Rains v. Department of Fisheries

This case is certified to this court from the Court of Appeals, Division Two.

George C. Rains, appellant and plaintiff below, owns property in Clallam County through which flows Morse Creek, a nonnavigable fish-inhabited stream. He was denied a permit by the State to rechannel the bed of the creek. Thereafter the creek overflowed and damaged his property. Claiming the denial of the permit was the proximate cause of substantial damage to him, Rains brought an action against the State of Washington for negligence or, in the alternative, for inverse condemnation. The trial court granted the State…