Coulter v. State, 45654

Citation93 Wn.2d 205,608 P.2d 261
Decision Date20 March 1980
Docket NumberNo. 45654,45654
CourtUnited States State Supreme Court of Washington
PartiesSandra COULTER, Appellant, v. The STATE of Washington, Respondent.

Clinton, Fleck, Glein & Brown, Lawrence B. Linville, Seattle, for appellant.

Slade Gorton, Atty. Gen., Mark S. Northcraft, Asst. Atty. Gen., Olympia, for respondent.

BRACHTENBACH, Justice.

Plaintiff, an employee of an employer covered by workers' compensation, RCW Title 51, was injured when her hand became enmeshed in a fish slicing machine. The slicing machine had been inspected, the day before the accident, by a state safety inspector acting pursuant to RCW 49.17. Citations for violations of safety regulations, apparently including the machine in question, were issued by the inspector.

The plaintiff sued the State of Washington as a third party under the provisions of RCW 51.24.010 as it existed at the time of the accident. The State moved to dismiss plaintiff's action. The motion was granted. We affirm the dismissal.

The plaintiff-appellant defines the issues as: (1) is the State liable for failure of the safety inspector to prominently post the citation for violation of safety regulations under RCW 49.17.120 and (2) must a plaintiff file a claim, before suing the State, as required by RCW 4.92.110. In its brief the State correctly points out that there are a number of other issues raised by the broadly stated, sometimes inconsistent allegations of the plaintiff's complaint upon which the trial court was ruling. The appellant has not filed a reply brief to these additional issues so we limit our holding rather narrowly.

First, plaintiff did not file a claim with the chief fiscal officer of the executive branch as required by RCW 4.92.110. The term "chief fiscal officer of the executive branch" is defined in RCW 43.41.108 as Director of the Office of Program Planning and Fiscal Management. That office is now designated as the office of fiscal management. RCW 43.41.035. RCW 43.41.108 made specific reference to the filing requirement of RCW 4.92.110 (1977). Plaintiff's position for nonfiling is very plain and in error. She argues that Hunter v. North Mason High School & School Dist. 403, 85 Wash.2d 810, 539 P.2d 845 (1975) struck down all claim filing requirements. There we were concerned with a different statute, RCW 4.96.020, which required filing of a claim within 120 days from the date that the claim arose.

We start with the proposition that the abolition of sovereign immunity is a matter within the legislature's determination. Haddenham v. State, 87 Wash.2d 145, 149, 550 P.2d 9 (1976). This is not because the court says so, but because the constitution so states. Article 2, section 26, of our constitution provides: "The legislature shall direct by law, in what manner, and in what courts, suits may be brought against the state." This court must follow that mandate and uphold the filing requirement of this particular statute. Hunter v. North Mason High School, supra, does not violate that principle since there we found that the 120-day filing requirement violated the constitutional provision of equal protection. No such issue is present here. The plaintiff has a filing time requirement equal to the statutory limitations for bringing an action. That does not involve nor deny equal protection.

The enactment of RCW 4.92.110 is clear that it is providing "in what manner" suit shall be brought against the State. That is within the command and authority of article 2, section 26.

We note that such was the exact holding of the recent case of Peterick v. State, 22 Wash.App. 163, 589 P.2d 250, review denied 90 Wash.2d 1024 (1978).

Despite plaintiff's failure to file the required claim, we would still hold that she is not entitled to bring the action under the facts in this case. Plaintiff sued the State on the basis that her injury was due to the "negligence or wrong of another not in the same employ" as allowed by the then existing RCW 51.24.010. That statute has been repealed and replaced by RCW 51.24.030.

We conclude that the legislature did not intend to include Department of Labor and Industries inspectors who are performing official functions as third persons not in the same employ. Under RCW 51.24.010, as it existed at the time of appellant's injury, the Department of Labor and Industries, to the extent of payments made under Title 51, was subrogated to the injured person's right against a third party. It had the right to prosecute such action. Any recovery to be repaid the State was to bear its proportionate share of attorneys' fees and costs in processing the claim against the third party. There was a requirement that the worker diligently prosecute the action and if after a year had not done so, the cause of action was deemed assigned to the department or self-insurer.

Thus under appellant's theory, the department would sue itself, thus becoming both plaintiff and defendant, for not performing the duties which are the responsibility of the same department under RCW 49.17. We do not believe that the legislature intended to create such an anomalous result. It would be simply contrary to the scheme of ...

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29 cases
  • Manor v. Nestle Food Co.
    • United States
    • United States State Supreme Court of Washington
    • March 13, 1997
    ...Appeals recognized in Meads v. Ray C. Roberts Post 969, Inc., 54 Wash.App. 486, 774 P.2d 49 (1989). The last case is Coulter v. State, 93 Wash.2d 205, 608 P.2d 261 (1980). There the court disallowed a third party suit against the state for alleged negligent inspection by a state safety insp......
  • Medina v. Public Utility Dist. No. 1
    • United States
    • United States State Supreme Court of Washington
    • September 12, 2002
    ...part, because the statute provides for a tolling of the statute of limitations during the 60-day waiting period. See Coulter v. State, 93 Wash.2d 205, 608 P.2d 261 (1980). In this case Medina had already been waiting for over three years and asserts no reason why waiting an additional 54 da......
  • Kifer v. Liberty Mut. Ins. Co., 84-1909
    • United States
    • United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (8th Circuit)
    • January 22, 1986
    ...Corp., 243 So.2d 454 (Fla.Dist.Ct.App.1971) (service company for self-insured employer held immune from suit); Coulter v. State, 93 Wash.2d 205, 608 P.2d 261 (1980) (state labor department and its inspectors held immune from suit). In holding the carrier immune from this kind of suit, these......
  • McDevitt v. Harborview Med. Ctr.
    • United States
    • United States State Supreme Court of Washington
    • November 14, 2013
    ...virtue of [a] statute [passed under article II, section 26] that an action can be maintained against the state”); Coulter v. State, 93 Wash.2d 205, 207, 608 P.2d 261 (1980) (stating that “the abolition of sovereign immunity is a matter within the legislature's determination”). The legislatu......
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