Backus v. State
| Decision Date | 19 March 2009 |
| Docket Number | No. CV-08-0284-PR.,CV-08-0284-PR. |
| Citation | 220 Ariz. 101,203 P.3d 499 |
| Parties | Shannon BACKUS, a married woman, Plaintiff/Appellant, v. STATE of Arizona, Defendant/Appellee. Rosemary Johnson, on behalf of herself as biological mother of Vickie Johnson, deceased, and on behalf of all statutory beneficiaries of Vickie Johnson, deceased, Plaintiff/Appellant, v. State of Arizona, a political entity; Arizona Department of Corrections, an agency of the State of Arizona, Defendants/Appellees. |
| Court | Arizona Supreme Court |
¶ 1 Before suing a public entity, a claimant must file a notice of claim in compliance with Arizona Revised Statutes (A.R.S.) section 12-821.01.A (2003). Section 12-821.01.A requires that a notice of claim set forth "a specific amount for which the claim can be settled and the facts supporting that amount." In this consolidated action, we address the standard that applies to determine whether a claim adequately states the "facts supporting" the amount claimed.
¶ 2 On October 18, 2005, Gerald Dunford died while in the custody of the Arizona Department of Corrections (ADOC). On March 17, 2006, the attorney for Shannon Backus, Dunford's daughter, sent a notice of claim letter to the State asserting that ADOC had been negligent in providing medical care to Dunford. The letter stated:
As he was born on January 15, 1947, Gerald Michael Dunford was only fifty-eight years old at the time of his death. According to the mortality tables, a person between the ages of 58 and 59 has a life expectancy of 23.6 years. For the sole purpose of putting a damage amount on the life of Gerald Dunford, Mrs. Backus is claiming $21,500 per year for the loss of her father. At 23.6 years, this is a total of $507,400.
As a result of this unfortunate incident, Mrs. Backus has authorized me to make a claim upon [ADOC] in the amount of $500,000.
¶ 3 After Backus and the State failed to settle her claim, Backus filed a civil complaint in October 2006, alleging that the State's negligence in providing medical treatment to Dunford caused his death. The State moved to dismiss Backus's amended complaint for failure to comply with A.R.S. § 12-821.01, arguing Backus had not provided facts supporting the specific amount for which she was willing to settle her claim. The trial court granted the motion.
¶ 4 Vickie Johnson, a 35-year-old mother of six children, died on March 16, 2006, while serving a 2.5-year prison term. On May 31, 2006, the attorney for Rosemary Johnson, Vickie's mother, filed a notice of claim with the State on behalf of Rosemary and Vickie's six children. The letter made the following damages claim and settlement demand:
Had Ms. Johnson received the proper medical care she needed, her death and needless suffering would have been avoided. Ms. Johnson was scheduled to be released from custody in just a few short months, and leaves behind six (6) children[.]
This Notice of Claim is for the wrongful death of Vickie Johnson, caused by the negligence of the Arizona Department of Corrections and its medical providers. I have been given authority by the statutory beneficiaries of Ms. Johnson to resolve this matter in the amount of $2,000,000.00.
¶ 5 The State did not respond to the claim and, on January 25, 2007, Johnson, on behalf of herself and Vickie's six children, filed a complaint alleging negligence and wrongful death. The State moved to dismiss that action on the basis that the notice of claim failed to comply with § 12-821.01.A because "it fail[ed] to contain facts supporting the specific amount for which the claim [could] be settled with the State." The trial court granted the State's motion to dismiss and entered judgment against Johnson. Johnson appealed and the court of appeals consolidated her appeal with that of Backus.
¶ 6 The court of appeals concluded that a claimant satisfies § 12-821.01.A if the claimant provides "any facts to support the proposed settlement amounts, regardless of how meager." Backus v. State, 534 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 26, 29 ¶ 28, ___ Ariz. ___, ___ P.3d ___, 2008 WL 2764601 (App.2008). Accordingly, the court held that the facts contained in the Backus and Johnson letters satisfied § 12-821.01.A. Id. at 29-30 ¶¶ 30-31, ___ Ariz. at ___ - ___, ___ P.3d at ___ - ___.
