Estate of Connelly v. Snohomish County Public Utility District No. 1

¶1 We are again asked to interpret Washington’s claim filing statute, chapter 4.96 RCW, governing claims for damages against local governmental entities. The legislature amended the claim filing statute in 2006 to preclude local governmental entities from raising defenses under the statute when they have not appointed an agent to receive claims for damages. Here, the Lake Stevens School District did not appoint an agent to receive claims against it. The district argues nonetheless that because Connelly’s estate served its claim on the wrong person, it failed to toll the statute of…