Washburn v. Pima County

• Decision Date: 19 December 2003
• Docket Number: No. 2 CA-CV 2003-0107.,2 CA-CV 2003-0107.
• Citation: 206 Ariz. 571,81 P.3d 1030
• Parties: Steven WASHBURN and Jeanette Washburn, husband and wife; Washburn Company, Inc., d/b/a Washburn Custom Builders; and Southern Arizona Homebuilders Association, Plaintiffs/Appellants, v. PIMA COUNTY, a body politic, Defendant/Appellee.
• Court: Arizona Court of Appeals

81 P.3d 1030

206 Ariz. 571

Steven WASHBURN and Jeanette Washburn, husband and wife; Washburn Company, Inc., d/b/a Washburn Custom Builders; and Southern Arizona Homebuilders Association, Plaintiffs/Appellants, v. PIMA COUNTY, a body politic, Defendant/Appellee.

No. -0107.

Court of Appeals of Arizona, Division 2, Department B.

December 19, 2003.

Haralson, Miller, Pitt, Feldman & McAnally, P.C. By Gerald Maltz and Stephen Golden, Tucson, Attorneys for Plaintiffs/Appellants.

Barbara LaWall, Pima County Attorney By Christopher Straub, Tucson, ttorneys for Defendant/Appellee.

OPINION

ECKERSTROM, Judge.

¶ 1 Appellants Steven and Jeanette Washburn, the Southern Arizona Homebuilders Association (SAHBA), and Washburn Company, Inc. (collectively the Washburns), appeal from the trial court's order granting summary judgment in favor of appellee Pima County. The Washburns contend on appeal that the county lacked statutory authority to adopt an ordinance requiring builders of single-family homes to incorporate design features allowing for greater wheelchair access and that the ordinance violates the Arizona Constitution. We affirm.

Background

¶ 2 On appeal from a grant of summary judgment, we view the facts and all reasonable inferences in the light most favorable to the party opposing the motion. Pleak v. Entrada Property Owners' Ass'n, 205 Ariz. 471, ¶ 2, 73 P.3d 602, ¶ 2 (App.2003). In February 2002, the Pima County Board of Supervisors adopted Ordinance 2002-2, the Inclusive Home Design Ordinance, which was apparently modified by Pima County Ordinance 2002-72. Among its other effects, the ordinance promulgated building requirements applicable to the construction of new, single-family homes in unincorporated areas of Pima County. It did so by adopting selected construction standards found in the American National Standards Institute's (ANSI) publication A117.1, Accessible and Usable Buildings and Facilities (the ANSI standards), published by the International Code Council (ICC). The adopted provisions require that newly constructed homes incorporate design features that allow people in wheelchairs to more easily enter and use the homes. These features include "doorways wide enough to permit wheelchair access, electrical outlets reachable by a wheelchair-bound person, and bathroom walls reinforced to permit installation of grab bars." The Washburns admit that requiring these features in multi-family residential facilities and places of public accommodation serves an important government interest but challenge application of the requirements to single-family homes.

¶ 3 The Washburns applied for a permit to build a single-family home, but the proposed design failed to comply with the ordinance, and the county denied the application. They later filed a declaratory judgment and special action complaint in which they asked the trial court to declare that the county lacked statutory authority to adopt the ordinance and that it violated both the Equal Protection and Privacy Clauses of the Arizona Constitution. Ariz. Const. art. II, §§ 8, 13. The trial court granted the Washburns' request for resolution of the special action complaint by an order to show cause (OSC) hearing pursuant to Rule 4(c), Ariz. R.P. Special Actions, 17B A.R.S. The county filed a motion for summary judgment and objected to resolving the complaint by OSC. Following arguments on the OSC, the trial court issued an under-advisement ruling, essentially granting summary judgment in favor of the county. In so ruling, the court concluded that the resolution of another case in which SAHBA had participated barred the Washburns from challenging the county's statutory authority to adopt the ordinance. The court also found that the ordinance was constitutional. Because it is clear from the record that the trial court denied the Washburns' request for declaratory relief, we need not determine whether the trial court erred in accepting jurisdiction of their special action complaint, an argument the county raised only in its motion for summary judgment. See Ariz. R.P. Special Actions 1(a) ("Except as authorized by statute, the special action shall not be available where there is an equally plain, speedy, and adequate remedy by appeal...."). Our review focuses instead on whether the trial court properly granted summary judgment in the county's favor.

Standard of Review

¶ 4 Summary judgment is proper if the evidence presented by the party opposing the motion has so little probative value, given the required burden of proof, that reasonable jurors could not agree with the opposing party's conclusions. Ariz. R. Civ. P. 56(c)(1), 16 A.R.S., Pt. 2; Orme Sch. v. Reeves, 166 Ariz. 301, 309, 802 P.2d 1000, 1008 (1990). In reviewing a grant of summary judgment, we determine de novo whether any genuine issues of material fact exist and whether the trial court erred in applying the law. Bothell v. Two Point Acres, Inc., 192 Ariz. 313, 316, 965 P.2d 47, 50 (App.1998).

