07/21/2011
By ADAM LYNN
A King County judge has dismissed a wrongful-death lawsuit brought against the city of Tacoma, Pierce County and the state of Washington by the family of Zina Linnik, the Hilltop girl who was kidnapped and murdered by a sex offender four years ago.
Superior Court Judge J. Wesley Saint Clair issued the dismissal orders this morning.
Zina’s family had alleged the county and state negligently supervised the girl’s killer – Terapon Adhahn – after his conviction for a sex crime and that the city mishandled the issuing of an Amber Alert after he snatched the girl July 4, 2007.
Lawyers for the city, county and state countered their governments acted appropriately and that they should not be held liable for the actions of a murderous sex offender.
Issues raised during the lawsuit – including the fact the Tacoma police spokesman fell back to sleep instead of issuing the alert the morning of July 5, 2007 – led former City Manager Eric Anderson to reprimand Police Chief Don Ramsdell and to call for an outside investigation of the way the police department handled the Zina’s death.
The lawyer for the Linnik family said this morning that Saint Clair’s ruling was not unexpected and that the family would appeal.
"The original purpose of this case was twofold," Tyler Firkins said in an email. "It was to expose the significant errors and omissions that resulted in Zina’s death. We have accomplished that goal. We also set out to change the laws regarding the various agencies and their duties to protect children and the public. We have yet to accomplish that goal. To reach the family’s second goal, we always knew the case would be resolved in the appellate courts. We intend to create a higher duty of care for (Child Protective Services) and law enforcement when it comes to protecting children. When we have done that, we will have justice for Zina."
Firkins said Saint Clair’s ruling did not address the governments’ alleged negligence in the girls death but rather whether they had a legal duty to protect her.
“The court’s rulings were premised on the government entities’ technical defense that they did not owe a duty to Zina,” he said. “It is a form of sovereign immunity. Under this legal premise the defendants’ errors are irrelevant to whether they owed a duty to Zina.”
Tacoma Mayor Marilyn Strickland said the city appreciates Saint Clair’s thoughtful consideration of their argument in the case. The investigation of the police department’s handling the case would continue with an eye toward improving departmental policies and procedures, Strickland said.
Deputy prosecutor Dan Hamilton represented Pierce County in the case.
Hamilton said government agencies should be protected from such lawsuits.
“Municipalities cannot be liable for all crimes that happen within their jurisdictions,” he said. “Otherwise, they’d do nothing at all out of fear of liability. There has to be something more than you let somebody slip through your fingers.”
Hamilton said he was sympathetic to the Linnik family.
"It’s understandable that someone who’s had a loss like this, a terrible loss, would want to find everyone they could to share that pain," he said. "Those feelings are certainly understandable. They’re just not the basis for a lawsuit."
