency decision under RCW 34.05.542(2), (4). Diehl listed the agency and parties to the action on page one of his petition for judicial review and certified that he either mailed or personally delivered a copy of the petition to all parties and their attorneys. Notwithstanding a typographical error in Diehl's certificate of service (April 30, 2000 rather than April 30, 2001), the date of filing and service in the certificate complies with the 30 day rule in RCW 34.05.542. Diehl later stated, though not in certificate form, that he mailed a copy to the attorney general's office. As discussed above, failure to serve the attorney general's office is not grounds for dismissal when it is clear that the attorney general has actual notice. Taken together, Diehl's petition and his May 3, 2002 letter show that he complied with the service requirements of the APA. Therefore, the Court of Appeals is reversed and the matter is remanded to the trial court for hearing on the merits. ALEXANDER, C.J., JOHNSON, MADSEN, SANDERS, CHAMBERS, OWENS, FAIRHURST, JJ., and COX, J.P.T., concur.