IN THE COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE STATE OF WASHINGTON CREER LEGAL, d/b/a for attorney, ) Erica Krikorian, real party in interest, ) ra (PO ) DIVISION ONE cs) . 7 47 , -44 Appellant, ) ) No. 76814-0-1 V. ) cip 9 frt:13 4f-- 4y0-13ril ) PUBLISHED OPINION ann MONROE SCHOOL DISTRICT, a ) Vg ' =r- political subdivision of the State of ) aw) -4c3 Washington, ) f4.7 ) ) Respondent. ) FILED: August 13, 2018 ) DWYER, J. — Over the course of her representation of Erica Miller, '(PRA)requests to the Monroe attorney Erica Krikorian made Public Records Act. School District (the District). Krikorian then negotiated a settlement with the District in which Miller released any potential PRA claims. Krikorian, asserting that the PRA claims were hers, later filed suit against the District for an alleged denial of her opportunity to inspect requested records. The trial court granted summary judgment to the District on the theory that Krikorian lacked standing to prosecute this action. We affirm, holding that Krikorian, as Miller's agent, did not own the cause of action and could not prosecute it once it was released by Miller. I Ch. 42.56 RCW. No. 76814-0-1/2 In December 2014, Erica Miller filed suit in the United States District Court against the District, alleging civil rights violations related to the seclusion and restraint of her autistic child. She was represented by Erica Krikorian of Creer Legal (Krikorian) and Brian Krikorian.2 In the course of litigation, Krikorian sent the District two PRA requests on behalf of Miller. Krikorian e-mailed the first request on February 12, 2015. The District produced records to Miller's attorneys in installments. On April 27, 2015, Krikorian sent an e-mail to the District both requesting additional records and following up on the first request. Krikorian threatened to file a lawsuit under the PRA based on the District's failure to produce records responsive to the first request, noting that the records were necessary for depositions in the civil rights litigation. The District produced records to Miller's attorneys in installments. On June 4, 2015, Miller filed a motion to show cause in federal district court, alleging that the District wrongfully withheld records from her under the PRA. The district court denied the motion. On January 13, 2016, Miller filed another motion to show cause for a PRA violation. She requested that she be awarded $55,250 in attorney fees, noting that in the time since the original motion,"another 75 hours of attorney time has been invested." The court denied Miller's motion, but the District was ordered to produce any remaining responsive documents. 2 We refer to plaintiff Erica Krikorian, doing business as Creer Legal, as "Krikorian." 2 No. 76814-0-1/3 Miller's suit was tried in federal district court. The jury returned a defense verdict. Miller was ordered to pay $17,224.07 in costs to the District. Thereafter, she and the District entered into a settlement agreement in which the District agreed to waive execution on the cost bill in consideration for ...
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