Appeals court to decide venue for Eastmont school injury case

EAST WENATCHEE —Eastmont School District is being sued over injuries suffered by a child almost 10 years ago, but the case might not be heard in a Douglas County courtroom.

The Washington Court of Appeals will decide this spring whether the lawsuit, alleging the district is liable for the child's pain and distress, can be heard in Douglas County Superior Court, or must remain in King County court, where a local judge sent it last year.

The child, who was 9 years old at the time and is not named in the suit, fell from playground equipment at Kenroy Elementary in May 2014, and suffered a concussion and neck injuries. Her family sued the District, saying the playground equipment — a set of pull-up bars known as "spinners" — was unsafe.

But the case languished during the COVID-19 pandemic, amid a backlog of criminal trials, and Superior Court Judge Brian Huber told lawyers he was not able to schedule the family's civil case until multiple criminal cases were cleared.

The plaintiffs won an order from Huber in May 2022 to move the case to King County courts, in order to speed up the process. The District says that’s an inconvenience for its defense witnesses, and asked the Court of Appeals to send the matter back to a Waterville courtroom.

No Court of Appeals hearing has yet been scheduled.