Pande Cameron & Co. of Seattle, Inc. v. Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority

MEMORANDUM

Pande Cameron of Seattle, Inc., a high-end rug retailer, and Paul, Gregory, and Charles Andonian (“the Andonians”), as former owners of 815 Pine Street in downtown Seattle, appeal the adverse summary judgment for the City of Seattle and the Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority (“Sound Transit”) in this inverse condemnation action. We affirm.

Plaintiffs seek damages allegedly caused by effects from the construction of a transit tunnel in downtown Seattle. They claim noise, vibrations, dust, barricades, traffic disruptions, and impeded pedestrian access, amounted to a temporary, nonphysical taking requiring compensation under the Washington and U.S. Constitutions.

Pande Cameron and the Andonians claim they have raised genuine issues of material fact, alleging the following elements necessary under Washington law to establish a claim for inverse condemnation: “(1) a taking or damaging (2) of private property (3) for public use (4) without just compensation being paid (5) by a governmental entity that has not instituted formal proceedings.” Dickgieser v. State, 153 Wash.2d 530 , 105 P.3d 26, 29 (2005). Plaintiffs also claim they have shown a nuisance, “peculiar…