Idahosa v. King County

113 Wash. App. 930
Court of Appeals of Washington·Decided October 4, 2002·No. No. 27242-3-II·Published·Cited by 8 cases

Opinion

Seinfeld, J.

— Pamela Idahosa, a former King County corrections officer, sued King County, asserting racial and disability discrimination claims. The trial court imposed $2,000 in sanctions against Idahosa for her discovery violations and later struck her untimely response to the County’s summary judgment motion. The court then granted the County’s summary judgment motion. Idahosa appeals each of these orders.1 Finding no reversible error, we conclude that the trial court properly granted summary judgment to King County and, therefore, we affirm.

FACTS

In February 1993, Idahosa began working for the King County Department of Adult Detention as a corrections officer in the jail. In August 1993, Idahosa injured her right knee and wrist and her left arm when she fell while walking down a ramp at the jail. She returned to work about a week after the incident.

Over the next three years, Idahosa continued to have medical problems that led to frequent work absences. She missed about four to five days of work a month and beginning in late January 1995, she took six weeks off work for physical therapy.

Notwithstanding a February 1995 medical report indicating that Idahosa’s condition was “fixed and stable” and that there was “no restriction upon her vocational or avocational activities,” in April 1995, she began a six-month medical leave of absence extending through September 1995. [933] Clerk’s Papers (CP) at 432. Shortly after Idahosa returned to work, she took another medical leave of absence until April 1996.

At that time, Idahosa’s doctor recommended a gradual return to work and, after an extension of Idahosa’s leave of absence to resolve some discrepancies in her medical information, she finally returned to work in June 1996. But when she reported to work with a cane and missed two days of work shortly after her return, the County placed her on administrative leave with pay pending clarification of her medical limitations.

During this review period, Idahosa’s doctor advised the County that Idahosa could not perform several of the essential functions of the corrections officer position. The doctor was “very pessimistic re: [Idahosa’s] long term functioning.] I doubt she will ever be able to run after or restrain an inmate, etc.” CP at 587.

The County met with Idahosa on October 1, 1996, to discuss her medical situation. At that meeting, Idahosa said she disagreed with her doctor’s assessment and she would provide additional medical information to the County. But when County officials and Idahosa met again on October 16, she refused to discuss her condition, said she wanted a union representative present, and stated that she would contact the County later to provide the promised information.

Idahosa never provided the information to the County. Consequently, in November 1996, the County notified her that she would be “separated” from her position as a corrections officer effective December 16,1996, but that she could still participate in the County’s job accommodation/ reassignment program. CP at 33.

Apparently, Idahosa did not contact the County again until she received a letter dated May 29, 1998, terminating her employment effective May 31, 1998. The letter stated that the County took this action after Idahosa failed to participate in the job accommodation/reassignment program.

[934] Idahosa is African-American. She based her racial discrimination claims on several incidents involving another corrections officer or officers that occurred in 1993 or 1994 and into early 1995.

In June 1999, Idahosa filed a claim for damages against King County for the County’s actions from the date of her on-the-job injury in 1993 until her termination in 1998. See RCW 4.96.010(1) (filing claim of damages is a condition precedent to commencing an action for damages against local governmental entity). Then, in October 1999, she filed a complaint against King County in Pierce County Superior Court2 alleging racial and disability discrimination claims under chapter 51.48 RCW and chapter 49.60 RCW. See RCW 4.96.020(4) (no action for damages against local governmental entity may be commenced until 60 days after the claim for damages has been filed with governing body).

In January 2001, the parties submitted a joint motion extending the case schedule deadlines. They agreed to a March 5, 2001, discovery cutoff date and a March 26, 2001, cutoff for hearing all dispositive motions. At the same time, Idahosa’s attorney notified King County’s counsel that he would be absent from his office and outside the state from February 8 through March 9, 2001. Trial was set for May 14.

On February 2, the trial court heard the County’s motion to compel discovery from Idahosa. With both parties’ agreement, the court granted the motion, ordering Idahosa to provide discovery by February 6. When she failed to comply with this order, the County moved for sanctions. And on March 2, following a hearing at which Idahosa’s counsel appeared telephonically, the court ordered Idahosa to pay $2,000 in sanctions.

Meanwhile, on February 20, King County filed its summary judgment motion and the parties agreed that Idahosa would file her response by March 19 and that the court [935] would hear the motion on March 23. But Idahosa did not file her response until March 21, two days after the agreed deadline and only two days before the summary judgment hearing.

At that hearing, the County moved to strike Idahosa’s untimely response. The trial court granted the motion and then granted summary judgment to the County. The court subsequently denied Idahosa’s motion to reconsider its summary judgment decision.

DISCUSSION

Idahosa assigns error to the trial court’s: (1) striking of her response to King County’s summary judgment motion, (2) grant of summary judgment to the County and failure to continue the summary judgment hearing, (3) failure to consider her motion to compel discovery from the County, (4) failure to consider her motion to strike portions of the evidence supporting the County’s summary judgment motion, (5) imposition of $2,000 in sanctions against her for her failure to comply with the court’s order compelling discovery, and (6) denial of her motion for reconsideration. Idahosa asks this court to impose sanctions against the County in the form of her appellate attorney fees for the County’s allegedly late and incomplete discovery responses.

We find no abuse of discretion in the trial court’s decision to strike Idahosa’s untimely summary judgment response, and we conclude that King County was entitled to summary judgment. We further affirm the trial court’s imposition of sanctions against Idahosa and decline her request for attorney fees on appeal.

I. Untimely Summary Judgment Response

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Idahosa v. King County, 113 Wash. App. 930 (Wash. Ct. App. 2002).

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