Jennifer L. Curtin v. City of East Wenatchee

FILED
FEBRUARY 6, 2020
In the Office of the Clerk of Court
WA State Court of Appeals, Division III
IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON
DIVISION THREE
JENNIFER L. CURTIN, individually,) No. 36209-4-III
) (consolidated with
Petitioner, ) No. 36210-8-III)
)
GLEN CURTIN and BECKY CURTIN, )
jointly, )
)
Appellants, )
)
v. )
)
CITY OF EAST WENATCHEE; and LEO )
AGENS and “JANE DOE” AGENS, and ) PUBLISHED OPINION
the marital community thereof, )
)
Respondents, )
)
DOUGLAS COUNTY; STATE OF )
WASHINGTON DEPARTMENT OF )
TRANSPORTATION; and UNKNOWN )
JOHN AND JANE DOES 1-10, jointly )
and individually, )
)
Defendants. )
PENNELL, A.C.J. — Jennifer Curtin and her parents, Glen and Becky Curtin, sued
the City of East Wenatchee and Leo Agens (collectively Respondents) for personal
injuries sustained by Jennifer Curtin while she was a minor child. In addition to general
Nos. 36209-4-III; 36210-8-III
Curtin v. City of East Wentachee
damages, both Ms. Curtin and her parents sought compensation for pre-majority medical
expenses as part of their claim for special damages. The Curtins’ suit was filed more than
three years after Jennifer Curtin was injured, but within three years of her 18th birthday.
The Respondents successfully moved for summary judgment by arguing that only Ms.
Curtin’s parents had standing to bring a claim for pre-majority medical expenses, and
their claims were time-barred by our state’s three-year statute of limitations.
We disagree with the trial court’s disposition in part. Under Washington law, both
parent and child are entitled to seek recovery for pre-majority medical expenses. But in
this case, that claim was timely only as to Jennifer Curtin, who benefitted from tolling of
the statute of limitations until she reached 18 years of age. We therefore affirm the trial
court’s summary judgment dismissal of the claims of Ms. Curtin’s parents, reverse the
trial court’s denial of summary judgment on proximate cause and special damages as it
relates to Jennifer Curtin, and remand for further proceedings.
BACKGROUND
On December 9, 2009, 14-year-old Jennifer Curtin was crossing a street in East
Wenatchee, Washington, when she was struck by a car operated by Leo Agens.
Ms. Curtin was injured and required extensive medical treatment. At least a portion of
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Curtin v. City of East Wentachee
Ms. Curtin’s medical expenses were covered by her parents’ healthcare insurance
provider.
In February 2016, within three years of Ms. Curtin’s 18th birthday, Ms. Curtin and
her parents brought suit against Mr. Agens and the city of East Wenatchee. 1 Ms. Curtin
sought recovery for pain and suffering, medical expenses, and emotional distress. The
parents sought recovery for damages related to medical expenses, loss of services, and
loss of filial consortium.
The parties filed cross motions for summary judgment. The Respondents argued
(1) Ms. Curtin’s pre-majority medical expenses could be recovered only by her parents,
and (2) the parents could no longer seek any recovery because their claims were barred by
the statute of limitations. The Curtins’ motion was limited to the issues of proximate
cause and special damages, in the form of medical expenses. The trial court determined
that the parents’ claims were barred by the statute of limitations, that Jennifer Curtin did
not have standing to recover damages for her childhood medical expenses, and that the
combination of those rulings mooted the Curtins’ motion for summary judgment as to
proximate cause and special damages.
1
The Curtins alleged the City had failed to “design, repair, revise, and maintain the
unmarked crosswalk and roadway in a reasonably safe condition.” Clerk’s Papers at 11.
That allegation is not before the court.
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Curtin v. City of East Wentachee
This court granted discretionary review to Jennifer Curtin. Because the trial court’s
rulings disposed of the claims made by Glen and Becky Curtin in their entirety, we also
recognized the parents’ ability to directly appeal the adverse summary judgment as a
matter of right. The cases were thereafter consolidated for review.
