Falcon ex rel. Sandoval v. Maricopa County

• Citation: 144 P.3d 1254,213 Ariz. 525
• Decision Date: 26 October 2006
• Docket Number: No. CV-06-0106-PR.,CV-06-0106-PR.
• Parties: Guadalupe FALCON, Deceased, by and through her surviving children Antonio SANDOVAL, Jr.; Guadalupe Pratt; Lydia Sandoval; Francisco Sandoval; Aurora Sandoval; Jose Sandoval; Reynaldo Sandoval; Alfredo Sandoval, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. MARICOPA COUNTY, a body politic; Maricopa Integrated Health Care System, d/b/a Maricopa County Medical Center, an Arizona hospital, Defendants-Appellees.
• Court: Supreme Court of Arizona

Page 1254

144 P.3d 1254

213 Ariz. 525

Guadalupe FALCON, Deceased, by and through her surviving children Antonio SANDOVAL, Jr.; Guadalupe Pratt; Lydia Sandoval; Francisco Sandoval; Aurora Sandoval; Jose Sandoval; Reynaldo Sandoval; Alfredo Sandoval, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. MARICOPA COUNTY, a body politic; Maricopa Integrated Health Care System, d/b/a Maricopa County Medical Center, an Arizona hospital, Defendants-Appellees.

No. CV-06-0106-PR.

Supreme Court of Arizona, En Banc.

October 26, 2006.

Robbins & Curtin, P.L.L.C. by John M. Curtin, Phoenix, Victoria Gruver Curtin, P.L.C. by Victoria Curtin, Scottsdale, Attorneys for Antonio Sandoval, Jr., Guadalupe Pratt, Lydia Sandoval, Francisco Sandoval, Aurora Sandoval, Jose Sandoval, Reynaldo Sandoval, and Alfredo Sandoval.

Andrew P. Thomas, Maricopa County Attorney by Bruce P. White, Deputy County Attorney, Phoenix, Attorneys for Maricopa County and Maricopa Integrated Health Care System, d/b/a Maricopa County Medical Center.

Jones Skelton & Hochuli P.L.C. by Eileen Dennis GilBride, Phoenix, Attorneys for Amici Curiae Apache County, Cochise County, Coconino County, Gila County, Graham County, Greenlee County, La Paz County, Mohave County, Navajo County, Pima County, Pinal County, Santa Cruz County, Yavapai County, Yuma County, City of Phoenix, The Arizona School Board Association, The Arizona School Risk Retention Trust, and The League of Arizona Cities and Towns.

OPINION

RYAN, Justice.

¶ 1 Before suing a public entity for damages, a plaintiff must file a notice of claim "with the person or persons authorized to accept service for the public entity . . . as set forth in the Arizona rules of civil procedure within one hundred eighty days after the cause of action accrues." Ariz.Rev.Stat. ("A.R.S.") § 12-821.01(A) (2003). If the public entity is a county, the persons authorized to accept service under Arizona Rule of Civil Procedure 4.1(i) are either "the chief executive officer, the secretary, clerk, or recording officer thereof."

¶ 2 This case requires us to decide whether delivery of a notice of claim to one member of a county board of supervisors complies with A.R.S. § 12-821.01(A) and Rule 4.1(i). We hold that the board of supervisors is the chief executive officer of the county for purposes of Rule 4.1(i) and that delivering a notice of claim to only one member of the board does not comply with the requirements of either the statute or the rule.

I

¶ 3 Guadalupe Falcon died after receiving care at Maricopa Medical Center, a facility owned and operated by Maricopa County. The Falcon children ("plaintiffs") decided to sue Maricopa County, among others, for medical malpractice.

¶ 4 Attempting to comply with A.R.S. § 12-821.01(A), the plaintiffs sent a notice of claim letter by certified mail to Supervisor Andrew Kunasek, a member of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors. The receipt for the certified letter was signed for by an agent of the county authorized to sign for such mail. The letter was apparently lost at an undetermined point. The record does not disclose whether the letter was delivered to Supervisor Kunasek's office. Had the letter been so delivered, the office policy would have been for Mr. Kunasek's secretary to forward it to the clerk of the board of supervisors.

¶ 5 After failing to receive a response to their notice of claim letter, the plaintiffs filed a lawsuit against Maricopa County. Maricopa County subsequently filed a motion for summary judgment contending that the plaintiffs had not served a notice of claim on a "person or persons authorized to accept service for the [county] . . . as set forth in the Arizona rules of civil procedure." A.R.S. § 12-821.01(A). The superior court granted summary judgment in favor of the county. The plaintiffs appealed, asserting that delivery of a certified letter to one member of the board of supervisors satisfies the requirements of A.R.S. § 12-821.01(A) and Rule 4.1(i).

¶ 6 The court of appeals, in a divided opinion, reversed and held that service on one member of the board satisfies Rule 4.1(i). Falcon v. Maricopa County, 212 Ariz. 144, 148, ¶ 17, 128 P.3d 767, 771 (2006). The majority first held that the board of supervisors of Maricopa County is its chief executive officer. Id. at 147, ¶ 11, 128 P.3d at 770. The majority then held that Rule 4.1(i) allows a board of supervisors to be "served through one member of the board." Id. at 148, ¶ 15, 128 P.3d at 771. In so concluding, the majority relied heavily on Rules 4.1(j) and (k), which it read as allowing service on a multi-person entity through service on one member of the entity. Id. at 147-48, ¶¶ 15-16, 128 P.3d at 770-71.

