King County v. Primeau, 48472-4

Citation98 Wn.2d 321,654 P.2d 1199
Decision Date09 December 1982
Docket NumberNo. 48472-4,48472-4
PartiesKING COUNTY, Petitioner, v. Irene PRIMEAU, Respondent.
CourtUnited States State Supreme Court of Washington

Norman K. Maleng, King County Prosecutor, Robert D. Johns, Deputy Pros. Atty., Seattle, for petitioner.

Frank Bean, Bellevue, for respondent.

DOLLIVER, Justice.

Mrs. Irene Primeau is the owner of approximately 13 1/2 acres of land near Kirkland. The differing ways in which this property is viewed by King County and by Mrs. Primeau are illustrated by the trial briefs of each party. According to the County:

The neighborhood is a typical subdivision single family residence area. The subject property contains a single family residence plus a number of storage buildings, an old house trailer and various other structures. In addition, the premises are littered with discarded appliances, junked cars, broken and used lumber, and all manner of garbage and debris. A garbage dump exists on the rear of the property.

The house itself is in a deteriorated and dangerous condition. The plumbing is largely inoperable, portions of the siding and roof are missing or damaged, the electrical system is very substandard, and the chimney is damaged. Several of the rooms are completely filled with debris, creating a substantial fire hazard.

Mrs. Primeau maintains a substantial collection of domestic animals on the property, including dogs, cats, pigs, goats, chickens and ducks. As a consequence, large quantities of animal feces have accumulated on the property. The combination of these problems has created a substantial rodent problem in the neighborhood.

Mrs. Primeau sees things in a somewhat different light:

Farm animals have always been present on these premises. Pigs were raised commercially for many years until the combined actions of King County and some neighbors forced its closure. Cows, goats, chickens, ponies geese, dogs, cats and other animals have been raised and kept on this farm. Many of these animals had been abandoned, lost, or were sick or injured. Defendant's farm became known as a haven for such animals. Many of the animals had been raised from their infancy and kept strictly as pets.

As a matter of necessity in earlier years Defendant and her husband collected and recycled used materials for their own personal use. To this day this is a habit that Defendant adheres to. Therefore, there exists stacks of fencing material, appliances, boxes, crates, and other material which has a useful and intrinsic value to Defendant.

Within Defendant's house there exists a minimum of modern day conveniences. Her house is heated by a wood stove, her windows are boarded shut to conserve heat, her hot water tank has been disconnected to save electricity. Many of the personal belongings and effects of her children and her deceased husband have been kept and stored by Defendant in the now unused rooms of her house. In her own words this is her "houseful of memories."

A view congruent with that of King County was held by one of Mrs. Primeau's neighbors, and on June 23, 1978, King County Animal Control received a complaint from this neighbor, Marlene Berry. Ms. Berry complained Mrs. Primeau was mistreating many of her animals. Ms. Berry also stated Mrs. Primeau's plumbing was inoperable, and raw sewage from the house drained onto Mrs. Primeau's property.

Shortly before receiving Ms. Berry's complaint, Officer Chuck Wadkins of King County Animal Control had driven by the Primeau property and observed several unlicensed dogs and various mistreated and malnourished animals. Based on a statement by Officer Wadkins, a King County District Court judge issued a search warrant on June 19, 1978 authorizing entry onto the Primeau property to search for animals being cruelly treated and dogs without valid licenses. When King County Animal Control officers executed the warrant, they found 7 ponies and donkeys and 22 dogs, all suffering from malnutrition, and the carcass of an unrecognizable large animal, which had been dead for 2 to 4 months. The Animal Control officers seized the animals, and cited Mrs. Primeau for eight counts of cruelty to animals and one count of operating a kennel without a license. The Animal Control officers subsequently warned the King County Building and Land Development Division about several health and safety hazards and potential housing code violations they observed on the Primeau property.

In August 1978, in response to information received from Animal Control and Ms. Berry's complaint, the King County Building and Land Development Division initiated an investigation of Mrs. Primeau's property. Norman Peterson, Supervisor of the Code Enforcement Section of the Building and Land Development Division, drove by the Primeau property and observed several violations of the Uniform Building Code and the Uniform Code for the Abatement of Dangerous Buildings, as adopted in section 2 of King County Ordinance 3647 (1978). Mr. Peterson made no attempt to enter the property or contact Mrs. Primeau personally. Rather, he applied for a search warrant to inspect the Primeau property. After receiving Mr. Peterson's affidavit and Ms. Berry's complaint, a King County Superior Court judge determined probable cause existed to suspect Mrs. Primeau of violating the housing code and dangerous building code and issued a warrant to search the Primeau property.

