Armen Yousoufian's Home Page

Welcome to my home page. This page has been set up to allow viewing of key documents filed over the years in my litigation against Ron Sims and King County, information on events, and links to related articles.

Please also see my blog: www.yousoufian.blogspot.com for the latest developments, as they unfold.

EVENTS:

UPCOMING AND PAST SIGNIFICANT EVENTS:

February 26, 2008 (morning session): the Washington State Supreme Court will be hearing oral argument in my case - for the second time - having originally heard this case in 2004. The case will be heard at the Seattle University School of Law in Seattle. For details on timing, location, and the events that have led up to this case being before the Supreme Court again click here to go to my blog and look for the January 18, 2008 post or click here to go directly to the January 18, 2008 post only.

To learn more, click here to go to the section of this website where you can access the April 18, 2007 Petition for Review and related legal briefs that led to the State Supreme Court deciding to hear this case again.

February 5, 2007, Court of Appeals Division I, Seattle, issues its second ruling in my favor in my latest appeal (of the $15 per day penalty award in the decision on remand from 2005). Click here to see my comments on the ruling and browse through other posts in February 2007 for newspaper articles announcing the decision.

September 20, 2006, Oral argument date in my second appeal to the Court of Appeals Division I, Seattle. Click here to view the post on the then upcoming September 20, 2006 oral argument.

August 24, 2005, King County Superior Court Judge Michael Hayden issues favorable ruling in my csse, raising penalties to $15 per day from original $5 per day. However, this is not enough to provide an effective deterrent for future misconduct. I appeal - again - to the Court of Appeals Division I, Seattle. This is another year long process, culminating in another ruling in my favor. Click here to see my August 29, 2005 post about the verdict, which has since been found inadequate.

August 19, 2005, King County Courthouse, downtown Seattle. Court hearing under order of remand from Washington State Supreme Court to determine daily penalties and legal expenses to be paid by King County. Click here for details.

February 19, 2004, 1:30 to 2:30 PM: The Washington Supreme Court Oral Argument. This was the "oral argument" phase of my case before Washington's Supreme Court. (See "Petition for Review" below.) My case was one of the only 5 to 10% of the 1000 or more cases submitted annually to the state's highest court. The location was at the University of Washington Law School. This was an unusual and significant departure from the Washington Supreme Court's normal location for its oral arguments at the Supreme Court's Temple of Justice courtroom in Olympia, on the campus of the Washington State Capitol. Just once a year, the Supreme Court departs from holding its sessions in Olympia, and moves its proceedings, for just one day, to one of the three law schools in Washington State. The objective is to make the proceedings of the court more accessible to the public. As best as I am able to tell, it appears the cases heard that day are chosen with this objective in mind. It is significant that my case was one of only three cases chosen for oral argument to be heard that day, and the only one on the afternoon calendar (in Olympia, there are normally two cases heard in the morning, and two in the afternoon. On February 19, 2004, two cases were scheduled for the morning, but only my case in the afternoon.)

LINKS TO AUDIO OF RECENT PRESENTATIONS OR RADIO INTERVIEWS:

NOVEMBER 5, 2003
On November 5, 2003, I gave a talk to a Seattle area Lions Club on the status of my PDA lawsuit and the revelations contained in the documents I have uncovered. The presentation was videotaped live by Mike McCormick, a local KEXP radio show host and Seattle Cable TV show producer, and was broadcast on December 29, 2003, at 8 PM, on the "SCAN" channel - Seattle Community Access Network. The audio portion of my talk to the Lions Club is now available. Click here to hear it.

The audio begins with my being introduced by Paul Fenton, who was the first lawyer to represent me in this matter. Paul is the past president of the particular Lions Club I was speaking to, which explains some of his comments. The lunch meeting took place in the University Plaza Hotel, of which I am the managing general partner, which explains some of Paul's other remarks. The audio should automatically download from the site you will link to. It's approximately a 13 MB file, so it may take some time to download if you don't have a hi-speed connection.