ANALYSIS
Jennifer Curtin’s claim for pre-majority medical expenses
The parties agree that Jennifer Curtin’s suit for damages is timely under RCW
4.16.080(2) and RCW 4.16.190 because it was brought within three years of her 18th
birthday. The dispute is over a portion of Ms. Curtin’s claims. Specifically, the question is
whether Ms. Curtin may recover damages for medical expenses incurred prior to her 18th
birthday. The Respondents argue, and the trial court agreed, that pre-majority medical
expenses can be recovered only by a child’s parents since the parents are financially
responsible for the child’s care and maintenance. See RCW 26.16.205. We review this
legal question de novo. Smith v. Bates Tech. Coll., 139 Wash. 2d 793, 800, 991 P.2d 1135
(2000).
The Respondents’ arguments against standing are based on the common law. The
common law rule was a minor’s parents held the exclusive rights to recover a child’s
medical expenses. See State ex rel. Packard v. Perry, 221 W. Va. 526, 532, 655 S.E.2d
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Curtin v. City of East Wentachee
548 (2007). The reasoning was that a child had no standing to recover pre-majority
medical expenses unless the parents had assigned the child that right or the child had been
emancipated. Id. at 534. The common law approach has been criticized as inefficient,
illogical, and unfair. Id. at 538. see also Estate of DeSela v. Prescott United Sch. Dist. No.
1, 226 Ariz. 387, 389-90, 249 P.3d 767 (2011); Boley v. Knowles, 905 S.W.2d 86, 90
(Mo. Ct. App. 1995). The critique notes that the only benefit of the common law approach
is that it avoids risk of a double recovery—a benefit that can be achieved by measures
less drastic than depriving an aggrieved person of recovery. Id.
In a series of prescient decisions, our high court declined to follow the common
law approach. In McAllister v. Saginaw Timber Co., 171 Wash. 448, 451, 18 P.2d 41
(1933), the Supreme Court held the right to recover for pre-majority medical expenses
lies with both a parent and child. The court reached this determination without
qualification; the child in McAllister had not been emancipated and the court did not
reason that the child’s mother had refused support or assigned her right of recovery. Id.
Instead, McAllister held that because medical expenses are legal “‘necessaries,’” the
parent and child hold equal rights and responsibilities. Id. The court also noted the shared
right to recovery for pre-majority medical expenses must not work an injustice by
permitting double recovery. Id.
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McAllister is consistent with the earlier Supreme Court decision in Flessher v.
Carstens Packing Co., 96 Wash. 505, 165 P. 397 (1917). Flessher recognized that injury-
related expenses can sometimes be claimed by both a minor and a parent. Id. at 509.
When multiple claims are made, they need not be joined or tried together. Id. However, if
a minor recovers certain expenses, a principle of de facto emancipation will apply and the
parent will not be able to come to court later and claim the same expenses. Id.
Respondents seek refuge in Handley v. Anacortes Ice Co., 5 Wash. 2d 384, 105 P.2d
505 (1940) and Harris v. Puget Sound Electric Railway, 52 Wash. 299, 100 P. 841
(1909), but neither decision is inconsistent with the rule articulated in McAllister.
Handley and Harris recognized that when a child is injured, the parent and the child may
both have causes of action. Handley, 5 Wash. 2d at 396; Harris, 52 Wash. at 300-01.
Recovery of pre-majority medical expenses is generally a claim made by the parent who
has paid the expenses; Harris and Handley referred to the right as such. But neither
Harris nor Handley controverted McAllister’s clear rule (implicit in Flessher) that the
right of recovery lies with the minor in addition to the minor’s parents.
The trial court’s ruling that Jennifer Curtin lacked standing to assert a claim for
pre-majority medical expenses was in error. Ms. Curtin may sue to recover for any
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Nos. 36209-4-III; 36210-8-III
Curtin v. City of East Wentachee
damages, including pre-majority medical expenses, arising out of the alleged negligence
of the Respondents.
