HOUSE BILL REPORT

EHB 2460

BYRepresentatives Inslee, Padden, Raiter, Appelwick, R. Meyers, Moyer, Rayburn, Hargrove, Rector, Dorn, H. Myers, Grant, Anderson, Jesernig, Van Luven, Wood, Jones, Zellinsky, R. King, Kremen, Crane and Kirby

Establishing civil docket priority for parties over seventy years of age or terminally ill.

House Committe on Judiciary

Majority Report:  Do pass as amended.  (14)

      Signed by Representatives Appelwick, Chair; Crane, Vice Chair; Padden, Ranking Republican Member; Brough, Dellwo, Forner, Inslee, P. King, R. Meyers, Moyer, H. Myers, Schmidt, Scott, and Tate.

Minority Report:  Do not pass.  (3)

      Signed by Representatives Belcher, Hargrove and Wineberry.

House Staff:Pat Shelledy (786-7149)

AS PASSED HOUSE FEBRUARY 7, 1990

BACKGROUND:

The backlog of cases in the superior courts can cause long delays in getting a civil case to trial.  Criminal cases must be given priority over civil cases when setting trial dates because defendants in criminal cases have a right to a speedy trial. In addition, a number of statutes have express statutory time limits by which time a matter has to be heard before a judge, such as domestic violence protection matters and temporary restraining orders.  No special provision exists directing the court administrators to exercise their discretion when setting cases for trial to give priority to the elderly or the terminally ill.  In some cases, a litigant may die or become too ill to proceed before his or her case goes to trial.  Consequently, pressure may exist to settle some cases for an amount less than the merits would otherwise dictate.

SUMMARY:

Upon the motion of a party, the court is directed to give priority on the civil trial calendar to cases in which a party is frail and over 70 years of age or is suffering from a terminal illness, unless other specific statutes provide otherwise.

Fiscal Note:      Not Requested.

Effective Date:The bill contains an emergency clause and takes effect immediately.

House Committee ‑ Testified For:    Keith Kessler, WSTLA.

House Committee - Testified Against:      No one.

House Committee - Testimony For:    There have been tragic instances of elderly or ill litigants dying before their cases can be heard.  While wrongful death actions can sometimes be maintained, they are harder to prove and are only available when the death was caused by the subject of the lawsuit.

House Committee - Testimony Against:      None.