FEBRUARY 24, 2003
On February 24, 2003, Mike McCormick interviewed the Seattle Weekly's Rick Anderson about my case on his Saturday morning radio program on KEXP, FM 90.3. (See below for links to Rick Anderson's three articles about my case in the Seattle Weekly.) Mike's program is called "Mind Over Matters" and airs Saturdays from 6 AM to 9 AM. Click here for the audio link to Mike McCormick's half-hour radio program and interview of Rick Anderson discussing the revelations contained in the documents I extracted out of Ron Sims' office (after four years of denials that the documents even existed!).

COURT DECISIONS:

TRIAL COURT:

Click here to link to King County Superior Judge Kathleen Learned's September 21, 2001 Trial Court lawsuit decision.

APPELLATE COURT:

Click here to link to Washington State Court of Appeals, Division I, January 6, 2003 PDA lawsuit decision.

NEWSPAPER ARTICLES:

Click here to go to the February 25, 2004 Seattle Weekly article, Paper Chasten: the biggest open records penalty in state history isn't big enough, a citizen tells the state Supreme Court, by investigative reporter Rick Anderson. This article describes the February 19, 2004 oral argument before the Washington State Supreme Court.

Click here to go to the February 22, 2004 Tacoma News Tribune article, It's time to stop the erosion of laws on public disclosure, by investigative reporter Peter Callaghan.

Click here to go to the February 4, 2004 Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal article, The Last Word, by editor Lary Coppola, about Attorney General Gregoire's position in my case.

Click here to go to the February 12, 2003 Seattle Weekly cover story, The public-private deal with Paul Allen to build Seahawks Stadium was a lose-win situation. Guess who won. (over 5000 words and the most detailed coverage yet) by investigative reporter Rick Anderson.

Click here to link to the Seattle Times article of January 9, 2003, Tenacity could pay off big for stadium critic.

Click here to link to The Tacoma News Tribune's article of January 10, 2003, Ruling favors man who sued over Safeco.

Click here to link to the Seattle Times article of October 23, 2001, Stonewalled on stadium, document request wound up in court.

Click here to link to the Eastside Journal's article of October 19, 2001, Seattle stadium projects prompted $30 million lawsuit.

Click here to link to the Seattle Weekly's article of July 18, 2002, And the Game Goes On: The stadium is opening, but the question remains: Were the voters duped?

Click here to link to the Seattle Weekly's article of April 18, 2002, People: Armen Yousoufian.

Click here to link to the Eastside Journal's article of September 4, 2001, Public records not always open.

AUGUST, 2001 KING COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT TRIAL RELATED:

Click here to link to the August 4, 2001 Yousoufian Plaintiff's Trial Brief.
(pdf format, 147 KB)

Click here to link to the August 8, 2001 King County Defendent's Trial Brief.
(pdf format, 1.08 MB)

NOVEMBER, 2002 WASHINGTON STATE COURT OF APPEALS, DIVISION I, RELATED:

Click here to link to the June 4, 2002 Yousoufian Appeal Brief (labeled "Brief of Appellants").
(pdf format, 125 KB)

Click here to link to the July 18, 2002 King County Response Brief to the June 4, 2002 Yousoufian Trial Brief .
(pdf format, 344 KB)

Click here to link to the August 23, 2002 Yousoufian Reply Brief to King County's Response Brief .
(pdf format, 186 KB)

NOVEMBER, 2002 WASHINGTON STATE SUPREME COURT APPEAL RELATED DOCUMENTS:

Click here to link to the March 13, 2003 Petition for Review.
(pdf format, 72.4 KB)

AUGUST 19, 2005 KING COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT HEARING UNDER ORDER OF REMAND FROM WASHINGTON STATE SUPREME COURT AND COURT OF APPEALS, DIVISION I RELATED DOCUMENTS:

Click here to link to the July 15, 2005 Plaintiff's (i.e. Yousoufian's) brief on the issues of daily penalties and legal expenses for the two successful appeals to be paid by King County and awarded to Plaintiff.
(pdf format, 92.2 KB)

Click here to link to the July 22, 2005 King County brief replying to the above on the issue of daily penalties.
(pdf format, 134 KB)

Click here to link to the July 26, 2005 Plaintiff's (i.e. Yousoufian's) brief responding to King County's reply on the issue of daily penalties.
(pdf format, 46.2 KB)

DECEMBER, 2005 APPEAL OF DECISION ON REMAND BACK TO COURT OF APPEALS, HEARD IN NOVEMBER 2006, RULING ISSUED FEBRUARY 5, 2007:

For information on what happened in "Yousoufian II", when it was heard by the Washington State Court of Appeals, Division I, which issued its ruling in my favor on February 5, 2007, click here to go to my blog and read the section of the January 18, 2008 post wherein I provide links to relevant information.

