Pleas v. City of Seattle

112 Wash. 2d 794, 774 P.2d 1158 (1989)

Study Aids
Case Briefs Overview
Casebooks
Case Briefs
P
From our private database of 46,300+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Pleas v. City of Seattle

Washington Supreme Court
112 Wash. 2d 794, 774 P.2d 1158 (1989)

SH

Facts

Parkridge (plaintiff) was a partnership that bought property in Seattle with the express purpose of building a high-rise apartment building. The property was zoned for this purpose. City residents in the surrounding neighborhoods opposed the project. The City of Seattle (defendant) worked against the project by delaying permits over the course of 10 years, requiring an environmental study that was not typically required, and rezoning the area for single-family homes. Parkridge obtained a court ruling that the rezoning was void for being arbitrary and capricious and that the city had improperly refused to process the permits. Parkridge then filed an action against the city for intentional interference with business expectancy. At trial, Parkridge provided evidence that city officials had improperly interfered in its ability to obtain necessary permits due to political motivation to appease the citizens who opposed the building of the high rise. The trial court found for Parkridge and awarded it almost $1 million in damages, including lost profits, loss of favorable financing, and increased construction costs. The appellate court reversed the trial court’s holding on the grounds that Parkridge had not presented evidence sufficient to prove that the city’s interference was improper. Parkridge appealed.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Utter, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 806,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools—such as Yale, Berkeley, and Northwestern—even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 806,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 806,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,300 briefs - keyed to 988 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership

Casebooks

Torts

Key Terms