Preclusion

¶ 5 The Washburns first contend the trial court erred in determining either res judicata or collateral estoppel precluded them from asserting their statutory claims. These doctrines, also referred to as claim and issue preclusion, preclude a party from relitigating a claim or an issue as a result of previous litigation. See Smith v. CIGNA HealthPlan of Ariz., 203 Ariz. 173, ¶¶ 22, 25, 52 P.3d 205, ¶¶ 22, 25 (App.2002). The county relies on the outcome of a lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the District of Arizona in which SAHBA had participated. See Garber v. Pima County, No. CV 02-489 TUC FRZ (order filed October 11, 2002). The district court found that the plaintiffs, including SAHBA, had failed to state a claim upon which relief could be granted but ultimately dismissed the case for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. See id.

¶ 6 Relying on Chicot County Drainage District v. Baxter State Bank, 308 U.S. 371, 60 S.Ct. 317, 84 L.Ed. 329 (1940), the county argues that the Washburns were precluded from bringing this action because they failed to appeal the district court's determination that it lacked subject matter jurisdiction over the federal lawsuit. In that case, the defendant had filed a voluntary bankruptcy action to allow it to reorganize its debt. After the reorganization plan was approved by the defendant's creditors and affirmed by the district court, the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional the statute under which the bankruptcy court had proceeded. The plaintiff creditor then filed an action in the district court to collect on bonds originally issued by the defendant that had been extinguished under the reorganization plan. The plaintiff prevailed in the trial court, but the Supreme Court reversed, holding that, at the time of the bankruptcy proceedings, the district court had possessed "authority to pass upon its own jurisdiction[,] and its decree sustaining jurisdiction against attack, while open to direct review, is res judicata in a collateral action." Chicot County Drainage Dist.,308 U.S. at 377,60 S.Ct. at 320,84 L.Ed. at 334 (emphasis added).

¶ 7 Unlike in Chicot County Drainage District, however, the district court in the federal case ruled that it lacked subject matter jurisdiction over the merits of that case. Although SAHBA could have challenged that ruling on direct appeal, it instead filed this action. Citing Wages v. Internal Revenue Service, 915 F.2d 1230, 1234 (9th Cir.1990), the Washburns argue that the district court in the federal case lacked authority to enter a binding decision on the merits once it determined it lacked subject matter jurisdiction. Wages is a corollary to Chicot County Drainage District and holds that, once a court determines it lacks subject matter jurisdiction over a particular case, it has no authority whatsoever to address the merits of the case. Wages, 915 F.2d at 1234 ("[A] Judge who concludes that subject matter jurisdiction is lacking has no power to rule alternatively on the merits of a case."). Because the district court in the federal case ruled that it lacked subject matter jurisdiction over that action, it was precluded from addressing the merits. Id. Accordingly, neither res judicata nor collateral estoppel precluded the Washburns from bringing this action. The Washburns' failure to appeal the district court's dismissal is immaterial. Although the trial court erroneously agreed with the county that the Washburns were precluded from bringing their statutory claims, we will affirm the judgment if it was correct for any reason. Logerquist v. Danforth, 188 Ariz. 16, 18, 932 P.2d 281, 283 (App.1996). Accordingly, we turn to the merits of the Washburns' statutory claims.

Statutory Interpretation

¶ 8 The legislature authorized counties to adopt building codes but "limited [that authority] to the [adoption of] ... [a]ny building, electrical or mechanical code that has been promulgated by any national organization or association that is organized and conducted for the purpose of developing codes." A.R.S. § 11-861(A), (C)(1). The Washburns challenge the county's adoption of the ANSI standards, which, through mandatory language, set forth a comprehensive collection of rules for builders to facilitate building access to people confined to wheelchairs. The Washburns contend that the county could not adopt the ANSI standards under § 11-861 because ICC neither titled nor classified those standards as a "code." Whether the legislature authorized the county to adopt requirements like the ANSI standards is a question of law subject to our de novo review. See Hohokam Irrigation and Drainage Dist. v. Ariz. Pub. Serv. Co., 204 Ariz. 394, ¶ 5, 64 P.3d 836, ¶ 5 (2003).

¶ 9 The principal goal in interpreting a statute is to ascertain and give effect to the legislature's intent. Pleak, 205 Ariz. 471, ¶ 7, 73 P.3d 602, ¶ 7. To do so, we first examine the statute's language. Lowing v. Allstate Ins. Co., 176 Ariz. 101, 103-04, ...