Estate of Woody v. Big Horn Cnty.

• Decision Date: 26 July 2016
• Docket Number: No. DA 16–0010.,DA 16–0010.
• Citation: 2016 MT 180,376 P.3d 127,384 Mont. 185
• Parties: In the Matter of the ESTATE OF Kenneth R. WOODY IV, Deceased, by and through his personal representative Kenneth R. Woody, and Lorraine Woody, personal representative, on behalf of the heirs of Kenneth R. Woody IV, Plaintiffs and Appellants, v. BIG HORN COUNTY, a Political Subdivision of the State of Montana, and the Big Horn County Sheriff's Office, Defendants and Appellees.
• Court: Montana Supreme Court

384 Mont. 185

376 P.3d 127

2016 MT 180

In the Matter of the ESTATE OF Kenneth R. WOODY IV, Deceased, by and through his personal representative Kenneth R. Woody, and Lorraine Woody, personal representative, on behalf of the heirs of Kenneth R. Woody IV, Plaintiffs and Appellants

v.BIG HORN COUNTY, a Political Subdivision of the State of Montana, and the Big Horn County Sheriff's Office, Defendants and Appellees.

No. DA 16–0010.

Supreme Court of Montana.

Submitted on Briefs June 1, 2016.

Decided July 26, 2016.

For Appellants: Gregory Paul Johnson, Attorney at Law, Billings, Montana.

For Appellees: Calvin J. Stacey, Bryan M. Kautz, Stacey, Funyak & Kautz, Billings, Montana.

Justice BETH BAKER delivered the Opinion of the Court.

¶ 1 Kenneth R. Woody and Lorraine Woody, as co-personal representatives of the Estate of Kenneth R. Woody IV, and on behalf of his heirs (the Estate), appeal the order of the Twenty–Second Judicial District Court, Big Horn County, granting Big Horn County's and Big Horn County Sheriff's Office's (collectively, the County) motion to dismiss. The Estate raises the following issue on appeal:

Whether the District Court erred in determining that the Estate's complaint was barred by the statute of limitations.

¶ 2 We reverse and remand for further proceedings.

PROCEDURAL AND FACTUAL BACKGROUND

¶ 3 Kenneth R. Woody IV was killed on December 16, 2011, after the vehicle in which he was a passenger crashed near Hardin, Montana, following a high-speed chase by a Big Horn County Sheriff's deputy.

¶ 4 On September 11, 2014, the Estate submitted a claim letter to the County, seeking $750,000 from the County for wrongful death and survivorship damages related to Woody's death. The claim letter informed the County that it had 120 days from the date of the letter to resolve the claim “without the necessity of litigation.” The County Board of Commissioners acknowledged receipt of the letter on September 15, 2014, but never responded.

¶ 5 On March 3, 2015, the Estate filed a complaint against the County in the District Court asserting negligence, survivorship, wrongful death, and negligent infliction of emotional distress. On March 18, 2015, the County filed a motion to dismiss under M.R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim, asserting that the Estate's claims were barred by the applicable three-year statute of limitations. The Estate objected to the motion, averring that its claim letter to the County had tolled the statute of limitations in accordance with §§ 2–9–301, 2–9–302 and 27–2–209(3), MCA.

¶ 6 The District Court held a hearing on the County's motion to dismiss on October 19, 2015. The parties argued opposing interpretations of the effect and applicability of §§ 2–9–301 and 27–2–209(3), MCA. The Estate relied primarily on Rouse v. Anaconda–Deer Lodge County, 250 Mont. 1, 817 P.2d 690 (1991), overruled in part by Stratemeyer v. Lincoln County, 276 Mont. 67, 915 P.2d 175 (1996). The County relied primarily on Stratemeyer. On December 10, 2015, the court granted the County's motion to dismiss, concluding that the Estate's claims were time barred “in accordance with the Stratemeyer holding.” The Estate appeals.

STANDARDS OF REVIEW

¶ 7 We review de novo a district court's ruling on a motion to dismiss under M.R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6). Cowan v. Cowan, 2004 MT 97, ¶ 10, 321 Mont. 13, 89 P.3d 6. Whether a district court correctly applied the statute of limitations is a question of law, also reviewed for correctness. Momsen v. Momsen, 2006 MT 233, ¶ 7, 333 Mont. 463, 143 P.3d 450.

DISCUSSION

¶ 8 Whether the District Court erred in determining that the Estate's complaint was barred by the statute of limitations.

¶ 9 The statute of limitations for claims of negligence, wrongful death, survivorship, and negligent infliction of emotional distress is three years. Section 27–2–204, MCA. Generally, a claim accrues and the limitation period begins to run when all elements of the claim “exist or have occurred.” Section 27–2–102, MCA. The parties do not dispute the three-year limitations period and agree that this action accrued on December 16, 2011. An action commences upon the filing of the complaint. Section 27–2–102(1)(b), MCA. “All civil actions must be commenced within the periods prescribed in [Title 27, Chapter 2, Part 2, MCA,] except when another statute specifically provides a different limitation.” Section 27–2–105, MCA. Claims against the State or a political subdivision are “subject to the limitation of actions provided by law.” Section 2–9–302, MCA.

