IN THE SUPREME COURT OF IOWA

No. 14–1557

Filed January 22, 2016

DEBORAH E. McFADDEN, Individually and as Administrator of the 

Estate of Charles Walter McFadden, Jr., Deceased,

Appellant,

vs.

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, STATE OF IOWA,

Appellee.

On review from the Iowa Court of Appeals.

Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Warren County, 

Sherman W. Phipps, Judge.

A surviving spouse who is the administrator of her deceased 

husband’s estate seeks further review after the district court and court of 

appeals both concluded she failed to exhaust her administrative 

remedies under the Iowa Tort Claims Act before filing a wrongful-death 

lawsuit. DECISION OF COURT OF APPEALS VACATED; DISTRICT 

COURT JUDGMENT REVERSED AND REMANDED.

Steven P. DeVolder of DeVolder Law Firm, Norwalk, for appellant.

Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, and Robin G. Formaker, 

Assistant Attorney General, for appellee.
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HECHT, Justice.

After her husband Charles died in a motorcycle accident, Deborah 

McFadden presented a wrongful-death claim to the state appeal board.

She alleged the Iowa Department of Transportation’s negligent 

maintenance of the highway caused Charles’s death. The appeal board 

took no action on the claim, so after waiting more than six months, she 

withdrew it and filed suit in the district court. The district court 

concluded McFadden had failed to exhaust administrative remedies 

because she had not properly presented the estate’s claim to the appeal 

board and dismissed the suit. On further review of the court of appeals 

decision affirming the district court’s dismissal, we conclude McFadden

exhausted administrative remedies by complying with the appeal board’s 

administrative requirements and providing the State with all the 

information it sought. Therefore, we vacate the decision of the court of 

appeals, reverse the district court’s dismissal order, and remand for 

further proceedings.

I. Background Facts and Proceedings.

Charles McFadden died on April 25, 2012, after he lost control of 

his motorcycle while navigating a curve on Highway 69 in Warren 

County. That June, the district court appointed Deborah the 

administrator of Charles’s estate.

On October 30, 2013, McFadden filed a tort claim with the state 

appeal board on a form prescribed by the department of management. 

See Iowa Admin. Code rs. 543—1.3 to .4 (detailing form and content 

requirements for tort claims presented to the appeal board). The claim 

form named Deborah McFadden as the claimant and asserted a tort 

claim against the State for wrongful death. The claim specifically alleged 

the drop-off between the paved highway and the gravel shoulder at the 
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site of the accident was too steep, and it further alleged the department 

of transportation had failed to maintain the highway in a safe condition. 

See id. r. 543—1.4(2) (requiring tort claimants to detail “all known facts 

and circumstances attending the damage or injury” and state the cause 

of the damage or injury). McFadden did not attach to the form evidence 

of her appointment as administrator. The claim did not expressly allege 

that it was made in McFadden’s capacity as administrator of the estate.

By May 2014, the appeal board had not made final disposition of 

the claim or even contacted McFadden. Accordingly, McFadden withdrew 

the claim from the appeal board and filed suit in the district court. See

Iowa Code § 669.5(1) (2013) (permitting suit “if the attorney general does 

not make final disposition of a claim within six months after the claim is 

made in writing”). The petition identified her as the plaintiff, both 

“Individually and as Administrator” of Charles’s estate.

The State moved to dismiss the suit, asserting the Iowa Tort 

Claims Act (ITCA) did not permit it because McFadden never presented 

the estate’s claim to the appeal board. Instead, the State contended, 

McFadden only presented a claim to the appeal board in her individual

capacity, and she had thus failed to exhaust administrative remedies 

before filing suit as administrator of the estate. See In re Estate of Voss, 

553 N.W.2d 878, 880 (Iowa 1996) (“Improper presentment of a claim, or 

not presenting one at all, has been considered a failure to exhaust one’s 

administrative remedies, depriving the district court of subject matter 

jurisdiction.”).

The district court relied on Voss and granted the State’s motion to 

dismiss. McFadden appealed, and we transferred the case to the court of 

appeals. The court of appeals also concluded McFadden failed to 
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exhaust administrative remedies for the estate’s claim. We granted 

McFadden’s application for further review. 

II. Scope of Review.

Our review of the district court’s ruling on the motion to dismiss is 

for correction of errors at law. Id.

III. Analysis.

McFadden acknowledges she did not use the word “administrator” 

in her appeal board claim form, but she asserts that omission is not fatal 

to her district court action. In evaluating McFadden’s contention, we 

must balance two competing principles. 

