§52.5 Purpose and Procedure

• Jurisdiction: Washington

§52.5 PURPOSE AND PROCEDURE

The purpose of and procedure under CR 52 and its federal counterpart are discussed below.

(1)Purpose

Washington and other courts have identified several purposes for findings of fact and conclusions of law.

First, findings and conclusions provide an opportunity for the trial court to review the facts and the law in written form, which helps avoid mistakes. Bard v. Kleeb, 1 Wash. 370, 375-76, 25 P. 467 (1890). They ensure that the trial judge gives careful consideration to the decision. In re LaBelle, 107 Wn.2d 196, 218-19, 728P.2d138 (1986); State v. Agee, 89 Wn.2d 416, 421, 573P.2d355 (1977); see also United States v. Forness, 125 F.2d 928, 942 (2d Cir.), cert, denied, 316 U.S. 694 (1942). See generally Hon. Gunnar H. Nordbye, Improvements in Statement of Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, 1 F.R.D. 25, 26 (1940).

Second, findings and conclusions ensure that the decision maker has fully and properly addressed all the issues and that the appellate court will be fully informed as to the reasons for the decision. Weyerhaeuser v. Pierce County, 124 Wn.2d 26,35,873P.2d498 (1994); see In re Marriage of Horner, 151 Wn.2d 884, 895-96, 93P.3d124 (2004) ("Findings of fact play a pivotal role upon review: '[t]he purpose of findings on ultimate and decisive issues is to enable an appellate court to intelligently review relevant questions upon appeal, and only when it clearly appears what questions were decided by the trial court, and the manner in which they were decided, are the requirements met.'" (quoting Schoonover v. Carpet World, Inc., 91 Wn.2d 173,177,588P.2d729 (1978))); Fed Signal Corp. v. Safety Factors, Inc., 125 Wn.2d 413, 422, 886P.2d172 (1994).

Third, findings and conclusions promote the economic use of judicial resources and the parties'financial resources. In some cases, they reduce the amount of the evidence and record that the appellate court must review. Wishkah Boom Co. v. Greenwood Timber Co., 100 Wash. 472, 476, 171 P. 234 (1918); Colvin v. Clark, 83 Wash. 376, 380, 145 P. 419 (1915), aff'd, 96 Wash. 282, 165 P. 101 (1917); Bard, 1 Wash, at 375.

Finally, findings and conclusions protect the rights of parties by identifying the issues for purposes of the doctrines of collateral estoppel and res judicata in future cases. See Nordbye, Improvements in Statement of Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, 1 F.R.D. at 26; FED. R. CIV. P. 52, Notes of Advisory Committee on Rules—1946 Amendment...