BILL REQ. #:  S-0019.1 

Read first time 02/02/2007.   Referred to Committee on Judiciary.

     AN ACT Relating to a claim filed against a design professional; and adding a new section to chapter 4.24 RCW.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   A new section is added to chapter 4.24 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) As used in this section, "design professional" means: (a) An architect, professional engineer, land surveyor, landscape architect, or geologist who is licensed or authorized by law to practice such profession; (b) any corporation organized under chapter 18.100 RCW or authorized under RCW 18.08.420 or 18.43.130 to render design services; (c) an employee or subconsultant of a person described in (a) or (b) of this subsection, acting in the course and scope of his or her employment; or (d) an entity, whether or not incorporated, employing one or more persons described in (a) or (b) of this subsection.
     (2) If a claim is filed in any forum against a design professional in which loss is alleged to have been caused by an act or omission that violates the standard of care, a claimant must file a certificate of merit at the time of filing the claim. If the claim is filed within forty-five days prior to the expiration of the applicable statute of limitations, the claimant must file the certificate of merit no later than forty-five days after filing the claim.
     (3) The certificate of merit must be executed by a design professional who holds a license, certificate, or registration issued by this state or another state and who currently practices in the same specialty or subspecialty as that of the design professional against whom the claim is filed. If there is more than one design professional named in the action, the claimant must file a certificate of merit for each named design professional.
     (4) The certificate of merit must contain a statement that the person executing the certificate of merit believes, based on the information known at the time of executing the certificate of merit, that there is a reasonable probability that the design professional's conduct did not follow the accepted standard of care required to be exercised by that design professional and that the conduct was a cause of the claimed loss.
     (5) Upon motion of the claimant, the court may grant an additional period of time to file the certificate of merit, not to exceed ninety days, if the court finds there is good cause for the extension. Notwithstanding any requirement of any civil procedural or arbitration rule to the contrary, the design professional against whom a claim is asserted is not required to file an answer to any claim until twenty days after the claimant has filed the certificate of merit.
     (6)(a) Failure to file a certificate of merit that complies with the requirements of this section is grounds for dismissal of the claim.
     (b) If a claim is dismissed for failure to file a certificate of merit that complies with the requirements of this section, the filing of the claim against the design professional shall not be used against the design professional in professional liability insurance rate setting, personal credit history, or professional licensing or credentialing.