Stratemeyer v. Lincoln County

• Decision Date: 07 May 1996
• Docket Number: No. 95-326,95-326
• Citation: 915 P.2d 175,276 Mont. 67,53 St.Rep. 245
• Parties: Gary STRATEMEYER and Carol Stratemeyer, Plaintiffs and Appellants, v. LINCOLN COUNTY, Jim Morey, Noel Williams, and Larry Dozel, in their capacity as Lincoln County Commissioners, and Ray Nixon, in his capacity as Lincoln County Sheriff, Defendants and Respondents.
• Court: Montana Supreme Court

Page 175

915 P.2d 175

276 Mont. 67

Gary STRATEMEYER and Carol Stratemeyer, Plaintiffs and Appellants, v. LINCOLN COUNTY, Jim Morey, Noel Williams, and Larry Dozel in their capacity as Lincoln County Commissioners and Ray Nixon, in his capacity as Lincoln County Sheriff Defendants and Respondents.

No. 95-326.

Supreme Court of Montana.

Submitted Jan. 11, 1996.

Decided April 5, 1996.

Rehearing Denied May 7, 1996.

Appeal from: District Court of the Nineteenth Judicial District, In and for the County of Lincoln, The Honorable C.B. McNeil, Judge presiding.

Sydney E. McKenna (argued); Marsillo, Tornabene, Schuyler & McKenna, Missoula, for Appellants.

James E. Vidal (argued), and James M. Ramlow; Murray & Kaufman, Kalispell, for Respondents.

Lawrence A. Anderson (argued), Great Falls, for Amicus Curiae, Montana Trial Lawyers Association.

LEAPHART, Justice.

Gary Stratemeyer (Stratemeyer) appeals from the June 19, 1995, Order Granting Motion to Dismiss and Order of Dismissal of the Nineteenth Judicial District Court, Lincoln County, concluding that the statute of limitations barred Stratemeyer's claim, that the Workers' Compensation Act provided Stratemeyer's exclusive remedy, and that Lincoln County, the Lincoln County Commissioners, and the Lincoln County Sheriff (collectively Lincoln County) breached no duty owed to Stratemeyer. We reverse.

We consider the following issues on appeal:

1. Did the District Court err in determining that Stratemeyer's suit was not timely filed?

2. Did the District Court err in determining that the Workers' Compensation Act provided Stratemeyer's exclusive remedy?

3. Did the District Court err in determining that the Montana Safety Act did not apply to Stratemeyer's claim?

This is Stratemeyer's second appeal to this Court arising out of mental injuries he suffered while on duty as a deputy sheriff in Lincoln County, Montana. Stratemeyer v. Lincoln County (1993), 259 Mont. 147, 855 P.2d 506, cert. denied, 510 U.S. 1011, 114 S.Ct. 600, 126 L.Ed.2d 566. Stratemeyer observed a traumatic gunshot injury to a suicide victim and alleges that he has suffered severe mental and emotional distress as a result of Lincoln County's failure to train, counsel, and debrief him following the incident.

On May 4, 1990, Stratemeyer, an eight-year veteran of the Lincoln County Sheriff's Department, responded to a suicide call. En route to the scene he learned that the victim, a teenage girl, was still alive. Upon arriving at the victim's home, Stratemeyer was led to the bedroom where he found a seventeen-year-old girl who had shot herself in the head. The girl, covered in blood, was being held in her father's arms. Stratemeyer forcibly removed the girl from her father's arms and began administering cardiopulmonary resuscitation. When the ambulance arrived, Stratemeyer assisted the crew in loading the girl onto the gurney and into the ambulance. Shortly after escorting the ambulance to the hospital, Stratemeyer was dispatched to the scene of another accident. Later that evening, Stratemeyer learned that the girl had died.

Thereafter, Stratemeyer was plagued by thoughts of the girl's suicide and his decision to tear the victim from her father's arms during her last moments of life. Although Stratemeyer continued to report to work, he began to experience a lack of concentration and mental disorientation. Subsequently, Stratemeyer was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. Since the incident, Stratemeyer has been unable to return to his job with the Lincoln County Sheriff's Department.

Stratemeyer filed a workers' compensation claim on May 25, 1990, which was denied four days later. After Stratemeyer's workers' compensation claim was denied, he petitioned the Workers' Compensation Court for a hearing regarding his wage loss benefits and medical expenses. The Workers' Compensation Court determined that Stratemeyer did not suffer an "injury" as defined in § 39-71-119, MCA. However, the court determined that subsections 3(a) and 3(b) of § 39-71-119, MCA, which exclude mental stress from the definition of injury were unconstitutional and violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Montana Constitution.

