136
Opinion of the Court
struction improvement project which may be implemented utilizing Federal-aid highway funds shall not be subject to discovery or admitted into evidence in a Federal or State court proceeding or considered for other purposes in any action for damages arising from any occurrence at a location mentioned or addressed in such reports, surveys, schedules, lists, or data."
B
Ignacio Guillen's wife, Clementina Guillen-Alejandre, died on July 5, 1996, in an automobile accident at the intersection of 168th Street East and B Street East (168/B intersection), in Pierce County, Washington. Several months before the accident, petitioner had requested § 152 funding for this intersection, but the request had been denied. Petitioner renewed its application for funding on April 3, 1996, and the second request was approved on July 26, 1996, only three weeks after the accident occurred.
Beginning on August 16, 1996, counsel for respondents sought to obtain from petitioner information about accidents that had occurred at the 168/B intersection.1 Petitioner declined to provide any responsive information, asserting that any relevant documents were protected by § 409. After informal efforts failed to resolve this discovery dispute, respondents turned to the Washington courts.
Respondents first filed an action alleging that petitioner's refusal to disclose the relevant documents violated the
1 In a letter dated October 28, 1996, respondents' counsel clarified his request as follows: " 'I want to make the record clear that we are not seeking any reports that were specifically written for developing any safety construction improvement project at the intersection at issue.' " Quoted in 144 Wash. 2d 696, 703, 31 P. 3d 628, 633 (2001). The letter further explained, however, that respondents were seeking " 'a copy of all documents that record the accident history of the intersection that may have been used in the preparation of any such reports.' " Quoted in id., at 703-704, 31 P. 3d, at 633.
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