IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON CESAR HERNANDEZ, JOSE LUIS ) MENDOZA, MIGUEL MORALES, ) No. 78818-3-I ANGEL SOLIS and FRANCISCO ) CHAVEZ, ) DIVISION ONE Respondents, ) PUBLISHED OPINION v. EDMONDS MEMORY CARE, LLC, ) Appellant. ) FILED: October 21, 2019 _________________________________________________________________________________ ) LEACH, J. — Edmonds Memory Care LLC (EMC) appeals the superior court’s attorney fees award to five laborers who sued EMC after filing a lien claim for unpaid wages against its property. EMC paid these wages after receiving copies of the lien and complaint from the laborers’ attorney. RCW 60.04.181(3), the construction lien statute’s attorney fee provision, provides a court with discretion to award the “prevailing party in the action” reasonable attorney fees. EMC asserts that the laborers cannot be the “prevailing party in the action” because it did not dispute their wage claims and the court did not award a judgment for them. The laborers claim they are the “prevailing party in the action” because they achieved their intended result, payment of their wages. Based on the ordinary meaning of “prevail” and “action” and the statute’s No. 78818-3-1/2 requirement that it be liberally construed in favor of the parties it protects, we conclude that the statute authorized the superior court to award the laborers attorney fees. We affirm. FACTS In December 2016 and January 2017, EMC developed the Cedar Creek senior housing project (project) on its property. Alejandro Sandoval and his company, Sandoval Construction, (together Sandoval) subcontracted with general contractor Koelsch Construction to provide framing labor. Between December 26 and January 9, Cesar Hernández, Jose Luis Mendoza, Miguel Morales, Angel SoIls, and Francisco Chavez did framing labor for Sandoval but were not paid for the days they worked during this two-week period. So these laborers then stopped working on the project. Crew leader Mendoza tried to contact Sandoval many times about payment. The few times that he made contact with Sandoval, Sandoval responded that he would pay the crew within a few days. Sandoval never paid the laborers. When Mendoza told Sandoval that he would have to take legal action, Sandoval threatened that Mendoza would “get in a lot of trouble” if Mendoza complained to the Department of Labor & Industries (Department) or consulted an attorney. Mendoza also spoke with Koelsch’s project superintendent, Scott, about the laborers’ unpaid wages. Scott told Mendoza -2- No. 78818-3-I /3 that Koelsch had already paid Sandoval for most of the work and the laborers would have to talk to Sandoval about their unpaid wages. Mendoza stated that he and the other crew members are from Mexico and do not speak English well. They know little about the legal system. The laborers learned about their lawyers from friends in construction who had previously received legal help. On February 9, 2017, the laborers, aided by counsel, filed a lien against EMC’s property. On February 20, the laborers’ counsel sent EMC copies of the lien and the complaint to be filed to start this lawsuit. They claimed $6,605.10 ...
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