Lincoln County and its insurer appealed to this Court, and this Court determined that § 39-71-119, MCA, does not violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Montana Constitution because it is rationally related to the legitimate governmental objective of controlling the costs of the workers' compensation program and providing benefits. Stratemeyer, 855 P.2d at 510. While Stratemeyer's case was pending in this Court, Stratemeyer filed a tort claim against Lincoln County in Missoula County District Court on April 30, 1993. The District Court's dismissal of Stratemeyer's tort claim is the subject of the instant appeal.

1. Did the District Court err in determining that Stratemeyer's suit was not timely filed?

In evaluating a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss, courts are required to construe a complaint in the light most favorable to the plaintiff. Loney v. Milodragovich, Dale & Dye, P.C. (1995), 273 Mont. 506, 905 P.2d 158, 160. A complaint should not be dismissed unless it appears that the plaintiff is not entitled to relief under any set of facts which could be proved in support of the claim. Loney, 905 P.2d at 160 (citing Boreen v. Christensen (1994), 267 Mont. 405, 408, 884 P.2d 761, 762). The District Court determined that although Stratemeyer's complaint was filed within three years, as required by § 27-2-204, MCA, Stratemeyer had failed to first file his administrative claim with Lincoln County, as required by § 2-9-301, MCA, which, according to the District Court, was a prerequisite to filing suit. Thus, the District Court determined that Stratemeyer's complaint failed to state a claim upon which relief could be granted because the administrative filing prerequisite of § 2-9-301, MCA, had not been satisfied. This determination is a conclusion of law. See Loney, 905 P.2d at 161. In reviewing a district court's conclusions of law, we determine whether the court's interpretation of the law is correct. Carbon County v. Union Reserve Coal Co. (1995), 271 Mont. 459, 469, 898 P.2d 680, 686; Steer, Inc. v. Department of Revenue (1990), 245 Mont. 470, 474-75, 803 P.2d 601, 603-04.

Lincoln County asserts that Stratemeyer's claim should be barred because he did not first file his claim with Lincoln County. Section 2-9-301, MCA, sets forth the procedure for filing claims against the State and its political subdivisions. Lincoln County argued that because of Stratemeyer's failure to comply with § 2-9-301, MCA, within the three-year statute of limitations, he is barred by the statute of limitations from pursuing his claim. The District Court agreed, concluding that § 2-9-301 and § 27-2-204, MCA, barred Stratemeyer's claim. Section 2-9-301, MCA, provides:

(1) All claims against the state arising under the provisions of parts 1 through 3 of this chapter must be presented in writing to the department of administration.

(2) A complaint based on a claim subject to the provisions of subsection (1) may not be filed in district court unless the claimant has first presented the claim to the department of administration and the department has finally denied the claim. The department must grant or deny the claim in writing within 120 days after the claim is presented to the department. The failure of the department to make final disposition of a claim within 120 days after it is presented to the department must be considered a final denial of the claim for purposes of this subsection. Upon the department's receipt of the claim, the statute of limitations on the claim is tolled for 120 days. The provisions of this subsection do not apply to claims that may be asserted under Title 25, chapter 20, by third-party complaint, cross-claim, or counterclaim.

(3) All claims against a political subdivision arising under the provisions of parts 1 through 3 shall be presented to and filed with the clerk or secretary of the political subdivision.

Lincoln County argues that Stratemeyer's failure to present and file his claim with the Lincoln County Clerk and Recorder within the three-year statute of limitations bars his suit in district court. Stratemeyer contends that he did not pursue his tort claim in district court until this Court's decision in Stratemeyer and the United States Supreme Court's subsequent denial of his petition for a writ of certiorari had been handed down. He argues that had he attempted to submit his tort claims to the county before exhausting possible remedies under the Workers' Compensation Act his tort claims would have been dismissed based on the exclusive remedy rule.

Stratemeyer contends that the plain language of § 2-9-301, MCA, does not require him to present his claim to the county clerk before filing in district court. He argues that subsection (3) of § 2-9-301, MCA, applies and that subsection (3), unlike subsections (1) and (2), does not require him to file with the clerk before filing a complaint in district court.

In construing a statute, "the office of the judge is simply to ascertain and declare what is in terms or in substance contained therein, not to insert what has been omitted or to omit what has been inserted." Section 1-2-101, MCA. The rules of statutory construction require the language to be construed according to its plain meaning. Clarke v. Massey (1995), 271 Mont. 412, 416, 897 P.2d 1085, 1088. If the language is clear and unambiguous, then no further interpretation is required; we will resort to legislative history only if the intent cannot be determined from the plain wording of the statute. Clarke, 897 P.2d at 1088. Where the intention of the legislature can be determined from the plain meaning of the words used in a statute, the courts may not go further and apply other means of interpretation. Clarke, 897 P.2d at 1088 (citing Tongue River Elec. Coop. v....