“Our legal processes normally strive to resolve disputes on their 

merits. Simply put, it is our preferred way.” MC Holdings, L.L.C. v. Davis 

Cty. Bd. of Review, 830 N.W.2d 325, 328–29 (Iowa 2013) (citation 

omitted). Obviously, dismissing McFadden’s action for failure to exhaust 

administrative remedies does not resolve the case on the merits.

However, we also recognize that “[r]ules, especially those which fix 

jurisdictional matters, are . . . vital to the proper conduct of court 

business.” Gordon v. Doden, 261 Iowa 285, 288–89, 154 N.W.2d 146, 

148 (1967). As we explained more than fifty years ago:

The so-called technicalities of the law are not always what 

they seem. When they establish an orderly process . . . , 

they serve a definite purpose and are more than technical; 

they have substance, in that they lay down definite rules 

which are essential in court proceedings so that those

involved may know what may and may not be done, and 

confusion, even chaos, may be avoided. They are necessary; 

without them litigants would be adrift without rudder or 

compass. We have, and should have, no compunction in 

following them when they are clear and definite.

Esterdahl v. Wilson, 252 Iowa 1199, 1208, 110 N.W.2d 241, 246 (1961). 

A. The ITCA Appeal Board Process. “A tort claim against the 

State must first be presented to the State Appeal Board pursuant to the 
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procedures detailed in Iowa Code chapter 669 . . . .” Voss, 553 N.W.2d 

at 880; accord Schneider v. State, 789 N.W.2d 138, 145 (Iowa 2010) 

(“[F]iling . . . a claim with the state appeal board is a prerequisite to suit 

under the [ITCA].”); see also Iowa Code § 669.3(2) (“A claim made under

[the ITCA] shall be filed with the director of the department of 

management . . . .”).1 “We have characterized this claim process as an 

‘administrative remedy’ that must be exhausted.” Schneider, 789 N.W.2d 

at 145. “Exhaustion of the administrative process is jurisdictional, and a 

suit commenced without complying with this process is subject to 

dismissal.” Swanger v. State, 445 N.W.2d 344, 347 (Iowa 1989).

The attorney general “shall consider, ascertain, adjust,

compromise, settle, determine, and allow any claim” presented to the 

appeal board. Iowa Code § 669.3(1). “The administrative process . . . is 

intended to allow a prompt investigation of claims against the State and 

facilitate an early settlement when possible.” Voss, 553 N.W.2d at 881; 

accord Schneider, 789 N.W.2d at 145; see also Don R. Bennett, Handling 

Tort Claims and Suits Against the State of Iowa, 17 Drake L. Rev. 189, 

191 (1968) (noting the administrative process has in some cases made it 

“unnecessary to participate in lengthy and expensive litigation”).

B. Voss. In Voss, the plaintiff’s son died in an automobile 

accident. Voss, 553 N.W.2d at 879. Four months after the accident, 

Voss presented a tort claim to the state appeal board even though she 

was not the administrator of her son’s estate at the time. See id. The 

board denied the claim. Id. More than a year after the denial, Voss 

became the administrator of her son’s estate and filed a lawsuit in the 

1The state appeal board consists of “the auditor of state, treasurer of state, and 

the director of the department of management.” Iowa Code § 73A.1; see id. § 669.2(6) 

(“ ‘State appeal board’ means the state appeal board as defined in section 73A.1.”).

 
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district court. Id. The State moved to dismiss the lawsuit and the 

district court granted the motion. Id.

We concluded Voss had not exhausted her administrative remedies 

because she was not the administrator of her son’s estate at the time she 

submitted the administrative claim and she had not submitted a claim to 

the appeal board once she became administrator. Id. at 882. We noted, 

“The State should not be required to consider on the merits the claim of 

any person who can articulate a tenuous connection to the deceased 

when that person clearly has no legal capacity to recover in court.” Id. at 

881. We further opined that “[r]equiring the Board to delay consideration 

of a claim while waiting for the claimant to obtain the legal authority to 

pursue it would defeat the statutory goal of prompt settlement.” Id. at 

882. We affirmed the district court’s decision to grant the State’s motion 

to dismiss. Id.

McFadden contends her case is distinguishable from Voss. In 

McFadden’s view, the fatal flaw in Voss was that the decedent’s mother 

was not actually the administrator of the estate at the time she presented 

the claim to the appeal board. See id.; see also Estate of Dyer v. Krug, 

533 N.W.2d 221, 224 (Iowa 1995) (holding dismissal was proper because 

“at the time th[e] action was commenced, [the plaintiff] did not have the 

capacity to sue” because she was not the estate administrator). Here, by 

contrast, although McFadden’s claim filed with the appeal board did not 

include the word “administrator,” she was in fact the administrator at 

the time she presented the claim.2 We agree Voss is distinguishable and 

conclude McFadden correctly identifies the reason.

