State v. Costich

This is a condemnation action brought by the State to acquire Mr. Phillip Costich’s property in north *467Spokane County. The Court of Appeals affirmed a trial court’s award of reasonable attorney and expert witness fees to Mr. Costich based on the trial court’s invalidation of the State’s settlement offer because the State did not (1) itemize in the settlement offer the State’s estimation of the property’s fair market value and (2) leave the offer open for a 30-day period prior to trial. At issue is whether invalidation of the settlement offer was appropriate. We hold it was not. Accordingly we…