In Admasu v. Port of Seattle, No. 70220-3-1 (Dec. 18, 2014), the Washington Court of Appeals held:
- No class certification for owners who claimed that overflights and noise from Sea-Tac airport inversely condemned their property. The common questions did not predominate, because inverse condemnation and the extent of the diminution of value is a property-specific exercise.
- Some of the properties were burdened by an avigation easement, and the court held those owners had already bargained away any rights regarding overflights. Thus, no property was taken from them.
- The claims of owners who asserted noise damage were precluded by the federal Aviation Safety Noise Abatement Act of 1979.
- But claims for damage from vibration, toxic discharges, and fumes, were not precluded. For these claims, the court of appeals concluded the Port had not adequately supported its summary judgment motion in the trial court, and reversed and sent the case back down.
Admasu v. Port of Seattle, No. 70220-3-1 (Wash. App. published Dec. 18, 2014)
