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IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON DAVID J. BROWN, Appellant, v. WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY, Respondent. No. 29327-1-III ) ) ) Division Three ) ) ) UNPUBLISHED OPINION ) ) ) )

Kulik, C.J. -- David Brown appeals the superior court's dismissal for lack of subject matter jurisdiction of his petition for review. He sought review of Washington State University's (WSU) decision to suspend him from its master of business administration (MBA) program. Mr. Brown failed to file his petition for review within 30 days of WSU's decision. Accordingly, we agree with the trial court that it lacked subject matter jurisdiction to hear the appeal, and affirm the dismissal. FACTS David Brown was enrolled in the MBA program at WSU. On April 12, 2010, the WSU conduct board found that Mr. Brown violated WSU's standards of conduct for

No. 29327-1-III Brown v. Wash. State Univ.

students. The conduct board suspended Mr. Brown and barred him from the campus. Mr. Brown appealed to the WSU appeal committee. On May 31, the appeal committee issued an order upholding the decision of the conduct board. The appeal committee mailed the order on June 1, 2010. Mr. Brown sought judicial review of the appeal committee's decision. On July 1, Mr. Brown's attorney served a petition for review on the WSU division of the office of the attorney general. On that same day, Mr. Brown's attorney mailed the petition for review to the Whitman County Superior Court. The petition was filed at the court on July 6. On July 23, WSU moved to dismiss Mr. Brown's petition for lack of subject matter jurisdiction based on Mr. Brown's failure to file a petition within the 30-day time limit set forth in RCW 34.05.542(2). Mr. Brown responded to the motion to dismiss and appeared at the hearing pro se. He was no longer represented by an attorney. The superior court granted WSU's motion and dismissed Mr. Brown's petition for review. Mr. Brown then filed several motions challenging the dismissal, all of which were denied by the superior court. Mr. Brown now appeals to this court.

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No. 29327-1-III Brown v. Wash. State Univ.

ANALYSIS Construction of a statute is a question of law that is reviewed de novo on appeal. Diehl v. W. Wash. Growth Mgmt. Hearings Bd., 153 Wn.2d 207, 212, 103 P.3d 193 (2004). Subject Matter Jurisdiction. The Washington Administrative Procedure Act, chapter 34.05 RCW, establishes judicial review of an agency action. RCW 34.05.510. To seek review of an administrative decision: A petition for judicial review of an order shall be filed with the court and served on the agency, the office of the attorney general, and all parties of record within thirty days after service of the final order. RCW 34.05.542(2). The superior court does not obtain jurisdiction over an appeal from an agency decision unless the appealing party complies with the requirements of RCW 34.05.542(2). City of Seattle v. Pub. Emp't Relations Comm'n (PERC), 116 Wn.2d 923, 926-27, 809 P.2d 1377 (1991) (referring to former RCW 34.04.130(2), recodified by RCW 34.05.570 (Laws of 1988, ch. 288,

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