In re Individual 35W Bridge Litig., s. A10–0087

• Decision Date: 30 November 2011
• Docket Number: A10–0090,A10–0091.,Nos. A10–0087,A10–0089,s. A10–0087
• Citation: 806 N.W.2d 820
• Parties: In re INDIVIDUAL 35W BRIDGE LITIGATION.
• Court: Minnesota Supreme Court

806 N.W.2d 820

In re INDIVIDUAL 35W BRIDGE LITIGATION.

Nos. A10–0087

A10–0089

A10–0090

A10–0091.

Supreme Court of Minnesota.

Nov. 30, 2011.

Syllabus by the Court

1. The 2007 amendments to Minn.Stat. § 541.051 (2010) do not clearly and manifestly express a legislative intent to retroactively revive a cause of action previously extinguished by the statute of repose before the amendments were effective.

2. The “notwithstanding” clause of the compensation statutes, Minn.Stat. § 3.7394, subd. 5(a) (2010), clearly and manifestly expresses legislative intent to retroactively revive the State's cause of action for statutory reimbursement that was previously extinguished by the statute of repose in Minn.Stat. § 541.051.

3. The reimbursement provision of the compensation statutes, Minn.Stat. § 3.7394, subd. 5(a) (2010), does not violate appellant's constitutional right to due process by reviving a cause of action for statutory reimbursement previously extinguished by the statute of repose.

4. The compensation statutes, Minn.Stat. §§ 3.7391–.7395, do not result in a substantial impairment of the contract between the State and appellant because the State was not contractually obligated to assert sovereign immunity as a defense to the claims of the individual plaintiffs.

5. Pursuant to the “notwithstanding” clause of Minn.Stat. § 3.7394, subd. 5(a), the State is not barred by either Pierringer releases or the common law doctrine of voluntary payments from asserting its statutory reimbursement claim against appellant.

David F. Herr, James Duffy O'Connor, Kirk O. Kolbo, Nicole Narotzky, Abigail Richey–Allen, Maslon Edelman Borman & Brand, LLP, Minneapolis, MN, for appellant Jacobs Engineering Group, Inc.

Lori Swanson, Attorney General, Alan I. Gilbert, Solicitor General, Kristyn Anderson, Gary Cunningham, Assistant Attorneys General, St. Paul, MN, for respondent State of Minnesota.

OPINION

DIETZEN, Justice.

This case arises out of the August 1, 2007, collapse of the Interstate 35W Bridge (Bridge) where it crosses the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Following the collapse, individual plaintiffs commenced lawsuits for negligence, breach of contract, and resulting damages against URS Corporation (URS) and Progressive Contractors, Inc. (PCI), contractors that performed work on the Bridge pursuant to contracts entered into with the State of Minnesota. URS and PCI then brought third-party complaints against Jacobs Engineering Group, Inc. (Jacobs), on the basis that Jacobs' predecessor negligently designed the Bridge. PCI also filed a third-party complaint against the State. The State cross-claimed against Jacobs for contribution, indemnity, and statutory reimbursement under Minn.Stat. § 3.7394, subd. 5(a) (2010). Jacobs moved to dismiss the State's cross-claim as time-barred, arguing that neither the 2007 amendments to Minn.Stat. § 541.051 (2010) nor the reimbursement provision of the compensation statutes, Minn.Stat. § 3.7394, subd. 5(a), revived actions against Jacobs that had been previously extinguished by a prior version of the statute of repose. The district court denied the motion, and the court of appeals affirmed. Because we conclude that Minn.Stat. § 3.7394, subd. 5(a), retroactively revives the State's action for statutory reimbursement against Jacobs, that section 3.7394, subdivision 5(a), does not violate Jacobs' constitutional right to due process, and that revival of the action for statutory reimbursement does not unconstitutionally impair Jacobs' contractual obligations, we affirm the court of appeals.

The factual background of this dispute begins with the design and construction of the Interstate 35W Bridge. In October 1962, Sverdrup & Parcel and Associates, Inc. (Sverdrup), entered into a contract with the State to prepare design and construction plans for the Bridge. The indemnity provision of the contract, Article VIII, Section 2(b), provides:

[Sverdrup] indemnifies, saves and holds harmless the State and any agents or employees thereof from any and all claims, demands, actions or causes of action of whatsoever nature or character arising out of or by reason of the execution or performance of the work of [Sverdrup] provided for under this agreement.

Sverdrup certified the final Bridge design and construction plans in March 1965, and construction of the Bridge was substantially completed in 1967. Between 1966 and 1999, Sverdrup went through a series of name changes and mergers. In September 1999, Sverdrup Corporation merged with Jacobs, and Jacobs was the surviving corporation. Jacobs is the successor in interest to Sverdrup for the purpose of this proceeding.

