A Grant County judge has denied a request from a Tri-Cities architecture firm to dismiss part of a lawsuit tied to a Moses Lake elementary school it designed.

Design West Architects argued Moses Lake School District’s pursuit of indemnification for its losses concerning the $18 million Groff Elementary School, which was suddenly closed in the spring of 2025 due to reported deficiencies, should be thrown out as the firm’s contract only required it provide that protection for third-party claims and losses.

“In fact, the district’s second amended complaint does not allege a single claim by any third party related to the project, let alone related to Design West’s services,” according to the architecture firm’s motion. “Instead, the district only alleges first party loss.”

Grant County Superior Court Judge Jennifer R. Richardson, however, ruled in early March that Design West had not satisfied the high bar for dismissal.

“The court finds that certain allegations and claims implicate (Design West Architects), its consultants, the plans and specifications, or their performance related to the work on the Groff Elementary School project,” Richardson wrote in her ruling.

The school district sued Richland-based Fowler General Construction along with Chicago-based Western Surety Company in the spring of 2025 after closing the 500-student school and moving its students and staff to other buildings across the district. Another contractor is currently documenting and conducting repairs.

The school district claimed improper and incomplete work by Fowler, which district officials say the contractor attempted to conceal.

Fowler has denied those claims. Western Surety declined to pay out the district’s claim on its insurance bond for the project.

In October 2025, the district also sued Design West, which designed Groff as a prototype for future schools, for allegedly failing to administer the project and ensure the district was aware of problems.

The firm also has denied the school district’s claims. It noted in court documents the district has not cited any specific design error in connection to Groff Elementary.

The district also “had notice at/around substantial completion of construction … including (alleged) defects of which Design West notified (the school district) or otherwise discussed with (the district), its representatives, or defendant Fowler in connection with closing out the project.”

Design West’s recent dismissal request focused solely on removing the claim the firm had to cover the district’s losses regarding Groff. The firm said its contract with the district is “unambiguously limited” to third party, not first party, indemnity. Only if the district was facing claims from other parties regarding Groff Elementary should the firm be liable.

“Washington courts ‘hold parties to their contracts,’” Design West argued in court documents. “This principle applies with particular force in the construction industry, where ‘the fees charged by architects, engineers, contractors, developers, vendors, and so on are founded on their expected liability exposure as bargained and provided for in the contract.’”

Fowler filed a similar motion in early February before withdrawing it two days later for unknown reasons.

Richardson said in her order she could only grant Design West’s request for partial dismissal “if it appears beyond doubt that (Moses Lake School District) cannot prove any set of facts that would justify recovery.” Rather, she said, the district has sufficiently pleaded its claim for reimbursement costs.

Among other developments in the lawsuit:

• In early April, Grant County Superior Court Judge Melissa K. Chlarson granted a petition by Design West and the school district to allow the architecture firm to amend its response to the district’s lawsuit. The amendment adds Western Pacific Engineering & Survey of Moses Lake, which is not a party to the lawsuit, as potentially at fault for the school district’s damages.
• In mid-April, the district filed its response to Fowler’s counterclaim to the original lawsuit, rejecting the contractor’s claims that the school district breached its contract and was unjustly enriched by using the school before closing it. In court documents, the district stated that Fowler failed to state a claim for which it can be given relief and that any damages cannot be attributed to the district. Additionally, the school district said Fowler’s counterclaim caused unfair prejudice to the district as the firm “unreasonably delayed in providing notice and in commencing and prosecuting this action for any alleged damages.”
• In late April, one of the third-party defendants in the lawsuit, Portland-based Brandsen Hardwood Floors, requested that the case be decided by a jury.