¶ 10 Section 2–9–301, MCA, sets forth administrative claim requirements for actions against the State and political subdivisions. The County is a political subdivision as defined under § 2–9–101(5), MCA. A plaintiff making a claim against the State must first present the claim to the Montana Department of Administration before filing a complaint in a district court. Section 2–9–301(2), MCA. “Upon the department's receipt of the claim, the statute of limitations is tolled for 120 days.” Section 2–9–301(2), MCA. Section 2–9–301, MCA, contains no tolling provision for claims against political subdivisions, but still requires that plaintiffs present and file such claims with the clerk or secretary of the political subdivision. Section 2–9–301(3), MCA. “Actions for claims against a county that have been rejected by the county commissioners must be commenced within 6 months after the first rejection.” Section 27–2–209(3), MCA.

¶ 11 The District Court interpreted and analyzed §§ 2–9–301 and 27–2–209(3), MCA, and our decisions in Rouse and Stratemeyer to conclude that the Estate's claim letter to the County “did not toll the limitations period for the claims asserted in the Estate's [Complaint].” With respect to § 2–9–301, MCA, the court noted that subsection (3) contains no requirement that a claim against a political subdivision be “first presented” to the government or that it be acted upon before a complaint can be filed. “Rather, § 2–9–301(3), MCA, merely requires that a claim be filed.” The court noted further that unlike § 2–9–301(2), MCA —which tolls the statute of limitations upon timely filing of a claim against the State—subsection (3) of this statute “contains no such tolling provision related to claims made against political subdivisions.” Similarly, with respect to § 27–2–209(3), MCA, the court found “no indication in the statute that [the applicable] subsection lengthens the limitations period further than the general limitation period for a claim against a county.” The court concluded further, “Rather than lengthening the limitation period, subsection (3) actually shortens the period ... under appropriate circumstances.” In any event, the court concluded, § 27–2–209(3), MCA, is not applicable to the facts of this case because “the County never denied the Estate's claim.”

¶ 12 The court noted that the Estate's theory with respect to §§ 2–9–301 and 27–2–209(3), MCA, “mirrors” this Court's analysis in Rouse. The court acknowledged that “[u]nder the Rouse analysis, because the County never denied the Estate's claim, the Estate's [Complaint] would be timely filed.” The court concluded, however, that in Stratemeyer, this Court “acknowledged that its statutory interpretation in Rouse was not correct.” According to the District Court, Rouse “was the product of the Montana Supreme Court's misinterpretation of § 2–9–301(3), MCA, which in turn resulted in the court finding an inherent unfairness in the statutory scheme—an unfairness that does not exist under a correct reading of the statute.” The court concluded further that because “the Estate was free to commence the instant action in district court on the same day it presented its claim to the County, or even prior,” the September 11, 2014 letter “did not toll the limitations period.”

¶ 13 The Estate argues that the District Court erred in its interpretation and analysis of the applicable statutes and case law. The Estate contends that the decision in Rouse remains good law insofar as it held that under §§ 2–9–302 and 27–2–209(3), MCA, “the initial period for claims against a county is tolled upon timely filing of the claim and the six month period of limitation for filing an action in district court does not begin to run until the claimant received notice of the county board's first denial of the claim.” Rouse, 250 Mont. at 6, 817 P.2d at 693. The Estate argues that “[t]he only inconsistency” between Rouse and Stratemeyer “is that Section 2–9–301(3), MCA, does not require a claim against a county to be ‘first presented’ or that it be acted upon before a complaint can be filed.” Therefore, according to the Estate, because it “timely filed its claim with the [County]” and because the County “never denied the claim,” the limitations period for the Estate's claims against the County “was tolled and the six month period of limitation for filing an action in district court did not begin to run because the Estate never received notice of the County's denial of the claim.” The Estate claims that by first filing its claim with the County before filing a complaint, it acted in accordance with Rouse, the “legislative mandate of Section 2–9–301(3), MCA,” and in “furtherance of the public policy to prevent needless litigation and to save unnecessary litigation expenses by affording an opportunity to amicably adjust and settle all claims before suit is brought.”

¶ 14 The County argues that the plain language of §§ 2–9–301(3) and 27–2–209(3), MCA, establish that “no tolling of a statute of limitations exists when a claim is being made against a county.” The County points out that while § 2–9–301(2), MCA, contains a specific tolling provision for claims against the State, § 2–9–301(3), MCA, contains no such provision for claims against a political subdivision. The County contends further that § 27–2–209(3), MCA, “actually shortens the time frame in which to file a lawsuit against a county, if the county denies the claim.” For...