Condit v. Lewis Refrigeration Co.

• Court: Washington Supreme Court
• Writing for the Court: ROSELLINI; WILLIAM H. WILLIAMS, C.J., STAFFORD, UTTER, DOLLIVER, BRACHTENBACH, DIMMICK and PEARSON, JJ., and CUNNINGHAM
• Citation: Condit v. Lewis Refrigeration Co., 101 Wn.2d 106, 676 P.2d 466 (Wash. 1984)
• Decision Date: 09 February 1984
• Docket Number: No. 49012-1
• Parties: Erin E. CONDIT, Petitioner, v. LEWIS REFRIGERATION CO., a Washington corporation, Respondent.

Page 106

101 Wn.2d 106

676 P.2d 466

Erin E. CONDIT, Petitioner, v. LEWIS REFRIGERATION CO., a Washington corporation, Respondent.

No. 49012-1.

Supreme Court of Washington En Banc.

Feb. 9, 1984.

Gary P. Levell, Seattle, for petitioner.

Reed, McClure, Moceri & Thonn, William Hickman, Seattle, for respondent.

ROSELLINI, Justice.

The issue in this case is whether a statute of repose relating to real property improvement bars petitioner's personal injury product liability suit. We hold that it does not and reverse summary judgment granted in favor of respondent Lewis Refrigeration Co. (Lewis).

The controversy arises from the following facts: In August 1979, plaintiff was injured when her arm passed between an exposed gear and a conveyor belt she was cleaning while working at Twin City Foods processing plant. The conveyor belt was part of a large freezer tunnel system used to quick-freeze cut vegetables. Respondent Lewis designed, manufactured and installed the system at Twin City Foods in 1965.

Following her injury, petitioner brought a product liability action against Lewis, alleging that Lewis was strictly liable for the sale of a dangerous and defective product. Respondent moved for summary judgment, urging that the suit was barred because it had not been brought within the limitations established by RCW 4.16.300 and RCW 4.16.310.

Those statutes provide:

RCW 4.16.300 through 4.16.320 shall apply to all claims or causes of action of any kind against any person arising from such person having constructed, altered or repaired any improvement upon real property, or having performed or furnished any design, planning, surveying, architectural or construction or engineering services, or supervision or observation of construction, or administration of construction contracts for any construction, alteration or repair of any improvement upon real property.

RCW 4.16.300.

All claims or causes of action as set forth in RCW 4.16.300 shall accrue, and the applicable statute of limitation shall begin to run only during the period within six years after substantial completion of construction, or during the period within six years after the termination of the services enumerated in RCW 4.16.300, whichever is later. The phrase "substantial completion of construction" shall mean the state of completion reached when an improvement upon real property may be used or occupied for its intended use. Any cause of action which has not accrued within six years after such substantial completion of construction, or within six years after such termination of services, whichever is later, shall be barred: Provided, That this limitation shall not be asserted as a defense by any owner, tenant or other person in possession and control of the improvement at the time such cause of action accrues.

RCW 4.16.310.

Petitioner contends that, because she sued respondent on the theory of strict liability in tort for a dangerous and defective product, RCW 4.16.080(2) should apply. That statute allows individuals to commence their action within 3 years of the time the cause of action accrues. The trial court rejected this argument reasoning that the freezer tunnel, the instrumentality that caused the injury, was an improvement upon real property and thus within the terms of RCW 4.16.300. The Court of Appeals, Division One, affirmed by unpublished opinion (Condit v. Lewis Refrigeration Co., 31 Wash.App. 1093 (1982)).

Our courts have had two opportunities to examine the term "improvement on real property" as it relates to this statute. In the first case, Yakima Fruit & Cold Storage Co. v. Central Heating & Plumbing Co., 81 Wash.2d 528, 503 P.2d 108 (1972), the court observed that the line between personal and real property was difficult to define. Citing Wade v. Donau Brewing Co., 10 Wash. 284, 289, 38 P. 1009 (1894), the court concluded that to make the determination between realty and personal property, one considered the manner, purpose and effect of annexation to the freehold.

The Court of Appeals, Division One, is the source of the second case involving this statute, Pinneo v. Stevens Pass, Inc., 14 Wash.App. 848, 545 P.2d 1207, pet. for rev. denied, 87 Wash.2d 1006 (1976). In Pinneo, the court concluded that a ski lift was an improvement on real property, in part, because the owner classified the structure as a trade fixture so that it could be removed at the termination of the lease governing the underlying property.

Both Pinneo and Yakima Fruit borrowed the analysis for whether an item was an improvement on real property from other areas of property law. Although we concur with the results reached in these cases, we believe that the mechanistic approaches evident in these two cases discourage the primary goal of this court in interpreting statutes. We believe that to determine whether RCW 4.16.300 applies we must examine the underlying purpose of the statute.

It is well established that, in interpreting a statute, it is our duty as a court to ascertain and give effect to the intent and purpose of the legislation as expressed in the act as a whole. Tommy P. v. Board of Cy. Comm'rs, 97 Wash.2d 385, 391, 645 P.2d 697 (1982).

To determine a statute's purpose, we must look first to the language of the statute. Here, the statute provides that it shall apply to all claims of any kind, against any person, arising from such person having constructed, altered or repaired any improvement upon real property. RCW 4.16.300. The statute then lists various construction activities, including designing, planning, surveying, architectural, or construction or engineering services. Each of these activities relates to the process of building a structure. Thus, the statute focuses on individuals whose activities relate to construction of the improvement, rather than those who service or design items within the improvement. In interpreting similar statutes, other states restrict their application to contractors or individuals whose services contribute to the construction of the structure rather than property within it. For example, the New Jersey court stated the following rule:

The legislative intent in adopting N.J.S.A. 2A:14-1.1, as elaborated by the Rosenberg opinion [ Rosenberg v. North Bergen, 61 N.J. 190, 293 A.2d 662 (1972) ], quite obviously was not to limit the exposure of manufacturers and purveyors of products which are used in the factory, shop or home, or those who service these products. As best we can perceive, the intent of the language of the statute was to protect those who contribute to the design, planning, supervision or construction of a structural improvement to real estate and those systems, ordinarily mechanical...