Williams v. Clay County, 2002-CA-00224-SCT.

• Decision Date: 13 November 2003
• Docket Number: No. 2002-CA-00224-SCT.,2002-CA-00224-SCT.
• Citation: 861 So.2d 953
• Parties: Shirley K. WILLIAMS v. CLAY COUNTY, Mississippi.
• Court: Mississippi Supreme Court

861 So.2d 953

Shirley K. WILLIAMS v. CLAY COUNTY, Mississippi.

No. 2002-CA-00224-SCT.

Supreme Court of Mississippi.

November 13, 2003.

Rehearing Denied December 31, 2003.

Jim Waide, Tupelo, Brent Hazzard, attorneys for appellant.

Katherine S. Kerby, Columbus, attorney for appellee.

EN BANC.

WALLER, Justice, for the Court.

¶ 1. Shirley K. Williams appeals the dismissal of her action for failure to state a claim on the basis that the action was time barred under the one-year statute of limitations contained in the Mississippi Tort Claims Act (MTCA).¹See Miss.Code Ann. § 11-46-11 (Rev.2002). Williams's suit is brought under the MTCA because she injured herself when she fell down the stairs at the Clay County Courthouse. Concluding that the circuit court correctly found that Williams did not timely file her suit, we affirm.

FACTS

¶ 2. On November 1, 1999, Shirley Williams fell down the stairs at the Clay County courthouse, tearing her pantsuit. She immediately asked to see the Chancery Clerk of Clay County, Robbie Robinson. After Robinson attended to Williams, Williams went home and did not immediately see a doctor.

¶ 3. Later that month, Williams sent Robinson a letter thanking him for his assistance after the fall. She wrote that the pantsuit she was wearing at the time of the fall was badly torn and needed replacement. Robinson forwarded a check to Williams for the amount of the pantsuit. Williams never cashed the check.

¶ 4. In early 2000, Williams noticed that her knee was still sore from the fall. Soon thereafter, she began seeing a doctor.

¶ 5. Williams had an appointment to meet with the Clay County Board of Supervisors on March 16, 2000, but all of the Board members were not present. Williams did meet with Shelton Dean, the president of the Board, and Board member Darrell Meyers. Williams told Shelton and Meyers about her injury and that she had been seeing a doctor who recommended that she see a specialist.

¶ 6. Williams phoned Robinson later that day. Robinson told her that Clay County was willing to pay any valid medical claims. He also told her he had put his insurance company on notice of Williams's claim. This conversation was confirmed via a letter to Williams's attorney, Jim Waide, on February 13, 2001.²

¶ 7. Williams eventually had surgery on her knee. She filed this lawsuit against the County on January 31, 2001. Clay County filed a motion to dismiss claiming that Williams' pre-suit notice did not meet the requirements of the Tort Claims Act and did not toll the statute of limitations. The trial judge granted Clay County's motion.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

¶ 8. A motion to dismiss under Miss. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) raises an issue of law. Burgess v. City of Gulfport, 814 So.2d 149, 151 (Miss.2002) (collecting authorities). We conduct a de novo review of questions of law. Id. (citing T.M. v. Noblitt, 650 So.2d 1340, 1342 (Miss.1995)). When considering a motion to dismiss, the allegations in the complaint must be taken as true, and the motion should not be granted unless it appears beyond a reasonable doubt that the plaintiff will be unable to prove any set of facts in support of his claim. Id. at 1342.

DISCUSSION

I. WHETHER WILLIAMS SUBSTANTIALLY COMPLIED WITH THE NOTICE REQUIREMENTS OF THE MTCA.

¶ 9. The Mississippi Torts Claim Act diminished sovereign immunity for state governmental entities. Under the Act, a plaintiff may sue a governmental entity provided the action is brought within one year of the injury and proper notice of the claim is given to the governmental entity. Miss.Code Ann. § 11-46-11(3) (Rev.2002). Proper notice:

shall be in writing, and shall be delivered in person or by registered or certified United States mail. Every notice of claim shall contain a short and plain statement of the facts upon which the claim is based, including the circumstances which brought about the injury, the extent of the injury, the time and place the injury occurred, the names of all persons known to be involved, the amount of money damages sought and the residence of the person making the claim at the time of the injury and at the time of filing the notice.

Miss.Code Ann. § 11-46-11(2) (Rev.2002).

