Opinion ID: 1939634
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Facts and Posture of this Litigation

Text: The District of Columbia initiated this suit on December 14, 1984, for damages resulting from the presence or suspected presence of asbestos-containing materials in 2407 properties on the master list of District-owned buildings. Having already expended some $4,401,793 on building inspection, the District reported in September 1986 that asbestos or asbestos-containing materials had been found in 17 of 20 public libraries and 171 of 188 public schools. Moreover, the District had contracted for further inspections which were planned or in progress at the 29 buildings of the District of Columbia General Hospital, 1181 buildings administered by the Department of Public Housing and Community Services, and 855 buildings administered by the Department of Public Works. Other structures affected included those belonging to the Fire Department and the Department of Corrections. At the time the complaint was filed, the extent of the contamination was still not fully known. In an inspection of visible surfaces, five public schools were suspected of asbestos contamination as early as 1977, and were cleaned up or otherwise made safe at the District's expense by December 1980. Techniques ranged from actual removal to encasing or covering up building components incorporating asbestos-containing materials. More discoveries ensued; asbestos was found in particularly dangerous places, such as ventilation ducts, air conditioning systems, and exposed surfaces. The District has compiled a limited record of asbestos inspection, abatement and removal. It has used its own funds and those appropriated by Congress to survey buildings and has appointed a special task force to accomplish the undertaking. It has used existing agencies, such as the Department of Environmental Services and the Public Schools Division of Safety and Security, to carry the task forward. Finally, as it has become aware that the scope of the problem is larger than its own instrumentalities can handle, it has contracted with private firms to conduct comprehensive environmental testing. However, limited public resources have made the prompt, comprehensive investigation and cleanup of the District's buildings impracticable. Building records reportedly fill 855 boxes containing 2500 pages apiece. Moreover, these records do not always reflect repairs, alterations, equipment replacements, or maintenance performed since construction. The mere survey of paperwork was expected to exceed a year in duration. In the trial court, appellees contended that the District of Columbia long knew or should have known of the hazards underlying the litigation, and had even expended resources to remedy them. They argued that the statute of limitations barred any claim that the District failed to pursue within three years of discovering the hazard. Further, they contended that the statute of repose, barring any action to recover damages for injuries that occurred more than ten years after an improvement to real property and resulted from the defective or unsafe condition of the improvement, considered together with the three-year statute of limitations from the date a cause of action accrues, barred any claim resulting from improvements substantially completed before December 14, 1971exactly thirteen years before the suit was filed. Accordingly, appellees jointly moved for orders of partial summary judgment as to claims allegedly barred by the statutes of limitations and repose. [10] The trial court granted these motions in part. It held that the statute of limitations and statute of repose applied to the District of Columbia notwithstanding the suit's obvious public interest. District of Columbia v. Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corp., 115 D.Wash.L. Rptr. 1905, 1911 (Sept. 11, 1987). The effect of its orders was to eliminate some 1958 buildings from the scope of this litigation, better than 80% of the District's claims. The District's application for allowance of an interlocutory appeal under D.C.Code § 11-721(d) (1981) was granted by this court.