Dee v. Laramie County, 83-39
Decision Date | 14 July 1983 |
Docket Number | No. 83-39,83-39 |
Citation | 666 P.2d 957 |
Parties | Michael J. DEE, Appellant (Plaintiff), v. LARAMIE COUNTY and The City of Cheyenne, Appellees (Defendants). |
Court | Wyoming Supreme Court |
Michael J. Dee, pro se.
Vincent J. Horn, Jr., Cheyenne, for appellees.
Before ROONEY, C.J., and RAPER *, THOMAS, ROSE and BROWN, JJ.
Appellant, acting pro se, appeals from the district court's order dismissing with prejudice his complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. 1
We affirm the dismissal of the complaint but for the reason that the district court did not have jurisdiction over the subject matter. 2
In December 1982, appellant filed an action against appellees alleging that somehow appellees, acting through their respective law enforcement agencies, had violated appellant's constitutional rights or had committed malfeasance by failing to arrest appellant when they first learned that he was growing marijuana, a controlled substance. The complaint was unartfully drawn 3 and can be characterized as sounding in tort, if any claim for relief is stated at all. However, it is clear in that the action is brought against two governmental entities, as that term is defined in § 1-39-103, W.S.1977, Cum.Supp.1983. 4
The Wyoming Governmental Claims Act, § 1-39-101, et seq., W.S.1977, Cum.Supp.1983, sets forth the exclusive remedy against a governmental entity. 5 It requires the submission of a timely claim to the governmental entity prior to bringing an action on such claim. Section 1-39-113, W.S.1977, Cum.Supp.1983, provides:
In Board of Trustees of University of Wyoming v. Bell, Wyo., 662 P.2d 410 (1983), the claim requirement of § 1-39-113(a), supra, was discussed fully in connection with an employee's action against the university which could be characterized as sounding in tort and contract. After discussing the general law regarding the presentation of a claim as a condition precedent to commencing an action against a governmental entity, we said:
(Emphasis added.) 662 P.2d at 415.
The complaint in this case fails to allege that a claim was filed with either of the appellees prior to institution of the action. 6 Such failure to allege the compliance with a condition precedent to instituting an action deprives the...
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