Statute of limitations applicable to the parents’ claims
While the parties agree Jennifer Curtin’s complaint was timely because it was filed
within the three-year limitations period of RCW 4.16.080(2) extended by the minor
tolling provision of RCW 4.16.190, they disagree as to whether her parents’ claims are
timely. Glen and Becky Curtin argue that because they had a right to join their daughter’s
lawsuit, the tolling statute applicable to Jennifer Curtin extends to them. The Respondents
counter that the tolling of the statute of limitations is plaintiff-specific, and therefore does
not apply to the parents. We agree with the Respondents.
As the name implies, a statute of limitations’ meaning is determined solely by
statute, not common law. See Fast v. Kennewick Pub. Hosp. Dist., 187 Wash. 2d 27, 32-33,
384 P.3d 232 (2016). Washington’s statutory code contains a catch-all limitations
provision. RCW 4.16.080(2). That provision applies when a cause of action is not
specifically covered by another limitations statute. Stenberg v. Pac. Power & Light Co.,
104 Wash. 2d 710, 720-21, 709 P.2d 793 (1985).
Here, Glen and Becky Curtin sought compensation for damages sustained as a
result of an injury to their child. Former RCW 4.24.010 (1998). Although this statute
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Curtin v. City of East Wentachee
recognizes that parents have standing to make such a claim, it does not specify a
limitations period for doing so. The tolling provision of RCW 4.16.190 is “person”
specific in that it only applies to those who meet that statute’s criteria. It therefore does
not apply to a parent who is not disabled or under the age of 18. Given this statutory
landscape, it is apparent the usual three-year statute of limitations period applies to a
parent’s claim for general injuries to a child.
Requiring parents, but not minor children, to abide by the general limitations
period of RCW 4.16.080(2) is consistent with the objectives of the statutory limitations
scheme. The purpose of a statute of limitation is “to compel prompt litigation.” Stenberg,
104 Wash. 2d at 721. It is reasonable to require a competent adult to take prompt action once
they become aware of the basis for a legal claim. Doing so ensures a dispute will be
resolved while evidence is accessible and memories are fresh. It also frees potential
defendants of fears about “litigation unlimited by time.” Id. But strict application of
statutes of limitation is not always fair; not everyone is capable of promptly bringing suit.
Minors and incapacitated persons are not legally competent to bring claims on their own
behalf. See RCW 4.08.050-.060. For this reason, RCW 4.16.190 pauses, or “tolls,” the
statute of limitations until the injured person attains competency, so children and
incapacitated persons can bring claims on their own behalf, if no one else has done so.
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Curtin v. City of East Wentachee
The tolling provision of RCW 4.16.190 is not premised on the theory that the
injury to the child or disabled person does not occur until the child reaches majority or the
person is no longer under disability. If that were true, then a cause of action on behalf of a
minor or incapacitated person would be prohibited during the tolling period. But that is
not the case. RCW 4.08.050-.060. Instead, RCW 4.16.190 is a protective measure
designed to safeguard the rights of a minor child or disabled person whose parent or
guardian fails to take timely action on their behalf. Because RCW 4.16.190 protects a
minor or disabled person from a parent’s or guardian’s inaction, it cannot logically be
read to permit a parent or guardian who has failed to take timely action to bootstrap their
own otherwise untimely claim to the minor or disabled person’s claim. We therefore
affirm the trial court’s dismissal of the claims of Glen and Becky Curtin.
Proximate cause and special damages
Because the trial court granted summary judgment to the Respondents as to the
parents’ claims and ruled that Jennifer Curtin lacked standing to assert a claim for pre-
majority medical expenses, it never reached the merits of the Curtins’ summary judgment
motion regarding proximate cause and special damages. Consequently, as a court of
appellate review, we decline to address this issue. We instead remand for further
proceedings in the trial court for a resolution on the merits.
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Nos. 36209-4-III; 36210-8-III
Curtin v. City of East Wentachee
CONCLUSION
The trial court's summary judgment dismissal of the claims of Glen and Becky
Curtin is affirmed. We reverse the denial of the motion for summary judgment on
proximate cause and special damages as it relates to Jennifer Curtin. This matter is
remanded for further proceedings consistent with the terms of this decision.
Q. ~- I /'rG':
Pennell, A.CJ.
WE CONCUR:
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