¶ 10. We required strict compliance with the Act's notice requirements until we issued our opinion in Reaves ex rel. Rouse v. Randall, 729 So.2d 1237 (Miss.1998), where we held that substantial compliance was all that was needed in order to satisfy the Act's notice requirement. Later, in Carr v. Town of Shubuta, 733 So.2d 261 (Miss.1999), we provided this standard for substantial compliance:

What constitutes substantial compliance, while not a question of fact but one of law, is a fact-sensitive determination. In general, a notice that is filed within the [requisite] period, informs the municipality of the claimant's intent to make a claim and contains sufficient information which reasonable affords the municipality an opportunity to promptly investigate the claim satisfies the purpose of the statute and will be held to substantially comply with it.

Id. at 263 (emphasis added) (quoting Collier v. Prater, 544 N.E.2d 497, 498-99 (Ind. 1989)). Even though substantial compliance is sufficient, "we stress that substantial compliance is not the same as, nor a substitute for, non compliance." Carr, 733 So.2d at 265.

¶ 11. Williams fell on November 1, 1999. Soon after, she wrote to Chancery Clerk Robinson as follows:³

As you may remember, on November 1, 1999, while leaving the courthouse building on Court Street, I stepped in a hole at the building's exit. Losing my balance, I fell down several flight[s] of steps. I appreciate the assistance you gave in attempting to help relieve my injuries. The pants to the suit that I was wearing was also badly torn. At that time you told me that the county would pay for the damage done to my clothes. Since then I have looked for another pair of pants that would match the suit jacket. The search, however, has been to no avail. I have been told that the tear is irreparable.

I am, therefore, writing to let you know that I purchased the suit from Parisians in Alabama and paid $349.00 plus the 8% Alabama state tax ($27.92) for it. I would appreciate your assistance in helping to resolve this matter as soon as possible. You may reach me at the above address of by phone at.... I await your reply.

¶ 12. This letter by itself does not substantially comply with the notice of claim requirements of Miss.Code Ann. § 11-46-11. However, on March 16, 2000, Williams spoke with two county supervisors and also spoke with Robinson. During these conversations she informed both the supervisors and Robinson of her injuries. Robinson acknowledged the conversation with Williams in a letter written to Williams's attorney:

As we discussed last evening the county has always been willing to pay any and all valid medical claims for the above referenced person. I told her as much in a March 16, 2000 phone conversation when she called me at the courthouse. Steve McKinney of Galloway, Chandler & McKinney Insurance was put on notice by me on that date, but to this date there has been no follow up by Ms. Williams or any medical bills presented.

¶ 13. We find that the written notice, along with conversations with the Board members and the Chancery Clerk, was sufficient to put Clay County on notice of the injury since it assumes the recipient, the chancery clerk, had knowledge of the incident. The Court of Appeals has interpreted the Act to require that all notice of claims be received at the same time: "Diffused, even somewhat confused notice staggered over months of contacts does not provide the certain notice required under the statute." Soileau v. Miss. Coast Coliseum Comm'n, 730 So.2d 101, 104 (Miss.Ct.App.1998). The Soileau court also held that "[c]ompliance with the obligation to deliver or send by registered mail the notice of claim is not shown by proof that the chief executive officer learned of the claim through other means." Id. at 105. See also Holmes v. Defer, 722 So.2d 624, 628 (Miss.1998)

(requiring strict compliance and holding that actual knowledge is irrelevant).

¶ 14. However, Soileau and Holmes were decided while we required strict compliance with the statute. Their precedential effect on this issue is limited as their analysis was based on a strict interpretation of the Act.⁴

¶ 15. In a case similar to the case sub judice, the Court of Appeals found substantial compliance with the notice requirements of the Act where a governmental official knew of the claim and the claimant had been dealing directly with the liability insurance carrier. In Overstreet v. George County School Dist., 741 So.2d 965 (Miss. Ct.App.1999), Overstreet was injured when she was struck by a school bus on September 27, 1995. She dealt directly with the school district's insurance company concerning her property damage claim. Id. at 966. She also retained an attorney for assistance with her personal injury claims. On January 4, 1996, her attorney sent notice via U.S. Mail to Shows, the superintendent of the school district. A complaint was filed on June 6, 1996. On July 2, 1997, The school district filed a motion to dismiss based on Overstreet's failure to comply strictly with the notice requirements of the Act. Shows claimed that he never received or saw the January 4 notice prior to July, 1997. In deposition testimony, Shows stated that he received notice of Overstreet's accident the day it occurred and also knew that Overstreet was making a property and personal injury claim which would be handled by the school district's insurance company. Id. The circuit court concluded that Overstreet did not comply with the Act's notice requirements because the notice was not delivered in person or by certified mail and the letter did not contain all of the information required by the Act. Id. at 967.

¶ 16. In applying the substantial compliance requirement of the Act, the Court of Appeals found that even...