Takko’s ‘fair-claims bill’ signed into law by the governor

Lawmaker says reasonable grievances shouldn’t be rebuffed

May 12, 2009

OLYMPIA – State Rep. Dean Takko believes that a citizen who brings a fair, justified claim for damages against a governmental entity shouldn’t then be victimized yet again if and when the claim is tossed out “merely on account of some fussy, finicky technicality.”

Prime-sponsored by Takko, a Longview Democrat, House Bill 1553 reflects the fact that some injured plaintiff’s claims are indeed being denied “because of an uncalled-for, unnecessarily authoritarian interpretation of claim-filing statutes.”

“The original intent of these statutes was to provide notice so that the government can get the facts of the claim and investigate,” he explained.

“Our state law shouldn’t be allowed to devolve into a carping ‘gotcha,’ preventing injured parties from recovering reasonable damages for unreasonable injustices.

“This is a fair-claims bill, plain and simple,” Takko pointed out. “I’m very grateful that a large majority of my legislative colleagues in the House and Senate have seen the sound reasoning behind it.”

The legislation passed the House unanimously, and it passed the Senate, 35-12. The governor signed it into law yesterday, May 11.

“Citizens should be very grateful that Representative Takko, who comes from a local-government background, stood up for common sense and fairness for our citizens in the face of opposition from some local governments,” said Larry Shannon,
Government Affairs Director with the Washington State Association for Justice.

“This is the kind of change that not only benefits citizens with legitimate claims, it should also restore some faith that common sense can prevail from our elected officials at all levels, and in our legislative process and legal system,” Shannon said.

Shannon cited a situation involving a police officer in Bellevue who alleged that she had been sexually assaulted by her superior officer.

The female police officer said that her superior officer retaliated against her for filing the sexual-assault claim. Her case was dismissed, despite the fact that she filed her claim on the specific form that the city provided, and that she followed all the filing directions correctly.

The woman police officer engaged in a two-year mediation process with the city, as well as formal pre-suit arbitration. She also submitted detailed letters, pleadings and damage claims. But the court dismissed her claim, ruling that strict compliance required every element of damages to be separately claimed – rather than combined into one statement as the woman had done in the form she submitted to the city.

“That is just the type of bureaucratic unfairness and fussiness that we can do without in government,” Takko said. “We need to get rid of these procedural traps that make it almost impossible for a non-lawyer to file these forms correctly.”

Takko’s measure directs that a claim can be filed on a standard tort-claim form. The bill provides that substantial compliance with the procedural requirements of the claim-filing statutes is satisfactory. Also, an action could be commenced in court within five days after the expiration of the 60-day period in the claim-filing statute.