City of Fort Wayne v. Cameron, No. 1277S811
Docket Nº | No. 1277S811 |
Citation | 267 Ind. 329, 370 N.E.2d 338 |
Case Date | December 14, 1977 |
Court | Supreme Court of Indiana |
Page 338
v.
Charles CAMERON, Appellee.
[267 Ind. 330]
Page 339
David B. Keller, David A. Travelstead, Warren B. Rosenblatt, Fort Wayne, for appellant.Howard B. Sandler, Neil F. Sandler, Edward N. Smith, Fort Wayne, for appellee.
OPINION ON PETITION TO TRANSFER
GIVAN, Chief Justice.
Appellee Charles Cameron was shot by a Fort Wayne police officer on June 20, 1969. The bullet struck him in the neck and paralyzed all four limbs. As a result of the injury he was confined in a hospital for more than one year. On March 16, 1970, he attained his majority and on April 3, 1970, he gave a formal notice of claim to the city.
Action was filed in Allen Superior Court on June 21, 1971. The city subsequently filed a motion to dismiss on the ground that plaintiff had failed to comply with the provisions of the city notice statute, IC 1971, 18-2-2-1, which requires a notice of claim against a municipal corporation to be given within 60 days of the incident. The trial court denied the motion to dismiss.
A change of venue was taken to the Noble Circuit Court where the city moved for summary judgment on the same ground. The trial court denied the motion for summary [267 Ind. 331] judgment, ruling that on the basis of Chaffin v. Nicosia, (1974) 261 Ind. 698, 310 N.E.2d 867, the doctrine of in pari materia requires that the disability statute, IC 1971, 34-1-2-5, and the city notice statute, IC 1971, 18-2-2-1, be construed together with the result that Cameron would have 60 days after his incapacity was removed within which to file notice.
The Court of Appeals for the Third District reversed the trial court's determination. City of Fort Wayne v. Cameron, (1976) Ind.App., 349 N.E.2d 795. The Court of Appeals held that the statutes at issue are irreconcilably in conflict and therefore cannot be read together. The court also held that the statute was constitutional and there was no substantial compliance with the notice statute, notwithstanding the fact the police department had investigated the incident. In a dissenting opinion in the Court of Appeals, Judge Staton argued that to apply the notice statute strictly in this case would be to deprive Cameron's right of action unreasonably and arbitrarily and would, therefore, violate the constitutional guarantee of a remedy by due course of law. Judge Staton was of the opinion that the notice provision should be extended until a reasonable time after the incapacity was removed.
The statute in question, IC 1971, 18-2-2-1, reads as follows:
"Notice of claim against cities and towns. Hereafter no action or actions of any kind for damages arising from any negligence, wilfulness, nuisance, or other tort of any municipal corporation that causes injury to any person, or loss, injury or damage to any property, or any wrongful death, and regardless of to whom any such action or actions may accrue, shall be brought or maintained against any municipal corporation of this state unless there is first served upon either the mayor or clerk of any such city or a member of the board of trustees of any such town, either by delivery thereto in person or by registered mail with return card, a written notice of the occurrence complained of, setting out...
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Martin v. Richey, Jr., M.D., No. 53S04-9805-CV-271
...a facially constitutional statute may be unconstitutional as applied to a particular plaintiff. See City of Fort Wayne v. Cameron, 267 Ind. 329, 334, 370 N.E.2d 338, 341 (1977) (finding notice provision contained in Indiana Code section 18-2-2-1 (1977), while facially constitutional, was un......
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Mack v. American Fletcher Nat. Bank and Trust Co., No. 06A04-8610-CV-310
...two more years to bring their action if the period had otherwise expired. See IND. CODE 34-1-2-5; City of Fort Wayne v. Cameron (1977), 267 Ind. 329, 370 N.E.2d 338. Thus, even if the limitations on the 1966 amendment had run prior to 1972, the Beneficiaries still had to file their complain......
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Alexander v. City of South Bend, No. 3:02-CV-0397 CAN.
...to bring suit. Diaz v. Carpenter, 650 N.E.2d 688, 691-92 (Ind.Ct. App.1995). Nonetheless, Plaintiff cites City of Ft. Wayne v. Cameron, 267 Ind. 329, 370 N.E.2d 338 (1977), and attempts to draw a parallel between the plaintiff, a mentally incapacitated individual, and Plaintiff, who was inc......
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Coghill v. Badger, No. 2-379A51
...compliance" with the notice requirements. See, e.g., Powell, supra; Satz, supra; Geyer, supra; City of Fort Wayne v. Cameron (1977), 267 Ind. 329, 370 N.E.2d 338; Galbreath, Coghill seeks to show substantial compliance with the notice requirements by Runnels' October 24, 1976 letter to Scot......
-
Martin v. Richey, Jr., M.D., No. 53S04-9805-CV-271
...a facially constitutional statute may be unconstitutional as applied to a particular plaintiff. See City of Fort Wayne v. Cameron, 267 Ind. 329, 334, 370 N.E.2d 338, 341 (1977) (finding notice provision contained in Indiana Code section 18-2-2-1 (1977), while facially constitutional, was un......
-
Mack v. American Fletcher Nat. Bank and Trust Co., No. 06A04-8610-CV-310
...two more years to bring their action if the period had otherwise expired. See IND. CODE 34-1-2-5; City of Fort Wayne v. Cameron (1977), 267 Ind. 329, 370 N.E.2d 338. Thus, even if the limitations on the 1966 amendment had run prior to 1972, the Beneficiaries still had to file their complain......
-
Alexander v. City of South Bend, No. 3:02-CV-0397 CAN.
...to bring suit. Diaz v. Carpenter, 650 N.E.2d 688, 691-92 (Ind.Ct. App.1995). Nonetheless, Plaintiff cites City of Ft. Wayne v. Cameron, 267 Ind. 329, 370 N.E.2d 338 (1977), and attempts to draw a parallel between the plaintiff, a mentally incapacitated individual, and Plaintiff, who was inc......
-
Coghill v. Badger, No. 2-379A51
...compliance" with the notice requirements. See, e.g., Powell, supra; Satz, supra; Geyer, supra; City of Fort Wayne v. Cameron (1977), 267 Ind. 329, 370 N.E.2d 338; Galbreath, Coghill seeks to show substantial compliance with the notice requirements by Runnels' October 24, 1976 letter to Scot......