Portland, Oregon's Downtown Greek Cusina closed after being busted for fire code violations. Mr. Papas, the owner, is angry with the enforcer, Commissioner Randy Leonard and wants to sue. On this one, I side with City of Portland, because of what could happen if Portland did not enforce its fire code.
Let's say it is just another bachelor or bachelorette party at the bar / restaurant. Twenty-something women and men are partying the night away when a fire starts. Because of fire code violations, people die and are injured. So, instead of Mr. Papas trying to sue the city, grieving parents or injured people would file significant lawsuits for wrongful death or personal injury.
In Oregon, suing public bodies, such as cities, the state, or school districts, involves special rules and defenses. The first thing is that the injured or aggrieved person must do is send written notice of the intent to sue within a certain time. This is called the Tort Claims Notice. For injuries, it is 180 days. For wrongful death lawsuits, it's one year.
For many types of lawsuits, public agencies can defend by saying their decision, action, or inaction was a "discretionary function." That is, you can't sue a city for making a choice you would not make. But there's no choice when it comes to enforcing known fire code violations: the city has no discretion. If someone is injured or dies because the city fire inspector let things slide, then the city would be subject to a lawsuit for a lot of money.
So, thank you, Commissioner Leonard, for protecting people from injury and protecting taxpayers from lawsuit liability.
Jeff Merrick, Oregon Trial Attorney
503-665-4234
