Abacus Fine Carpentry, LLC v. Wilson

16 Wash.App.2d 112

480 P.3d 433

ABACUS FINE CARPENTRY, LLC, Respondent,

v.Vivian H. WILSON and Russell D. Wilson, Petitioners.

No. 80324-7-I

Court of Appeals of Washington, Division 1.

February 8, 2021

Sage Andrew Linn, Fifth Avenue Law Group PLLC, 701 5th Ave., Ste. 2800, Seattle, WA, 98104-7023, for Petitioner(s).

David E. Linville, Linville Law Firm PLLC, 800 5th Ave., Ste. 3850, Seattle, WA, 98104-3101, for Respondent(s).

PUBLISHED OPINION

Hazelrigg, J. ¶ 1 Abacus Fine Carpentry, LLC brought suit against Vivian and Russell Wilson for collection of payment based on a cabinet installation project in the Wilsons’ home for which the parties had contracted. The Wilsons filed a motion for summary judgment arguing Abacus was statutorily barred from bringing suit because it was not bonded at the time of the project. Abacus does not dispute its bond had lapsed. The trial court denied the motion and the Wilsons now appeal, arguing RCW 18.27.040(1) suspends a contractor's registration by operation of law when a contractor's bond lapses. We agree with the plain language interpretation of the statute advanced by the Wilsons and reverse for dismissal.

FACTS

¶ 2 Abacus Fine Carpentry, LLC (Abacus) is a construction contractor that has been engaged in business in Washington since 2006. In April 2016, Vivian and Russell Wilson (collectively, the Wilsons) hired Abacus to install cabinet doors, drawers, and appliance panels to preexisting custom-built cabinets at their residence. Abacus held itself out as a licensed construction professional.

¶ 3 Abacus’ bond was cancelled effective June 17, 2010 for nonpayment of the premium. Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company (Nationwide) sent written notice of the bond cancellation to the Department of Labor and Industries (Department), Abacus, and A.L. Insurance Group, Inc. Four years prior to the cancellation of the bond, Nationwide issued a rider changing the number of Abacus’ contractor bond. The Department apparently did not update its records to reflect the changed bond number. The Department received the notice of bond cancellation in 2010, but did not timely update its records to note the cancellation, likely because of its prior failure to recognize the changed bond number. Abacus admits it did not maintain a valid contractor's bond during the years 2010 to 2019.

¶ 4 In October 2018, Abacus filed a complaint in King County Superior Court claiming the Wilsons owed payment for the cabinet project. In December, the Wilsons filed their answer, affirmative defenses, counterclaims, and a third-party complaint against Nationwide as the issuer of the bond. In their counterclaims and third-party complaint, the Wilsons asserted a claim and sought judgment against Abacus’ registration bond pursuant to RCW 18.27.040. In March 2019, however, counsel for Abacus advised the Wilsons that Nationwide had cancelled Abacus’ bond effective June 17, 2010. This prompted the Wilsons to dismiss their third-party complaint against Nationwide. The Wilsons filed their amended answer and counterclaims pursuant to a CR 15(a) stipulation.

¶ 5 In May 2019, the Wilsons filed a motion for summary judgment seeking dismissal of all claims asserted by Abacus. They asserted Abacus was barred from pursuing collection based on RCW 18.27, given its failure to maintain a contractor's registration bond. Abacus opposed the motion, arguing its failure to maintain the bond during the project was unwitting and unintentional. Abacus did not deny that Nationwide sent notice of the bond's cancellation. In June 2019, the Wilsons’ motion was denied after a hearing on the merits. Following the ruling, the Wilsons filed an unsuccessful motion for reconsideration. In August 2019, the Wilsons filed a notice of discretionary review, and all parties approved a stipulation for that purpose. This court granted review.

ANALYSIS

¶ 6 Our state law is clear that in order for a contractor to bring a claim in Washington, they must be registered at the time the contract for the project in question was entered.

No person engaged in the business or acting in the capacity of a contractor may bring or maintain any action in any court of this state for the collection of compensation for the performance of any work or for breach of any contract for which registration is required under this chapter without alleging and proving that he or she was a duly registered contractor and held a current and valid certificate of registration at the time he or she contracted for the performance of such work or entered into such contract.

RCW 18.27.080. As such, the status of Abacus’ bond and registration are foundational questions for our review. If a contractor's bond lapses or is cancelled, the contractor's registration is suspended via RCW 18.27.040(1). There is no dispute that Abacus was without a valid bond for nearly a decade while contracting for various projects, including the one with the Wilsons.

¶ 7 The primary question presented to this court is one of statutory interpretation involving this language contained within RCW 18.27.040(1) :

A cancellation or revocation of the bond or withdrawal of the surety from the bond automatically suspends the registration issued to the contractor until a new bond or reinstatement notice has been filed and approved as provided in this section.

Specifically, this case requires us to determine the meaning of "automatic" as used in this passage. The Wilsons assert that the proper interpretation is that, without a valid bond, a contractor automatically loses their registration through operation of law, meaning no action by the Department is required. Abacus avers that "automatic" as used in the statute simply means the Department has no discretion in suspending the contractor's registration, but that Department action is still required before a suspension becomes effective against the contractor.

¶ 8 This appeal seeks review of the order denying summary judgment which is reviewed de novo. Miller v. Likins, 109 Wash. App. 140, 144, 34 P.3d 835 (2001). Similarly, this court also utilizes a de novo standard as to questions of statutory interpretation. Cockle v. Dep't of Labor and Indus., 142 Wash.2d 801, 807, 16 P.3d 583 (2001). "The primary goal of statutory construction is to carry out legislative intent." Id. The best evidence of the legislature's intent is the statute's language. In re Marriage of Schneider, 173 Wash.2d 353, 363, 268 P.3d 215 (2011). When "the statute's meaning is plain on its face, then the court must give effect to the plain meaning as an expression of legislative intent." Dep't of Ecology v. Campbell & Gwinn, LLC, 146 Wash.2d 1, 9-10, 43 P.3d 4 (2002). A statute's plain meaning is to be discerned from the ordinary meaning of the language under scrutiny, in addition to the context of the statute in which the language is found, related provisions, and the statutory scheme as a whole. State v. Jacobs, 154 Wash.2d 596, 600, 115 P.3d 281 (2005), superseded by statute, State v. Conover, 183 Wash.2d 706, 355 P.3d 1093 (2015). If multiple reasonable interpretations of a statute's plain meaning exist, it is ambiguous. Cerrillo v. Esparza, 158 Wash.2d 194, 201, 142 P.3d 155 (2006). However, a statute is not ambiguous because numerous interpretations are merely conceivable. Id. If a statute is ambiguous, this court relies on principles of statutory construction, legislative history, and relevant case law to decipher the legislative intent. State v. Manuel, 14 Wash. App. 2d 455, 461, 471 P.3d 265 (2020).

¶ 9 The plain meaning of RCW 18.27.040(1) is sufficient to resolve the question presented in this case. As the Wilsons advance, the statute suspends a contractor's license by operation of law when they no longer have a bond. The relevant language of RCW 18.27.040(1) states:

The bond shall be continuous and may be canceled by the surety upon the surety giving written notice to the director. A cancellation or revocation of the bond or withdrawal of the surety from the bond automatically suspends the registration issued to the contractor until a new bond or reinstatement notice has been filed and approved as provided in this section.

The Wilsons’ interpretation would require no action or notice by the Department to officially suspend a contractor's registration. This position is reinforced by the definition of "registration suspension" as used...