University Medical Center v. Easterling, 2004-IA-02360-SCT.
| Citation | 928 So.2d 815 |
| Decision Date | 06 April 2006 |
| Docket Number | No. 2004-IA-02360-SCT.,2004-IA-02360-SCT. |
| Parties | UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI MEDICAL CENTER v. Angela EASTERLING as Personal Representative of the Wrongful Death Beneficiary of Wadreanna Quadashsea Magee. |
| Court | United States State Supreme Court of Mississippi |
Senith C. Tipton, Melanie Morano McQuillen, Jackson, attorneys for appellant.
Mary Jeanne Gibson, Edward Gibson, Charles E. Gibson, Jackson, attorneys for appellee.
EN BANC.
¶ 1. This case is before this Court on appeal from the Circuit Court of the First Judicial District of Hinds County, Mississippi, by the defendant University of Mississippi Medical Center ("UMMC"). UMMC seeks a review of the trial court's order denying its motion for summary judgment. UMMC alleges plaintiff Angela Easterling ("Easterling"), mother and personal representative of Wadreanna Quadashsea Magee ("Wadreanna"), failed to comply with Miss.Code Ann. Section 11-46-11(1) (Rev.2002), when Easterling failed to send notice to UMMC ninety days before filing suit. In the alternative, UMMC asserts Easterling failed to provide the appropriate claims within her notice as prescribed under section 11-46-11(2).
¶ 2. We adhere to our controlling cases of Davis v. Hoss, 869 So.2d 397 (Miss. 2004), and Wright v. Quesnel, 876 So.2d 362 (Miss.2004), and accordingly find that Easterling failed to follow the ninety-day notice rule which this Court strictly enforces. We reverse the trial court's decision and render in favor of UMMC.
¶ 3. Wadreanna was born twelve weeks premature on June 26, 2002. Wadreanna died twelve days later and just after UMMC performed an exploratory laparotomy procedure. On July 10, 2002, during an open casket funeral, Easterling saw for the first time what was supposed to be the body of her dead baby. Although the wristband on the infant's wrist identified the body as that of Wadreanna, Easterling insisted the body in the casket was not her daughter. Nevertheless, after her friends convinced Easterling the body was Wadreanna's, Easterling went ahead with the burial.
¶ 4. Approximately two months later on September 7, 2002, UMMC contacted Easterling and informed her that the infant she buried was not her daughter. Further, UMMC revealed that Wadreanna's body was still in the hospital morgue. During a meeting between the parties, UMMC presented Easterling with pictures of her daughter's body and allowed Easterling to visit the morgue to identify the body. Subsequent to the meeting, UMMC tendered Wadreanna's body to Easterling, who was finally able to bury her daughter.
¶ 5. With no effort to comply with the statutory notice requirements, Easterling filed suit against UMMC on September 19, 2002. Before service on UMMC, Easterling recognized her failure to comply with Miss.Code Ann. Section 11-46-11. Rather than seeking a Rule 41(a)(1)(i) dismissal, and then complying with the statute, Easterling inexplicably filed a Motion for Extension of Time to Complete Service of Process on January 17, 2003, stating, "Plaintiffs' counsel has not served Defendants because the case is not ripe due to the notice required by § 11-46-11 of the Mississippi Code of 1972, as amended." Easterling elected to file the notice of claim to UMMC on the same day, January 17, 2003. One month later, Easterling served process on UMMC.
¶ 6. UMMC subsequently filed a Motion for Summary Judgment claiming Easterling failed to comply with section 11-46-11(1), which requires a plaintiff to send a state entity notice of a claim ninety days before filing suit. The trial court denied UMMC's motion and instead, ordered a ninety-day stay in the proceedings to allow UMMC to avail themselves of the opportunity to investigate Easterling's wrongful death and personal injury claims, as well as to negotiate a possible settlement of the claims.
¶ 7. As a result of the trial court's order, UMMC filed a Motion Requesting Certification for Interlocutory Appeal. The circuit court denied UMMC's motion. UMMC now appeals to this Court from the trial court's order.
¶ 8. This Court reviews summary judgments de novo. Davis, 869 So.2d at 401. Summary judgment shall be granted "if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." Miss. R. Civ. P. 56(c). "The evidence is viewed in the light most favorable to the party opposing the motion." Davis, 869 So.2d at 401. "If there is no genuine issue of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law, summary judgment should be entered in his favor." Id. The moving party bears the burden of demonstrating there is no genuine issue of material fact. Id.
I. Whether the Plaintiff Failed to Comply with the Ninety-day Notice Requirement When She Filed Her Complaint More than Four Months Before Issuing Notice to the Defendant.
