County sues dike districts over floods
Government's suit seeks help in paying for flood damages
By ARMANDO MACHADO
Staff Writer
MOUNT VERNON -- Skagit County government is suing Dike Districts 12 and 17, saying the districts should help the county pay Nookachamps-area property owners millions of dollars in flood damages.
The county was ordered to pay $5.1 million and the state at least an additional $1.2 million to 53 residential and commercial property owners in the Nookachamps, Sterling and Clear Lake areas who suffered substantial losses during the devastating November 1990 floods. The figures are growing with court-imposed interest.
The combined $6.3 million is for damages, attorney fees and litigation expenses.
Property owners won a court case that said Skagit County's dike system forced unnaturally high flood waters onto the plaintiffs' properties. But county officials said proper procedures were followed in construction and maintenance of the dikes.
Both Skagit County and Washington state appealed the Nov. 14, 1997, ruling from Snohomish County Superior Court Judge David Hulbert, whose decision was basically to make an earlier jury verdict formal with details.
The case is in the state Court of Appeals in Seattle. No hearing date has been scheduled.
Skagit County Commissioner Harvey Wolden said Tuesday the dike districts should not be excluded from financial responsibility.
"If we lose, we would like them to participate by contributing," Wolden said.
Skagit County's suit against Dike Districts 12 and 17 was filed recently in Skagit County Superior Court.
The county asks for no specific percentage from the dike districts. That, county officials say, should be decided in court. No trial date is set.
David Svaren, a Burlington attorney who represents Dike District 12, said he doesn't agree with the county's reading of the law.
"I don't think that they're in a position to seek contribution," said Svaren.
Carl Hagens, a Seattle attorney who represents the property owners who sued the county, said the important thing is for his clients to be paid -- whether or not the dike districts contribute.
But Hagens said Skagit County should have a right to expect some contribution from the dike districts.
His clients initially also filed suit against the two dike districts, but court rulings in both Skagit and Snohomish counties said they could not sue the districts in a court outside Skagit County.
Hagens' clients did also file suit against the districts in Skagit County Superior Court, but later dropped it, saying they did not believe they would get fair court treatment in Skagit County.
Hagens says he wants to speed up the appeals process so that his clients can receive, as soon as possible, the money the county and state have been ordered to pay.
The flood-damage case was called Halverson vs. Skagit County. Leonard Halverson, the lead plaintiff, could not be reached for comment.
The state, represented by the Attorney General's Office, was a third-party defendant in the flood-damage case. Property owners pointed to the county but the county pointed to the state. Both the county and the state were found liable in mid-1997 by a 12-member jury.