Facts: The petitioner Washington State Major League Baseball Stadium Public Facilities District, the municipal corporation responsible for the ownership and operation of Safeco Field, filed suit against respondent Huber, Hunt & Nichols-Kiewit Construction Company in the Superior Court for King County seeking reimbursement for costs incurred repairing defective work performed by Huber, Hunt & Nichols-Kiewit Construction Company in the construction of Safeco Field. The trial court granted summary judgment to Huber, Hunt & Nichols-Kiewit Construction Company, ruling that the statute of limitations had expired. The Washington State Major League Baseball Stadium Public Facilities District appealed, asserting that its claim was not time barred insofar as it was for the benefit of the state and therefore exempted by Washington Revised Code §4.16.160 from the statute of limitations. The Washington Court of Appeals transferred the appeal to the Supreme Court of Washington.
Question(s): Does the exemption from the statute of limitations for sovereign actions brought for the benefit of the state created by §4.16.160 apply to the Washington State Major League Baseball Stadium Public Facilities District’s suit against Huber, Hunt & Nichols-Kiewit Construction Company?
Conclusion: Justice Stephens’ opinion for the Court held that the construction and maintenance of Safeco Field for public recreation was a sovereign rather than a proprietary function as it had been performed for the common good rather than for the specific benefit or profit of the municipal corporation. Thus, the Court concluded that the Washington State Major League Baseball Stadium Public Facilities District’s suit was not time barred and remanded the case to the trial court.
Docket No. 81029-0 (from King Case No. 06-2-26048-1)
Appellant: Wash. State Major League Baseball Stadium Pub. Facilities Dist.
Respondent: Huber, Hunt & Nichols-Kiewitt Const.
Briefs:
Argument: Thursday, March 13, 2008 10:35am
[Source: TVW, http://tvw.org]
Audio: Washington Supreme Court
Decided: Thursday, March 5th, 2009
Prevailing Party: Huber, Hunt & Nichols-Kiewitt Const. (Respondent)
Vote: 6-3
Citation: Pending
Alexander
Johnson
Madsen
Sanders
(Dissent)
Chambers
Owens
Fairhurst
Johnson
Stephens
(Majority)
Note: We post only slip opinion(s) as published at the time of the decision. Please consult Washington Reports printed volumes for the opinion(s) in their final form. Each opinion should appear next to the Justice who authored it.