II. Whether the Plaintiff Failed to Substantially Comply with the Notice Provisions When She Failed to Include Her Medical Malpractice and Wrongful Death Claims in Her Written Notice.
¶ 9. Issue I controls, therefore we need not discuss issue II.
I. Whether the Plaintiff Failed to Comply with the Ninety-day Notice Requirement When She Filed Her Complaint More than Four Months Before Issuing Notice to the Defendant.
¶ 10. This case deals with a plaintiff's upsetting and alarming ordeal and the harsh results that ensue from the plaintiff's failure to follow proper procedure. UMMC claims that because Easterling failed to give UMMC notice ninety days before filing her lawsuit, the trial court erred when it denied UMMC's motion for summary judgment. On the other hand, Easterling claims she substantially complied with the requirement, or, in the alternative, UMMC waived the ninety-day notice period by not requesting a stay.
¶ 11. The Mississippi Tort Claims Act ("MTCA") sets forth procedures a claimant must follow in order to assert a claim against a government entity. The relevant rule states:
After all procedures within a governmental entity have been exhausted, any person having a claim for injury arising under the provisions of this chapter against a governmental entity or its employee shall proceed as he might in any action at law or in equity; provided, however, that ninety (90) days prior to maintaining an action thereon, such person shall file a notice of claim with the chief executive officer of the governmental entity.
§ 11-46-11(1). Because UMMC is an entity of the state, a claimant is subject to the requirements of the MTCA. See § 11-46-1(j).
¶ 12. In the case at bar, Easterling argues she complied with the notice provisions and cites as authority Jackson v. City of Wiggins, 760 So.2d 694 (Miss.2000), City of Pascagoula v. Tomlinson, 741 So.2d 224 (Miss.1999), and Jackson v. City of Booneville, 738 So.2d 1241 (Miss.1999).
¶ 13. In Tomlinson, the plaintiff did not strictly follow the ninety-day notice requirement when he filed suit two weeks after providing notice of his claim. Id. at 228. Instead of dismissing the lawsuit, we held the proper remedy was to require the governmental entity to request a stay of the lawsuit. Id. This allowed the governmental entity to benefit from the applicable waiting period. Id. Should the governmental entity not request a stay, the issue would be considered waived. Id. at 229. See also Williams v. Clay County, 861 So.2d 953, 977 (Miss.2003); Leflore County v. Givens, 754 So.2d 1223, 1231-32 (Miss. 2000); City of Wiggins, 760 So.2d at 696; Jones ex rel. Jones v. Miss. Sch. for Blind, 758 So.2d 428, 429 (Miss.2000); City of Booneville, 738 So.2d at 1246;
¶ 14. In City of Booneville, 738 So.2d at 1245, the plaintiff filed her complaint before giving notice to the defendant. Although the plaintiff gave notice and filed her complaint in reverse chronological order of what is required by the MTCA, this Court reaffirmed Tomlinson and held the proper remedy called for the governmental entity to file a motion to stay the lawsuit in order to benefit from the statutorily-mandated waiting period. Id. at 1246.
¶ 15. In City of Wiggins, 760 So.2d at 695, the plaintiff filed notice approximately sixty-seven days before he filed suit. Again, we cited Tomlinson and held "the City's sole remedy for Jackson's failure to comply with the ninety-day waiting period was to file a motion to stay the lawsuit, and the City's failure to file such a motion constitute[d] a waiver of its right to object to Jackson's non-compliance with the waiting period." Id. at 696.
¶ 16. However, in 2004, this Court announced in Davis, 869 So.2d at 402, it was no longer the defendant's duty to request a stay or face a waiver of the ninety days when the plaintiff failed to comply with the statutory notice period, finding that a failure to wait ninety days after giving notice to file a claim was grounds for summary judgment. There, the plaintiff gave notice of his lawsuit on the same day he filed his suit. Id. Although this Court held the plaintiff failed to file suit before the MTCA one-year statute of limitations ran, this Court also held the plaintiff failed to comply with the ninety-day notice provision and affirmed the trial court's grant of summary judgment. Id.
¶ 17. Similarly, in Wright, 876 So.2d at 367, this Court held the plaintiff's suit was barred when the plaintiff filed suit after the one-year statute of limitations ran. Id. In addition, this court held the plaintiff failed to comply with the statute's notice provisions when the plaintiff gave notice only eleven days before filing her complaint. Id. at 366. We stated "[a]llowing a plaintiff to file suit before ninety days have passed since noticing the claim is tantamount to reading out the notice provisions of the MTCA." Id. Again, for both the plaintiff's failure to file...
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