¶ 7 Judge Orozco dissented. She agreed with the majority that the board of supervisors of Maricopa County is its chief executive officer. Id. at 149, ¶¶ 19, 21, 128 P.3d at 772. She did not think, however, that other subsections of Rule 4.1 should inform the court's interpretation of Rule 4.1(i). Id. at ¶¶ 24-25. In addition, Judge Orozco concluded that the majority's holding did not harmonize A.R.S. § 12-821.01(A) with Rule 4.1(i). Id. at ¶ 22. She concluded that service on one member of the board was insufficient to comply with the statute and the rule. Id. at 149, ¶ 21, 128 P.3d at 772.

¶ 8 We granted Maricopa County's petition for review because the court of appeals' interpretation of Rule 4.1(i) has important legal and practical consequences for political subdivisions of the State. We have jurisdiction under Article 6, Section 5(3), of the Arizona Constitution and A.R.S. § 12-120.24 (2003).

II

¶ 9 The notice of claim requirements in A.R.S. § 12-821.01 serve "to allow the public entity to investigate and assess liability, to permit the possibility of settlement prior to litigation, and to assist the public entity in financial planning and budgeting." Martineau v. Maricopa County, 207 Ariz. 332, 335-36, ¶ 19, 86 P.3d 912, 915-16 (App. 2004). A notice of claim must therefore contain a statement of the facts that establish the basis for liability and an amount for which the claim can be settled. A.R.S. § 12-821.01(A).

¶ 10 If a notice of claim is not properly filed within the statutory time limit, a plaintiff's claim is barred by statute. Salerno v. Espinoza, 210 Ariz. 586, 589, ¶ 11, 115 P.3d 626, 629 (App.2005). Actual notice and substantial compliance do not excuse failure to comply with the statutory requirements of A.R.S. § 12-821.01(A). See Martineau, 207 Ariz. at 335, ¶¶ 15, 17, 86 P.3d at 915.

¶ 11 The plaintiffs contend that when they sent their notice of claim to Mr. Kunasek, a member of the board of supervisors, they complied with Rule 4.1(i). Maricopa County, on the other hand, argues that delivery of a notice of claim to a single member of the board does not comply with the rule. Alternatively, the county and amici, which include various Arizona counties, cities, and school boards, assert that the Maricopa county manager, not the board of supervisors, is the county's "chief executive officer."

¶ 12 To decide whether service upon one member of a county board of supervisors satisfies Rule 4.1(i), we must first determine whether the board of supervisors is the "chief executive officer" of the county. If the whole board is the chief executive officer, we must then decide whether service upon one member of that body satisfies Rule 4.1(i).

III

A

¶ 13 Rule 4.1(i) does not define the term "chief executive officer." With respect to municipal corporations such as cities and towns, the mayor is statutorily denominated the chief executive officer. A.R.S. § 9-236 (1996); id. § 9-273(B) (Supp.2005). But with other governmental subdivisions, such as counties and school boards, the statutes do not specifically identify the chief executive officer.

¶ 14 "Executive" is generally defined as "[t]he branch of government responsible for effecting and enforcing laws; the person or persons who constitute this branch." Black's Law Dictionary 610 (8th ed.2004). An officer is "[a] person who holds an office of trust, authority, or command." Id. at 1117. The word "chief" means "[a] person who is put above the rest; the leader." Id at 253. A chief executive officer, therefore, is the individual or entity that controls, supervises, and has the ultimate responsibility for ensuring the proper function of a governmental entity. Based upon the statutory powers and duties of a board of supervisors, we conclude that a county's board of supervisors is its chief executive officer.

¶ 15 The board's powers include supervising county officers, A.R.S. § 11-251(1) (Supp. 2005); levying taxes, id. § 11-251(12); maintaining and controlling public roads, ferries and bridges, id. § 11-251(4); providing for county hospitals, id. § 11-251(5); erecting jails and courthouses, id. § 11-251(8); "[making] and enforc[ing] all local, police, sanitary and other regulations not in conflict with general law," id. § 11-251(31); and purchasing real property, id. § 11-251(45). Most importantly for purposes of this case, the board has the power to "[d]irect and control the prosecution and defense of all actions to which the county is a party, and compromise them." Id. § 11-251(14).

¶ 16 Because the board of supervisors has general supervisory powers and policy-making responsibility for the county, including the direction and control of lawsuits against the county, we agree with the court of appeals that the board is the chief executive officer of the county. See Falcon, 212 Ariz. at 147, ¶ 11, 128 P.3d at 770; see also Blauvelt v. County of Maricopa, 160 Ariz. 77, 79, 770 P.2d 381, 383 (App.1988) (concluding that "[t]he chief executive officer or body of Maricopa County is the board of supervisors").

¶ 17 Like the court of appeals, we reject the argument that the county manager of Maricopa County is its chief executive officer. See Falcon, 212 Ariz. at 146, ¶ 9, 128 P.3d at 769. The Board of Supervisors created the position of county manager. See ...