Opinion ID: 1176061
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Contract in Writing

Text: An appellate court reviews a grant of summary judgment de novo, engaging in the same inquiry as the trial court. Gunnier v. Yakima Heart Ctr., Inc., 134 Wash.2d 854, 858, 953 P.2d 1162 (1998). Summary judgment is proper if there is no genuine issue as to material facts and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Id.; CR 56(c). If reasonable minds can reach different conclusions, summary judgment is improper. Kalmas v. Wagner, 133 Wash.2d 210, 215, 943 P.2d 1369 (1997). RCW 4.16.040(1) provides a six-year statute of limitations for [a]n action upon a contract in writing, or liability express or implied arising out of a written agreement. The parties dispute whether the employee handbook at issue here is a written contract within the meaning of the six-year statute of limitations. It is not. A written contract for purposes of the six-year limitations period must contain all the essential elements of a contract. Barnes v. McLendon, 128 Wash.2d 563, 570, 910 P.2d 469 (1996) (citing Cahn v. Foster & Marshall, Inc., 33 Wash.App. 838, 840-41, 658 P.2d 42 (1983)); Kloss v. Honeywell, Inc., 77 Wash. App. 294, 298, 890 P.2d 480 (1995). Although it is possible for an employee handbook to contain written contractual terms, see Swanson v. Liquid Air Corp., 118 Wash.2d 512, 520-24, 826 P.2d 664 (1992), all the essential elements must be present before the six-year limitations period of RCW 4.16.040(1) applies. The essential elements of a contract are the subject matter of the contract, the parties, the promise, the terms and conditions, and (in some but not all jurisdictions) the price or consideration. Family Med. Bldg., Inc. v. Department of Soc. & Health Servs., 104 Wash.2d 105, 108, 702 P.2d 459 (1985); [1] Kloss, 77 Wash.App. at 298, 890 P.2d 480. If parol evidence is necessary to establish any material element, then the contract is partly oral and the three-year statute of limitations in RCW 4.16.080(3) applies. Barnes, 128 Wash.2d at 570, 910 P.2d 469; Kloss, 77 Wash.App. at 298, 890 P.2d 480; Cahn, 33 Wash.App. at 841, 658 P.2d 42. Here, as a matter of law, the handbook is not a written contract because it does not, for example, name or identify plaintiff, nor does it identify his job or job responsibilities or his work hours. Thus, at the least it does not sufficiently establish the parties to and the terms and conditions of a contract. Accordingly, the six-year statute of limitations in RCW 4.16.040(1) does not apply. Therefore, regardless of the effect of the disclaimer in the handbook, plaintiff's action was untimely and the trial court properly granted summary judgment to defendant.