In 2003, the State entered into a series of contracts with URS to conduct an inspection of the Bridge to determine the nature and scope of maintenance that needed to be performed on the Bridge. In March 2007, the State hired PCI to perform maintenance to the Bridge. On August 1, 2007, the Bridge collapsed, resulting in the deaths of 13 people and injuries to 145 others.

In 2008, the Legislature passed the compensation statutes, Minn.Stat. §§ 3.7391–.7395 (2010), to compensate survivor-claimants of the collapse. ¹ Subsequently, the State entered into settlement agreements with 179 survivor-claimants who made statutory claims for compensation, paying them $36,640,000 through the compensation statutes, and $398,984 from the emergency relief fund created by the State in November 2007. The compensation statutes provide, among other things, that the State may seek reimbursement from third parties for these payments, to the extent the third party caused or contributed to the Bridge collapse. Minn.Stat. § 3.7394, subd. 5(a). All of the survivor-claimants who settled pursuant to the compensation statutes signed releases with the State.

Individual plaintiffs commenced lawsuits for negligence, breach of contract, and resulting damages against URS and PCI. The district court consolidated the individual plaintiffs' cases for pretrial purposes and dismissed the plaintiffs' breach of contract claims. URS and PCI then brought third-party complaints against Jacobs for contribution and indemnity on the basis that Sverdrup negligently designed the Bridge. PCI also filed a third-party complaint against the State. The State cross-claimed against Jacobs for common law contribution and indemnity, contractual contribution and indemnity, and statutory reimbursement pursuant to Minn.Stat. § 3.7394, subd. 5(a), to recover funds the State paid to individual survivor-claimants pursuant to the emergency relief fund and the compensation statutes.

In the consolidated proceeding, Jacobs moved to dismiss the State's cross-claims against it pursuant to Minn. R. Civ. P. 12.02(e) for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. After a hearing, the district court denied Jacobs' motion to dismiss. Jacobs sought review of the district court's decision in the court of appeals.²

In a published opinion, the court of appeals affirmed the district court's denial of the motion to dismiss, concluding that the 2007 amendments to section 541.051 apply retroactively to revive the State's action for contractual indemnity against Jacobs,³ and that the revival of that action did not violate Jacobs' due process rights. In re Individual 35W Bridge Litig., 787 N.W.2d 643, 650–51 (Minn.App.2010). Additionally, the court concluded that the compensation statutes, Minn.Stat. §§ 3.7391–.7395, do not unconstitutionally impair Jacobs' contractual indemnity rights in violation of the U.S. and Minnesota Constitutions. 787 N.W.2d at 653. Finally, the court rejected Jacobs' claims that the releases executed by the survivor-claimants extinguished Jacobs' liability to the State, and that the State is not entitled to obtain reimbursement for its voluntary payments to the survivor-claimants. Id. at 653–54. Subsequently, we granted review on all issues.

I.

On appeal, Jacobs presents five arguments to support its position that the court of appeals erred in affirming the district court. First, Jacobs argues that the 2007 amendments to Minn.Stat. § 541.051, and the compensation statutes, Minn.Stat. §§ 3.7391–.7395, do not retroactively revive causes of action previously extinguished by the statute of repose. To address this issue, we first examine whether the 2007 amendments to Minn.Stat. § 541.051 retroactively revive a cause of action previously extinguished by the statute of repose.

We review de novo decisions on motions to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted under Minn. R. Civ. P. 12.02(e). Bodah v. Lakeville Motor Express, Inc., 663 N.W.2d 550, 553 (Minn.2003). The question before us is whether the complaint sets forth a legally sufficient claim for relief. Id. We consider only those facts alleged in the complaint, accepting those facts as true and construing all reasonable inferences in favor of the non-moving party. Id. Moreover, interpretation of a statute is also reviewed de novo. Zurich Am. Ins. Co. v. Bjelland, 710 N.W.2d 64, 68 (Minn.2006). In construing the language of a statute, we give words and phrases their plain and ordinary meaning. Minn.Stat. § 645.08 (2010); Amaral v. Saint Cloud Hosp., 598 N.W.2d 379, 384 (Minn.1999). Thus, if the language of a statute is clear and free from ambiguity, our role is to apply the language of the statute, and not explore the spirit or purpose of the law. Minn.Stat. § 645.16 (2010).

A.

The State asserts causes of action against Jacobs for contractual indemnity ⁴ and for reimbursement under the compensation statutes, Minn.Stat. §§ 3.7391–.7395. Jacobs argues that the State's actions were extinguished by a prior version of the statute of repose in Minn.Stat. § 541.051, and were not retroactively revived by the 2007 amendments to the statute. According to Jacobs, the Bridge was substantially completed in 1967, and the repose period expired decades before the Bridge collapsed in 2007. The State argues...