On August 10, 1978, Mr. Peterson, County Building Inspector Karl Korshaven, and two King County Sheriff's deputies executed the warrant to search the Primeau property. The officers knocked on the door of the Primeau residence, announced their purpose, and personally served Mrs. Primeau with the warrant. Mrs. Primeau asked that the inspection be postponed until her attorneys could be present. The officers denied her request and proceeded with the inspection. During the inspection, Mr. Peterson and Inspector Korshaven observed a number of housing code and dangerous buildings code violations.

Based on the observations of Mr. Peterson and Inspector Korshaven, King County filed a civil action against Mrs. Primeau on November 20, 1978. The County sought an order requiring Mrs. Primeau to correct the various housing code and dangerous buildings code violations. In her answer, Mrs. Primeau admitted six violations, admitted two others in part, and denied the remainder.

On September 26, 1979, during the discovery process, King County requested Mrs. Primeau to permit an inspection of her property pursuant to CR 34. After initially acceding to the County's request, Mrs. Primeau refused to allow the inspection. On February 27, 1980, however, the King County Superior Court granted King County's motion to compel discovery and ordered Mrs. Primeau to permit an inspection. During the court-ordered inspection, County building inspectors gathered further evidence of housing code and dangerous buildings code violations.

At the commencement of trial, Mrs. Primeau moved to suppress all evidence obtained by Building and Land Development Division officers during the two inspections of the Primeau property. Mrs. Primeau claimed a search warrant could not be obtained until after the person had been asked to consent to a search. Since before obtaining the August 10, 1978 warrant Mr. Peterson did not request consent to an inspection, Mrs. Primeau asserted the warrant was invalid. She further argued that evidence obtained during the subsequent search should have been suppressed under the "fruit of the poisonous tree" doctrine. The King County Superior Court granted Mrs. Primeau's motion to suppress the evidence and entered an order dismissing the case against her. The Court of Appeals affirmed. King Cy. v. Primeau, 30 Wash.App. 664, 637 P.2d 987 (1981). We accepted review.

The ordinance which is the subject of dispute between the parties is King County Ordinance 2909, § 104 (1976). It states:

A. Whenever necessary to make an inspection to enforce or determine compliance with the provisions of any land use or public health ordinance, or whenever a director or his duly authorized inspector has cause to believe that a violation of any land use or public health ordinance has been or is being committed, the inspector may enter any building, structure, property or portion thereof at reasonable times to inspect the same.

B. If such building, structure, property or portion thereof is occupied, the inspector shall present identification credentials, state the reason for the inspection, and demand entry.

C. If such building, structure, property or portion thereof is unoccupied, the inspector shall first make a reasonable effort to locate the owner or other persons having charge or control of the building, structure, property or portion thereof and demand entry. If the inspector is unable to locate the owner or such other persons, and he has reason to believe that conditions therein create an immediate and irreparable land use or health hazard, he shall make entry.

D. It is unlawful for any owner or occupant or any other person having charge, care or control of any building, structure, property or portion thereof to fail or neglect after proper demand has been given to permit prompt entry thereon where the inspector has reason to believe that conditions therein create an immediate and irreparable land use or health hazard.

E. Unless entry is consented to by the owner or person in control of any building, structure, property or portion thereof or conditions are believed to exist which create an immediate and irreparable land use or health hazard, the inspector, prior to entry, shall obtain a search warrant as authorized by the laws of the State of Washington.

Defendant contends the County inspector cannot obtain a warrant under section 104(E) until after the inspector has requested an inspection under section 104(B). We do not share this view. The phrase "[u]nless entry is consented to" in section 104(E) does not create a condition...

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    • United States
    • Washington Supreme Court
    • 28 Julio 2005
    ...Conference of Bldg. Officials) [hereinafter Housing Code], adopted by Renton City Ordinance. The CPR Team cited King County v. Primeau, 98 Wash.2d 321, 654 P.2d 1199 (1982), to show that these provisions have been judicially upheld as providing authority to seek and grant warrants in these ......
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    • Washington Supreme Court
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