Washington Dredging & Imp. Co. v. Kinnear

• Decision Date: 30 March 1901
• Citation: 64 P. 522,24 Wash. 405
• Court: Washington Supreme Court
• Parties: WASHINGTON DREDGING & IMPROVEMENT CO. v. KINNEAR et al.

64 P. 522

24 Wash. 405

WASHINGTON DREDGING & IMPROVEMENT CO. v. KINNEAR et al.

Supreme Court of Washington

March 30, 1901

Appeal from superior court, King county; J. P. Houser, Judge.

Action by the Washington Dredging & Improvement Company against George Kinnear and others. From an order denying defendants' motion to dismiss the lis pendens filed by plaintiff, defendants appeal. Reversed.

Ballinger Ronald & Battle and Fred Rice Rowell, for appellants.

DUNBAR J.

Original contest over application for tide lands. Contest decided against respondent by the board of state land commissioners on February 7, 1898. The respondent appealed from the rejection of its application for tide lands to the superior court of King county. Appellants moved to dismiss said appeal, which motion was sustained on October 25, 1898. From the order of the court granting the dismissal the respondent appealed to this court, which said appeal was dismissed on May 18, 1899. Thereafter the respondent applied to the superior court of King county, asking that the said cause be redocketed and retried, and from the order of the court refusing said application the respondent again appealed to this court, which appeal also was dismissed by this court on the 26th day of June, 1900. Thereafter, and on April 30 1900, for the first time, the respondent filed its lis pendens, which was properly recorded in the records of King county. Thereupon the appellant filed a motion asking for the cancellation of said lis pendens in the manner provided by law. The notice of the motion was served upon the respondent and upon the hearing of the same the motion was denied. It clearly appears from the statement above set forth that no action was pending in the superior court of King county, or in any court whatever, between the parties to this action, at the time the lis pendens was filed. A lis pendens is for the purpose of giving notice of the jurisdiction or control which the court acquires over property involved in a suit pending the continuance of the action. The matters in dispute having been finally determined, not only once, but twice, the filing of the lis pendens was without authority of law, and the only question that can be involved in this case is whether or not the order of the court in refusing to grant the appellants' application is an appealable order.

The latter part of section 4887, 2 Ballinger's Ann. Codes &amp St.,--a section in...