Click here to link to the December 28, 2005 Plaintiff's (i.e. Yousoufian's) appellate brief on the issue of daily penalties decided by the second trial judge on remand from the earlier Court of Appeals and Supreme Court decisions. This document includes as attachments the original 2001 Trial Court decision and the 2005 Trial Court decision on remand.
(pdf format, 1.63 MB)

FEBRUARY 26, 2008 (MORNING) ORAL ARGUMENT OF "YOUSOUFIAN II" BEFORE WASHINGTON STATE SUPREME COURT AT SEATTLE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW, SEATTLE, WASHINGTON

For details on timing, location, and the events that have led up to this case being before the Supreme Court again click here to go to my blog and look for the January 18, 2008 post or click here to go directly to the January 18, 2008 post only.

To understand the legal issues and arguments that remain at this point in this nearly 11 year old story, you can read the documents below, especially if you plan to attend the February 26, 2008 Oral Argument.

Click here to link to part 1 (of 2, see next paragraph for link to part 2) of King County's April 18, 2007 Petition for Review wherein they appealed the February 5, 2007 Court of Appeals ruling in my favor.
(pdf format, 204 KB)

Click here to link to part 2 (of 2, see previous paragraph for link to part 1) of King County's April 18, 2007 Petition for Review wherein they appealed the February 5, 2007 Court of Appeals ruling in my favor.
(pdf format, 278 KB)

Click here to link to Yousoufian's ("Respondant") May 18, 2007 Reply to King County's April 18, 2007 Petition for Review.
(pdf format, 72 KB)

Click here to link to King County's (the "Appellant") May 31, 2007 Response to Yousoufian's May 18, 2007 Reply to King County's April 18, 2007 Petition for Review.
(pdf format, 108 KB)

