Opinion ID: 6928537
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Ill WPLA CLAIMS

Text: ASARCO contends that we should reverse and remand the award of damages under the Washington Products Liability Act (“the WPLA”). It argues that the district court erred by rejecting its motion to dismiss on statute of limitations grounds; refusing to admit evidence of the plaintiffs’ violation of the Clean Water Act; refusing to instruct the jury that the plaintiffs’ violations of the WPCA was evidence of negligence; and giving erroneous HWMA jury instructions which impacted the comparative fault calculations. In addition, ASARCO contends that loss-of-use damages were improperly awarded under the WPLA because they are not available as a matter of law. We address the last of these contentions first. A Did the district court err in allowing Portae to recover damages for loss of use under the WPLA? 8 We agree with ASARCO that the WPLA precludes a recovery of damages for loss of use of property. Washington Water Power Co. v. Graybar Elec. Co., 112 Wash.2d 847, 774 P.2d 1199, 1205 (1989), amended 779 P.2d 697. In Washington Water Power Co., the Washington Supreme Court analyzed the provision of the WPLA that defines “harm” as “any damages recognized by the courts of this state: Provided, That the term ‘harm’ does not include direct or consequential economic loss under Title 62A RCW.” Wash. Rev.Code Ann. § 7.72.010(6) (West 1992). While Washington Water Power Co. is not directly on point because it dealt with what damages are available when a defective product harms only itself, some of the court’s dicta is instructive. First, the court noted that the WPLA was intended to “restrict product liability plaintiffs to contract remedies for economic loss.” Washington Water Power, 774 P.2d at 1205. The damages at issue here, for loss of use of a site, resemble contract theory consequential damages. See Wash.Rev.Code Ann. § 62A.2-715(2). More important, however, the Washington Supreme Court noted approvingly that “[t]he common understanding of Washington commentators is that the WPLA also ... overrules] this court’s decision in Berg v. General Motors Corp., 87 Wash.2d 584, 555 P.2d 818 (1976).” Washington Water Power, 774 P.2d at 1205 (footnote omitted). Berg involved damages indistinguishable in nature from' the damages here. In Berg, a fisherman had purchased an engine which broke down repeatedly. Berg, 555 P.2d at 819. He sued requesting, among other things, the profits he lost as a result of his boat’s downtime. The Washington Supreme Court held that the fisherman had a product liability cause of action for these loss-of-use damages. Id. at 822-25. If Berg is an example of the sort of damages the WPLA made unrecoverable in a tort action, the loss-of-use damages here are not recoverable under that statute. As in Berg, this case involves (for WPLA purposes) the sale of a defective product, slag. Also as in Berg, the harm that resulted prevented the plaintiff from operating his normal business, here a logyard. Berg allowed loss-of-use damages, essentially lost profits that would have been earned if the boat had been running. Here Portae asks for similar damages for loss of use of the site, lost profits and costs associated with shifting operations to other sites. The WPLA overruled Berg. It precludes the loss-of-use damages awarded here. B. Remaining Damages Under the WPLA Because the remaining damages awarded to the plaintiffs under the WPLA, other than the damages awarded to Portae for loss of use of the Portae site, are subsumed within the CERCLA award which we have upheld, we do not reach ASARCO’s remaining challenges to the judgment against it under the WPLA.