2The cause of action for the death of Charles McFadden survived his death. 

Iowa Code § 611.20. Because Deborah McFadden was appointed administrator of 

Charles’s estate, she was the proper legal representative to assert a wrongful-death 

 
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In two cases decided more than eighty years ago, before the ITCA 

was adopted, we concluded the district court should have dismissed 

surviving spouses’ suits for wrongful-death damages because they were 

not actually their decedents’ personal representative at the time of filing

even though their petitions alleged they were. Pearson v. Anthony, 218 

Iowa 697, 702–03, 254 N.W. 10, 12–13 (1934); Gardner v. Beck, 195 Iowa 

62, 70–71, 189 N.W. 962, 966 (1922). Together with Voss, these cases 

illustrate that both before and after the adoption of the ITCA, the 

claimant’s authority to act as personal representative is an essential 

prerequisite in asserting wrongful death claims. Because McFadden 

actually possessed representative capacity at the time she filed her claim 

with the appeal board, Voss does not control our decision here.

C. Appeal Board Rules. The ITCA directs the appeal board to 

“adopt rules and procedures for the handling, processing, and 

investigation of claims.” Iowa Code § 669.3(3). In turn, the appeal board 

“has prescribed the form and content of tort claims.” Swanger, 445 

N.W.2d at 350; see Iowa Admin. Code rs. 543—1.3 to .4. By rule, the 

appeal board requires claimants to state “the name, address, telephone 

number, and age of the person making the claim.” Iowa Admin. Code 

r. 543—1.3(3). The rule does not specifically require claimants to list 

their representative capacity. See id. But the State contends here that

express disclosure of representative capacity is an indispensable part of 

the claimant’s “name” when they are seeking damages for wrongful 

death. We disagree.

claim in this case. Id. § 611.22; see also Audubon-Exira Ready Mix, Inc. v. Ill. Cent. Gulf 

R.R., 335 N.W.2d 148, 152 (Iowa 1983) (holding the administrator of a decedent’s estate 

is the proper party plaintiff for asserting a surviving spouse’s loss of consortium claim).

_______________________
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Under our civil procedure rules, an estate administrator is the real 

party in interest when acting on the estate’s behalf and “may sue in that 

person’s own name.” Iowa R. Civ. P. 1.201. Thus, because McFadden 

was the duly appointed administrator of her deceased husband’s estate 

at the time she presented her claim to the appeal board, she was entitled 

to proceed in her own name. Her name is “Deborah McFadden,” not 

“Deborah McFadden, administrator.” Furthermore, McFadden provided 

all the other information rule 543—1.3(3) and the appeal board’s form

require. Her claim, while perhaps Spartan, was complete. 

We conclude McFadden exhausted her administrative remedies

and properly presented her claim to the appeal board. We acknowledge 

that the presentment requirement is not just a nettlesome hurdle for 

claimants to trip over, but McFadden’s claim form answered all the 

questions the State asked and contained all the information its 

administrative rule requires. Of course, our decision today does not 

mean every claim form submitted to the appeal board necessarily 

satisfies the presentment requirement. See Allendorf v. Langman Constr., 

Inc., 539 N.W.2d 370, 372 (Iowa 1995) (“[W]e stop short of concluding 

that under no circumstances may a claim filed with the state appeal 

board be so lacking in critical information as to be a nullity for purposes 

of exhausting the administrative remedy.”). But McFadden’s claim form

complied with all the applicable requirements under the circumstances 

presented here.

IV. Conclusion.

Words this court expressed nearly a century ago ring true again 

today:

[R]ights must not be denied by too strict an application of 

mere legal formality. The sword of Justice is not often made 

more keen by the whetstone of technicality, and a right 
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secured by too rigid means may harden into a wrong. . . . 

Not only must justice appear to be done, but it is the 

function and duty of this court and of all courts to see that it 

is done. Technicality should not become a Pegasus which, if 

ridden by an expert legal jockey, may carry us far from the 

true goal.

McMillan v. Osterson, 191 Iowa 983, 985, 183 N.W. 487, 488 (1921). The 

appeal board’s rules and claim form did not require McFadden to allege

her representative capacity in presenting the tort claim in this case. 

Because McFadden had been appointed administrator before presenting 

her tort claim to the appeal board, she was entitled to present the claim 

and file suit in her own name as the estate’s legal representative. We 

vacate the decision of the court of appeals, reverse the district court’s 

dismissal order, and remand for further proceedings.

DECISION OF COURT OF APPEALS VACATED; DISTRICT 

COURT JUDGMENT REVERSED AND REMANDED.