CONTACT INFORMATION: email: ayousoufian@comcast.net

	Welcome to my home page. This page has been set up to allow viewing of key documents filed over the years in my litigation against Ron Sims and King County, information on events, and links to related articles. Please also see my blog: www.yousoufian.blogspot.com for the latest developments, as they unfold. EVENTS: UPCOMING AND PAST SIGNIFICANT EVENTS:
	February 26, 2008 (morning session): the Washington State Supreme Court will be hearing oral argument in my case - for the second time - having originally heard this case in 2004. The case will be heard at the Seattle University School of Law in Seattle. For details on timing, location, and the events that have led up to this case being before the Supreme Court again click here to go to my blog and look for the January 18, 2008 post or click here to go directly to the January 18, 2008 post only. To learn more, click here to go to the section of this website where you can access the April 18, 2007 Petition for Review and related legal briefs that led to the State Supreme Court deciding to hear this case again. February 5, 2007, Court of Appeals Division I, Seattle, issues its second ruling in my favor in my latest appeal (of the $15 per day penalty award in the decision on remand from 2005). Click here to see my comments on the ruling and browse through other posts in February 2007 for newspaper articles announcing the decision. September 20, 2006, Oral argument date in my second appeal to the Court of Appeals Division I, Seattle. Click here to view the post on the then upcoming September 20, 2006 oral argument. August 24, 2005, King County Superior Court Judge Michael Hayden issues favorable ruling in my csse, raising penalties to $15 per day from original $5 per day. However, this is not enough to provide an effective deterrent for future misconduct. I appeal - again - to the Court of Appeals Division I, Seattle. This is another year long process, culminating in another ruling in my favor. Click here to see my August 29, 2005 post about the verdict, which has since been found inadequate. August 19, 2005, King County Courthouse, downtown Seattle. Court hearing under order of remand from Washington State Supreme Court to determine daily penalties and legal expenses to be paid by King County. Click here for details. February 19, 2004, 1:30 to 2:30 PM: The Washington Supreme Court Oral Argument. This was the "oral argument" phase of my case before Washington's Supreme Court. (See "Petition for Review" below.) My case was one of the only 5 to 10% of the 1000 or more cases submitted annually to the state's highest court. The location was at the University of Washington Law School. This was an unusual and significant departure from the Washington Supreme Court's normal location for its oral arguments at the Supreme Court's Temple of Justice courtroom in Olympia, on the campus of the Washington State Capitol. Just once a year, the Supreme Court departs from holding its sessions in Olympia, and moves its proceedings, for just one day, to one of the three law schools in Washington State. The objective is to make the proceedings of the court more accessible to the public. As best as I am able to tell, it appears the cases heard that day are chosen with this objective in mind. It is significant that my case was one of only three cases chosen for oral argument to be heard that day, and the only one on the afternoon calendar (in Olympia, there are normally two cases heard in the morning, and two in the afternoon. On February 19, 2004, two cases were scheduled for the morning, but only my case in the afternoon.) LINKS TO AUDIO OF RECENT PRESENTATIONS OR RADIO INTERVIEWS: NOVEMBER 5, 2003 On November 5, 2003, I gave a talk to a Seattle area Lions Club on the status of my PDA lawsuit and the revelations contained in the documents I have uncovered. The presentation was videotaped live by Mike McCormick, a local KEXP radio show host and Seattle Cable TV show producer, and was broadcast on December 29, 2003, at 8 PM, on the "SCAN" channel - Seattle Community Access Network. The audio portion of my talk to the Lions Club is now available. Click here to hear it. The audio begins with my being introduced by Paul Fenton, who was the first lawyer to represent me in this matter. Paul is the past president of the particular Lions Club I was speaking to, which explains some of his comments. The lunch meeting took place in the University Plaza Hotel, of which I am the managing general partner, which explains some of Paul's other remarks. The audio should automatically download from the site you will link to. It's approximately a 13 MB file, so it may take some time to download if you don't have a hi-speed connection. FEBRUARY 24, 2003 On February 24, 2003, Mike McCormick interviewed the Seattle Weekly's Rick Anderson about my case on his Saturday morning radio program on KEXP, FM 90.3. (See below for links to Rick Anderson's three articles about my case in the Seattle Weekly.) Mike's program is called "Mind Over Matters" and airs Saturdays from 6 AM to 9 AM. Click here for the audio link to Mike McCormick's half-hour radio program and interview of Rick Anderson discussing the revelations contained in the documents I extracted out of Ron Sims' office (after four years of denials that the documents even existed!). COURT DECISIONS: TRIAL COURT:
