Opinion ID: 2600008
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The definition of a deprivation

Text: ¶ 21 A deprivation is a direct and adverse effect. Mustell, 102 Wash.2d at 725, 684 P.2d 1275. It is not a theoretical harm, nor is it an increased probability of harm. See Martinez v. California, 444 U.S. 277, 281, 100 S.Ct. 553, 62 L.Ed.2d 481 (1980). [3] An injury that is an indirect and incidental result of lawful government action does not amount to a deprivation. O'Bannon v. Town Court Nursing Ctr., 447 U.S. 773, 787, 100 S.Ct. 2467, 65 L.Ed.2d 506 (1980). Were it otherwise, the government would almost always be responsible for giving people notice and an opportunity to be heard before acting. ¶ 22 Even if a deprivation becomes more likely as a result of government action, due process does not apply if an actual deprivation is contingent on a subsequent action. This principle is illustrated by Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Puget Sound Growth Management Hearings Board, 156 Wash.2d 131, 124 P.3d 640 (2005). Chevron argued that it did not receive due process when the town of Woodway, without first notifying Chevron, designated Chevron's land in Snohomish County as a potential annexation area in accordance with the Growth Management Act, chapter 36.70A RCW. Chevron, 156 Wash.2d at 134-36, 124 P.3d 640. Woodway's designation of Chevron's land certainly made annexation more likely, and we acknowledged Woodway's action could have been direct because it uniquely targeted Chevron's land. Id. at 138, 124 P.3d 640. But Chevron's claim was contingent. Chevron used its property in the same way it always had, no annexation in fact occurred, and Chevron would have the opportunity to object at a later proceeding if Woodway chose finally to annex the property. Id. On these facts, Woodway did not have to give Chevron individual notice, because Chevron could not show how its property rights were actually affected. Id. ¶ 23 In another case where a deprivation was contingent on a subsequent action, Public Utility District No. 2 of Grant County v. North American Foreign Trade Zone Industries, LLC (NAFTZI), 159 Wash.2d 555, 570-71, 151 P.3d 176 (2007), we held a landowner was not entitled to constitutional due process in a condemnation proceeding until the judicial hearing. It did not matter that a resolution authorizing condemnation was adopted at a public meeting before the judicial hearing, thus making condemnation more likely, because an adopted resolution does not result in a taking of property and does not deprive a property owner of any rights. Id. at 570, 151 P.3d 176. We recognized that [t]he actual condemnation action does not occur until the judicial hearing. Id at 571, 151 P.3d 176. Thus, at the initial stagethe public meetingthe landowners suffered no deprivation cognizable under the law of due process.