Updated: Court of Appeals affirms rulings on Lummi Island ferry fare lawsuit

WHATCOM COUNTY, Wash. — According to a Court of Appeals of the State of Washington opinion filed on July 6, 2026, the court affirmed 2 trial court rulings impacting Whatcom County ferry fares.

Peter J. Earle filed a lawsuit against Whatcom County, Whatcom County Executive Satpal S. Sidhu and Whatcom County Department of Public Works Director Elizabeth Kosa. The lawsuit followed a Whatcom County announcement of fare increases for the ferry.

Whatcom County code requires that ferry fare revenue cover 55% of ferry operating costs. Earle challenged the new rates included lease payments and emergency repair costs. The lease payments were for tidelands at Gooseberry Point. The emergency repair expenses were for repairs to 2 dolphins, infrastructure components. The dolphin expenses totaled $781,923.77.

The trial court ruled in January 2025 ruled the expenses related to work on the dolphins were inappropriately categorized as an operating expense and therefore could not be included when calculating ferry fares. The court also ruled that the tidelands lease payments could be included when calculating ferry fares.

Earle appealed the ruling regarding the lease payments and Whatcom County appealed the ruling regarding the dolphin expenses. The Court of Appeals affirmed both trial court rulings.

An official with the Whatcom County Public Works Ferry Division told Whatcom News via email on July 8, 2026, that ferry riders should not expect any changes due to the appellate court rulings.

Ferry riders should not expect any changes to ferry operations, service levels, or fares as a result of yesterday’s appellate court decision. The Court of Appeals affirmed the previous trial court rulings, and the County has already made the changes required by those decisions. As a result, we do not anticipate any further operational or budget changes related to the ruling.
Whatcom County Public Works Ferry Division (July 8, 2026)