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Northern Mont. Hosp. v. Knight5/21/1991
Rehearing Denied July 9, 1991.
Submitted May 9, 1991.
Defendant Kenneth Knight (Architect) appeals from a jury verdict rendered against him and in favor of plaintiff Northern Montana Hospital in the Twelfth Judicial District Court, Hill County. The Hospital cross-appeals from the District Court's denial of its motion for prejudgment interest. We affirm.
The Architect raises the following issues:
1. Were the Hospital's claims barred by the statute of limitations?
2. Was expert testimony on the custom of the architectural profession properly admitted into evidence?
3. Was the Architect's motion to compel production of documents reviewed by the Hospital's expert witness in preparation for his deposition properly denied by the District Court?
The sole issue raised by the Hospital on cross-appeal is whether the District Court properly denied its motion for prejudgment interest.
In 1968, the Hospital's board of directors engaged the Architect and his firm to provide architectural services for the construction of a hospital in Havre. Construction commenced in 1973 and the building was substantially completed by mid-June 1975.
Shortly after completion, several problems arose, most centering around the structure's heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning systems. Temperatures fluctuated tremendously throughout the building. Air-conditioning equipment on the roof transmitted noise and vibrations to the rooms below. Drafts and boiler room fumes permeated the facility. Gases from the incinerator were sucked into the nursery. The elevator doors constantly whistled as wind rushed through the elevator shafts.
The Hospital administration sought assistance from the Architect in its attempts to remedy the problems. The Architect assured the Hospital that the problems were not the result of design deficiencies but were caused by either the Hospital maintenance staff or the contractor.
In 1979, the Hospital employed the RMH Group, a Denver-based consulting firm, to conduct an energy audit and systems review. The RMH report, which the Hospital received in 1980, concluded that the various atmospheric problems were the result of building code violations and design defects. RMH suggested a major redesign and reconstruction of the system. The Hospital retained the consultant to correct the problems.
On July 2, 1981, the Hospital filed suit against the Architect, alleging that he had breached and negligently breached his express and implied contractual duties; breached the contract's implied warranty of fitness of the design; breached his implied duty to supervise the project's construction; negligently designed the building; negligently supervised the facility's construction; and fraudulently concealed known or suspected design deficiencies, preventing the Hospital from discovering the cause of those problems.
In March 1989 the Architect moved for summary judgment, arguing that the claims were barred by the statute of limitations. The District Court denied the motion, ruling that the action constituted architectural malpractice and was governed by the three-year limitations period for general tort actions. The court found that, although the Hospital was put on inquiry notice more than three years before it filed the lawsuit, the action was not time barred because the Hospital made reasonable inquiry of the Architect and the Architect kept it from knowing the magnitude of the problems by assuring it that the systems were fine. The court therefore concluded that the Architect was equitably es
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