	Click here to link to King County Superior Judge Kathleen Learned's September 21, 2001 Trial Court lawsuit decision. APPELLATE COURT: Click here to link to Washington State Court of Appeals, Division I, January 6, 2003 PDA lawsuit decision. NEWSPAPER ARTICLES: Click here to go to the February 25, 2004 Seattle Weekly article, Paper Chasten: the biggest open records penalty in state history isn't big enough, a citizen tells the state Supreme Court, by investigative reporter Rick Anderson. This article describes the February 19, 2004 oral argument before the Washington State Supreme Court. Click here to go to the February 22, 2004 Tacoma News Tribune article, It's time to stop the erosion of laws on public disclosure, by investigative reporter Peter Callaghan. Click here to go to the February 4, 2004 Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal article, The Last Word, by editor Lary Coppola, about Attorney General Gregoire's position in my case. Click here to go to the February 12, 2003 Seattle Weekly cover story, The public-private deal with Paul Allen to build Seahawks Stadium was a lose-win situation. Guess who won. (over 5000 words and the most detailed coverage yet) by investigative reporter Rick Anderson. Click here to link to the Seattle Times article of January 9, 2003, Tenacity could pay off big for stadium critic. Click here to link to The Tacoma News Tribune's article of January 10, 2003, Ruling favors man who sued over Safeco. Click here to link to the Seattle Times article of October 23, 2001, Stonewalled on stadium, document request wound up in court. Click here to link to the Eastside Journal's article of October 19, 2001, Seattle stadium projects prompted $30 million lawsuit. Click here to link to the Seattle Weekly's article of July 18, 2002, And the Game Goes On: The stadium is opening, but the question remains: Were the voters duped? Click here to link to the Seattle Weekly's article of April 18, 2002, People: Armen Yousoufian. Click here to link to the Eastside Journal's article of September 4, 2001, Public records not always open.
	AUGUST, 2001 KING COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT TRIAL RELATED: Click here to link to the August 4, 2001 Yousoufian Plaintiff's Trial Brief. (pdf format, 147 KB) Click here to link to the August 8, 2001 King County Defendent's Trial Brief. (pdf format, 1.08 MB)
	NOVEMBER, 2002 WASHINGTON STATE COURT OF APPEALS, DIVISION I, RELATED: Click here to link to the June 4, 2002 Yousoufian Appeal Brief (labeled "Brief of Appellants"). (pdf format, 125 KB) Click here to link to the July 18, 2002 King County Response Brief to the June 4, 2002 Yousoufian Trial Brief . (pdf format, 344 KB) Click here to link to the August 23, 2002 Yousoufian Reply Brief to King County's Response Brief . (pdf format, 186 KB)
	NOVEMBER, 2002 WASHINGTON STATE SUPREME COURT APPEAL RELATED DOCUMENTS: Click here to link to the March 13, 2003 Petition for Review. (pdf format, 72.4 KB)
	AUGUST 19, 2005 KING COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT HEARING UNDER ORDER OF REMAND FROM WASHINGTON STATE SUPREME COURT AND COURT OF APPEALS, DIVISION I RELATED DOCUMENTS: Click here to link to the July 15, 2005 Plaintiff's (i.e. Yousoufian's) brief on the issues of daily penalties and legal expenses for the two successful appeals to be paid by King County and awarded to Plaintiff. (pdf format, 92.2 KB) Click here to link to the July 22, 2005 King County brief replying to the above on the issue of daily penalties. (pdf format, 134 KB) Click here to link to the July 26, 2005 Plaintiff's (i.e. Yousoufian's) brief responding to King County's reply on the issue of daily penalties. (pdf format, 46.2 KB)
	DECEMBER, 2005 APPEAL OF DECISION ON REMAND BACK TO COURT OF APPEALS, HEARD IN NOVEMBER 2006, RULING ISSUED FEBRUARY 5, 2007: For information on what happened in "Yousoufian II", when it was heard by the Washington State Court of Appeals, Division I, which issued its ruling in my favor on February 5, 2007, click here to go to my blog and read the section of the January 18, 2008 post wherein I provide links to relevant information. Click here to link to the December 28, 2005 Plaintiff's (i.e. Yousoufian's) appellate brief on the issue of daily penalties decided by the second trial judge on remand from the earlier Court of Appeals and Supreme Court decisions. This document includes as attachments the original 2001 Trial Court decision and the 2005 Trial Court decision on remand. (pdf format, 1.63 MB)
	FEBRUARY 26, 2008 (MORNING) ORAL ARGUMENT OF "YOUSOUFIAN II" BEFORE WASHINGTON STATE SUPREME COURT AT SEATTLE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW, SEATTLE, WASHINGTON For details on timing, location, and the events that have led up to this case being before the Supreme Court again click here to go to my blog and look for the January 18, 2008 post or click here to go directly to the January 18, 2008 post only. To understand the legal issues and arguments that remain at this point in this nearly 11 year old story, you can read the documents below, especially if you plan to attend the February 26, 2008 Oral Argument. Click here to link to part 1 (of 2, see next paragraph for link to part 2) of King County's April 18, 2007 Petition for Review wherein they appealed the February 5, 2007 Court of Appeals ruling in my favor. (pdf format, 204 KB) Click here to link to part 2 (of 2, see previous paragraph for link to part 1) of King County's April 18, 2007 Petition for Review wherein they appealed the February 5, 2007 Court of Appeals ruling in my favor. (pdf format, 278 KB) Click here to link to Yousoufian's ("Respondant") May 18, 2007 Reply to King County's April 18, 2007 Petition for Review. (pdf format, 72 KB) Click here to link to King County's (the "Appellant") May 31, 2007 Response to Yousoufian's May 18, 2007 Reply to King County's April 18, 2007 Petition for Review. (pdf format, 108 KB)
	CONTACT INFORMATION: email: ayousoufian@comcast.net