School District Not Bound by Six-Year Statute of Limitation in Defect Case
Contractors doing work for public entities would be wise to check out the recent King County Superior Court ruling in a $4 million defect dispute arising from the construction of a school on Vashon Island. The effect of the ruling: the contractor can be sued at any time beyond the normal six-year statute of limitation. Vashon Island School District v. Bassetti Architects et. al., No 05-2-09083-9SEA (Order Denying Summary Judgment dated October 10, 2005).
The GC achieved substantial completion in 1994. That same year, the Owner expended more than $4 million to correct alleged defects in the work. In 2005, the Owner sued for breach. The GC moved for summary judgment on the basis of the six-year statute of limitations, which the Legislature recently strengthened to mean that the "discovery rule" will not apply in cases based on construction contracts. RCW 4.16.326(g).
The parties stipulated that the claim "accrued" in 1994 --meaning that the applicable statute of limitation began to run at that time. The trial court reasoned, however, that no applicable statute of limitation constrained the District due to RCW 4.16.160, which provides in part that actions brought "in the name of or for the benefit of the state" shall be exempt from the running of statutes of limitation.