Bank One v. West Jordan City

1 Bank One appeals the summary judgment in favor of West Jordan City, which judgment was premised on the conclusion that the bank's statutorily required notice of claim was not timely filed. Bank One contends it did not have a reason to initiate a claim against West Jordan until it knew of West Jordan's responsibility for the bank's injury and the amount of its damages. We reverse.

Factual Background

2 "In reviewing a grant of summary judgment, we review the facts and all reasonable inferences drawn therefrom in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party." Regal Ins. Co. v. Bott, 2001 UT 71,2, 31 P.3d 524.

3 Working to install a fiber optic conduit in West Jordan, Upper Valley Utilities (UVU) conducted drilling activities in early March 1999 in front of a building owned and occupied by Bank One. Prior to initiating its drilling, UVU contacted the Blue Stakes Location Center to have the utilities in the area marked. Blue Stakes contacted West Jordan and informed it of the installation and the need to have its utility lines marked. West Jordan was then required to properly mark the utility lines in the area to be excavated. See Utah Code Ann. § 54-8a-5 (1999). West Jordan was negligent in the marking of its sewer line, and as a result, UVU drilled into the sewer line that services Bank One's facility.

4 A few days later, Bank One began having problems with the operation of its restrooms. Believing the sewer line to be merely clogged, Bank One reported the problems it was having to West Jordan. On March 15, 1999, a West Jordan representative inspected the sewer line and reported that he was unable to find any malfunction or problem with the line.

5 Left with inoperative restrooms, Bank One hired a private contractor to identify the source of the plumbing problems. On March 22, 1999, the private contractor discovered that the West Jordan sewer line servicing Bank One had been punctured. That same day, representatives of UVU and West Jordan met with representatives of Bank One to inspect the punctured sewer line, discuss the cause of the damage, and determine which party should pay for the repairs. At that meeting, both West Jordan and UVU, apparently blaming each other, denied responsibility for Bank One's damage and refused to pay for repairs. Due to the refusal of both West Jordan and UVU to repair the damaged sewer line, Bank One was forced to retain the services of a private contractor, who repaired the sewer line at Bank One's expense on about April 1, 1999.

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¶17 A potential plaintiff does not have a claim against a political subdivision until it becomes aware that the entity has in some way harmed the plaintiff. Accordingly, Bank One did not have a claim against West Jordan until at least March 22, 1999, when Bank One became aware of the fact that its plumbing problems had quite possibly been caused by West Jordan's failure to properly mark its sewer line. Therefore, we conclude that Bank One's March 22, 2000, filing was timely. Accordingly, we reverse the summary judgment against Bank One and remand for trial or such other proceedings as may now be appropriate.

Reversed and Remanded in favor of Plaintiff for $29,986.

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