Opinion ID: 1292089
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Inadequate Legal Remedy

Text: In their motion for a preliminary injunction, the property owners argued [t]he continued elimination of shellfish and other marine life on the shoreline is irreparable, CP at 66, and contended legal remedies were inadequate due to the continuing nature of the damage to bulkheads and unprotected property. Although the trial court found [i]t is undisputed that significant erosion has occurred to certain properties, CP at 2643, the court did not find shellfish and other marine life faced imminent and irreparable elimination. Because the property owners have an adequate remedy at law in the form of monetary damages, they have not demonstrated they are entitled to the extraordinary remedy of injunctive relief. Courts have generally found remedies to be inadequate in three circumstances: (1) the injury complained of by its nature cannot be compensated by money damages, (2) the damages cannot be ascertained with any degree of certainty, and (3) the remedy at law would not be efficient because the injury is of a continuing nature. 15 Lewis H. Orland & Karl B. Tegland, Washington Practice: Trial Practice, Civil § 646, at 468-69 (1996). While it is true activities causing harm to the environment are frequently enjoined due to the irreparable nature of environmental injury, see, e.g., Amoco Prod. Co. v. Village of Gambell, AK, 480 U.S. 531, 107 S.Ct. 1396, 94 L.Ed.2d 542 (1987), here the trial court focused on the physical injury to certain parcels of private property. The specific injuries complained of by the property owners decreased property values and damage to bulkheads, landscaping, and other structuresmay be easily compensated by money damages. See Steele v. Queen City Broad. Co., 54 Wash.2d 402, 341 P.2d 499 (1959) (damage remedy adequate compensation since owners were mainly concerned with the loss in value of their properties). Also, utilizing creative alternatives could prevent further damage to the shoreline property, without resorting to an injunction prohibiting the full-speed operation of the Chinook. See CP at 2652 (supplemental injunction order considering alternatives such as retrofitting the Chinook and installing floating breakwaters). If the operation of the Chinook is found to be the cause of the alleged damages sustained by the property owners, a remedy is compensation for inverse condemnation under Wash. Const. art. I, § 16 (amend.9). This court has held that in the interest of public policy, the State or a municipal corporation... will not be ousted if it has wrongfully taken possession of the land and is, in fact, devoting it to a public use. The owner will be left to his remedy at law to recover damages.... Brazil v. City of Auburn, 93 Wash.2d 484, 488, 610 P.2d 909 (1980). As the Chinook is unquestionably a public use, the property owners may be entitled to compensation if the operation of the ferry is the proven cause of damage to their property. [7] Thus, the property owners failed to demonstrate the absence of a complete and adequate remedy at law.