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Craftsman Builder's Supply Inc. v. Butler Manufacturing Co.3/5/1999
breach of duty should have been discovered through reasonable diligence."
"(4) Subject to Subsection (3), no action for breach of contract or warranty may be commenced against a provider more than six years after completion of the improvement or abandonment of construction. In the event the act, error, omission, or breach of duty is discovered in the sixth year of the six year period, the injured person has two additional years from the date of discovery to commence an action."
"(5) Subject to Subsections (3) and (4), no action may be commenced against a provider more than 12 years after completion of the improvement or abandonment of construction. In the event the act, error, omission, or breach of duty is discovered in the twelfth year of the 12-year period, the injured person shall have two additional years from the date of discovery to commence an action." Utah Code Ann. § 78-12-25.5(3), (4), & (5) (emphasis added). Craftsman argues that the emphasized "subject to" language expresses the intent that the discovery rule in subsection (3) takes precedence over the repose periods in subsections (4) and (5) and effectively subjects the repose periods to a discovery rule. Thus, if an injured party meets the requirements of subsection (3) and commences his action within two years after discovery, then the repose periods do not apply. According to Craftsman, the result of such a construction would be that the repose periods would never be relevant in any given situation and thus the term "statute of repose" is a misnomer because the statute is effectively a statute of limitations requiring the injured party to bring his action within two years after discovery. We disagree with Craftsman's analysis.
When construing a statute, we seek to "`give effect to the intent of the legislature in light of the purpose the statute was meant to achieve.'" Mariemont Corp. v. White City Water Improvement Dist., 958 P.2d 222, 224 (Utah 1998) (quoting Sullivan v. Scoular Grain Co. of Utah, 853 P.2d 877, 880 (Utah 1993) (other citation omitted)). "` f doubt or uncertainty exists as to the meaning or application of an act's provisions, analyze the act in its entirety and harmonize its provisions in accordance with the legislative intent and purpose.'" Id. at 225 (quoting Beynon v. St. George-Dixie Lodge #1743, 854 P.2d 513, 518 (Utah 1993)).
When section 78-12-25.5 is viewed as a whole, its purpose and effect are clear. One of the legislature's stated findings is that "it is in the best interests of the citizens of the state to impose the periods of repose provided in this chapter." Utah Code Ann. § 78-12-25.5(2)(e). Subsections (4) and (5) go on to provide set time periods after which no action may be commenced. Id. § 78-12-25.5(4) & (5). Because these periods start to run on the date of completion or abandonment of the improvement without regard to the "occurrence of an injury that gives rise to a cause of action," they are statutes of repose. Berry, 717 P.2d at 672. Therefore, it is clear that section 78-12-25.5 was intended to include a statute of repose. In addition to the repose provisions, subsection (3) provides a statute of limitations which requires an action to be brought within two years after the cause of action is discovered or should have been discovered. Utah Code Ann. § 78-12-25.5(3).
The statute of limitations provision and the statute of repose provisions are not inconsistent. Although subsections (4) and (5) are "subject to" the statute of limitations provision, this simply means that if an injured party discovers (or should have discovered) his cause of action prior to the time of the running of the repose periods, then the applicable time peri
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