¶ 7 The State petitioned for review, arguing that the court of appeals' holding misconstrued the supporting-facts requirement of the claims statute. We granted review to consider this recurring issue of statewide importance. We exercise jurisdiction under Article 6, Section 5, Clause 3 of the Arizona Constitution and A.R.S. § 12-120.24.
¶ 8 These consolidated cases require us to construe the language of § 12-821.01.A. When analyzing statutes, our primary "goal is `to fulfill the intent of the legislature that wrote [the statute].'" Zamora v. Reinstein, 185 Ariz. 272, 275, 915 P.2d 1227, 1230 (1996) (quoting State v. Williams, 175 Ariz. 98, 100, 854 P.2d 131, 133 (1993)).
¶ 9 The general intent of the statutes governing claims against public entities is clear. When the legislature adopted these statutes in 1984, it explicitly declared the purpose of the legislation:
[I]t is hereby declared to be the public policy of this state that public entities are liable for acts and omissions of employees in accordance with the statutes and common law of this state. All of the provisions of this act should be construed with a view to carry out the above legislative purpose.
1984 Ariz. Sess. Laws, ch. 285, § 1 (2d Reg. Sess.) (codified at A.R.S. §§ 12-820 to -823). The act thus codified the holding of Stone v. Arizona Highway Commission, that "the rule is [governmental] liability and immunity is the exception." 93 Ariz. 384, 392, 381 P.2d 107, 112 (1963), overruled in part by Grimm v. Ariz. Bd. of Pardons & Paroles, 115 Ariz. 260, 564 P.2d 1227 (1977). The claims statutes thus advance the overarching policy of holding a public entity responsible for its conduct.
¶ 10 We also construe statutes to give effect to an entire statutory scheme. Grant v. Bd. of Regents, 133 Ariz. 527, 529, 652 P.2d 1374, 1376 (1982). The notice of claim statute, § 12-821.01, operates within the general framework of the act defining the scope of claims against public entities. The statute permits an action against a public entity to proceed only if a claimant files a notice of claim that includes (1) facts sufficient to permit the public entity to understand the basis upon which liability is claimed, (2) a specific amount for which the claim can be settled, and (3) the facts supporting the amount claimed. A.R.S. § 12-821.01.A.1 These statutory requirements serve several important functions: "They `allow the public entity to investigate and assess liability, . . . permit the possibility of settlement prior to litigation, and . . . assist the public entity in financial planning and budgeting.'" Deer Valley Unified Sch. Dist. No. 97 v. Houser, 214 Ariz. 293, 295 ¶ 6, 152 P.3d 490, 492 (2007) (). Our interpretation of the statute at issue, then, must be consistent with both the general intent of the claims statutes and the intent of the specific statute involved.
¶ 11 "When analyzing statutes, we apply `fundamental principles of statutory construction, the cornerstone of which is the rule that the best and most reliable index of a statute's meaning is its language and, when the language is clear and unequivocal, it is determinative of the statute's construction.'" Id. at 296 ¶ 8, 152 P.3d at 493 (quoting Janson ex rel. Janson v. Christensen, 167 Ariz. 470, 471, 808 P.2d 1222, 1223 (1991)). When statutory language admits of only one interpretation, we go no further.
¶ 12 In Deer Valley, we considered whether a notice of claim that contained qualifying language as to the amount of the claim satisfied § 12-821.01.A's "specific amount" requirement. Id. at 295-96 ¶ 7, 152 P.3d at 492-93. We held that the "clear and unequivocal" text of § 12-821.01.A "requires that claimants identify the specific amount for which they will settle and provide facts supporting that amount." Id. at 296 ¶ 9, 152 P.3d at 493. In that case, however, the "repeated use of qualifying language [made] it impossible to ascertain the precise amount for which the [public entity] could have settled [the plaintiff's] claim." Id. at 296 ¶ 10, 152 P.3d at 493. We held that a claim without a specific settlement...
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