Land changes hands again

The rightful owner of 80 acres of former Washington state park land that was sold in May appears to have shifted a fourth time.

In a letter dated Monday, Superior Court Judge Neal Q. Rielly said a decision he authored last month incorrectly indicated that the land should be transferred to Nancy Johnson, a neighbor of the property who had pledged to keep the acreage in its natural state.

“I was careless on that,” Rielly said. “I was trying to say I made a mistake.”

Johnson’s $280,000 bid for the land was the only one received by the State Parks and Recreation Commission by the 2 p.m. deadline on May 31, according to Rielly’s December decision. The commission initially said Johnson had the winning bid, but later reversed itself after another bidder, Jay Mehring, appealed. He argued his $291,299 offer was submitted on time.

Mehring was given the title of the land and has begun to develop the property to build up to eight homes.

Bob Dunn, Mehring’s attorney, said if Johnson believes the state acted improperly, she can sue the state for damages.

“Once the land is transferred to an innocent third party, it’s a done deal,” Dunn said. “Her remedy is money. She has no remedy to get dirt because there’s no remedy for her to get dirt with my client (holding) the deed.”

But Stephen Eugster, Johnson’s attorney, said the land rightfully belongs to Johnson. If the state entered into a contract with Johnson for the land, as Rielly ruled, then actions giving the property to Mehring must be void, Eugster said.

“I’m not at all pleased with what the judge did,” Eugster said. “I thought this case was over.”

Rielly said he had no authority to tell the state to give the land to Johnson.

“You can’t deliver something you don’t have,” Rielly said. “I wouldn’t change my opinion as to who was the correct bidder. (Johnson) had a contract and one could assume that (the state) breached the contract.”

William Van Hook, a state assistant attorney general, said he will ask Rielly to reconsider. He said he agrees with Rielly that the land can’t be given to Johnson. But Van Hook maintains the state never had a contract with Johnson.

“(Mehring’s bid) was in the state park’s possession nine minutes before the cut-off time,” Van Hook said.

In his December decision, Rielly found that Mehring’s bid was received by the parks commission at 2:12 p.m. Although it was delivered to the state’s mailroom earlier, the judge said that didn’t constitute delivery to the commission headquarters.

Johnson said Eugster will ask Rielly to reconsider.

“It is disappointing,” Johnson said trying to hold back tears. “It just feels like I’m a yo-yo.”