Facts: The petitioner Rental Housing Association of Puget Sound filed suit against the respondent city of Des Moines in the Superior Court for King County, claiming that the city’s response to its public records request had failed to comply with Washington Revised Code §42.56. The trial court subsequently granted the city’s motion for summary judgment, ruling that the suit was time barred as the Rental Housing Association of Puget Sound had failed to bring its suit within one year of a claim of exception or production of record as required by §42.56.550(6). The Rental Housing Association of Puget Sound appealed this decision to the Supreme Court of Washington.

Question(s): When did the statute of limitations imposed by §42.56.550(6) begin to toll?

Conclusion: Justice Stephens’ opinion for the Court reversed the trial court’s granting of summary judgment to the city, holding that the one year statute of limitations did not begin to toll after the city’s initial reply to the Rental Housing Association of Puget Sound’s request as this reply did not adequately describe withheld records by specifiying which exemptions their withholding was predicated upon. Thus, the city did not state a proper claim of exemption triggering the statute of limitations until it provided the Rental Housing Association of Puget Sound with a detailed privilege log providing this information. As the Rental Housing Association of Puget Sound had filed suit within one year of being provided with the privilege log, its suit was timely and the Court therefore remanded the case to the trial court.

Docket No. 80532-6

Appellant: Rental Housing Ass'n of Puget Sound

Respondent: City of Des Moines

Briefs:

Argument: Tuesday, May 6, 2008 9:00am

[Source: TVW, http://tvw.org]

Decided: Thursday, January 22nd, 2009

Prevailing Party: City of Des Moines (Respondent)

Vote: 8-1

Citation: Pending

Alexander

Johnson

Madsen
(Dissent)

Sanders

Chambers

Owens

Fairhurst
(Concurs)

Johnson

Stephens
(Majority)