Case Name: MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY and Marty Davis v. Olur V. STRINGER
Court: Mississippi Supreme Court
Jurisdiction: Mississippi
Decision Date: 1999-06-03
Citations: 748 So. 2d 662
Docket Number: No. 97-IA-00187-SCT
Parties: MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY and Marty Davis v. Olur V. STRINGER.
Judges: PRATHER, C.J., PITTMAN, P.J., SMITH AND WALLER, JJ„ CONCUR.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 748
Pages: 662–672

Head Matter:
MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY and Marty Davis v. Olur V. STRINGER.
No. 97-IA-00187-SCT.
Supreme Court of Mississippi.
June 3, 1999.
Rehearing Denied Aug. 5, 1999.
Jim Fraiser, Jackson, Attorney for Appellants.
William R. Couch, Curtis R. Hussey, Hattiesburg, Attorneys for Appellee.

Opinion:
MILLS, Justice,
for the Court:
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
¶ 1. On June 20, 1994, appellee Olur V. Stringer was involved in an automobile accident with Marty Davis, an employee of the Mississippi Department of Public Safe ty. Following the accident, Stringer filed an accident report with the Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol and sent a letter to the state claims investigator but filed no notice of claim as required by Miss.Code Ann. § 11-46-11 (Supp.1993). On June 19, 1996, Stringer filed his complaint in the Circuit Court of George County against appellants Mississippi Department of Public Safety and Marty Davis. The Department of Public Safety and Davis filed a motion to dismiss the action which was denied by the Circuit Court on January 8, 1997. This Court granted the Department and Davis permission to prosecute an interlocutory appeal. They now raise the following issues:
I. DID THE LOWER COURT PROPERLY DENY THE STATE'S MOTION TO DISMISS WHERE THE COMPLAINT WAS FILED AFTER THE APPLICABLE STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS HAD RUN?
II. DID THE LOWER COURT PROPERLY DENY THE STATE'S MOTION TO DISMISS WHERE THE JURISDICTIONAL NOTICE OF CLAIM PROVISIONS OF MISS. CODE ANN. § 11-46-11 WERE NOT STRICTLY COMPLIED WITH?
STANDARD OF REVIEW
¶2. This Court conducts de novo review of questions of law raised by Rule 12(b)(6) motions. Wells v. Panola County Bd. of Educ., 645 So.2d 883, 888 (Miss.1994); Tucker v. Hinds County, 558 So.2d 869, 872 (Miss.1990); UHS-Qualicare, Inc. v. Gulf Coast Community Hospital, Inc., 525 So.2d 746, 754 (Miss.1987). Well-pleaded facts must be taken as true, and dismissal should be granted only where it appears beyond a reasonable doubt that the Plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of a claim that entitles him to relief. Weeks v. Thomas, 662 So.2d 581, 585 (Miss.1995); Overstreet v. Merlos, 570 So.2d 1196, 1197 (Miss.1990).
DISCUSSION
I. OLUR STRINGER FILED HIS COMPLAINT AGAINST THE STATE AFTER THE LIMITATIONS PERIOD ALLOWED BY MISS. CODE ANN. § 11-46-11 HAD LAPSED.
¶ 3. The threshold inquiry in the present case is whether the action was commenced within the time period allowed pursuant to the Mississippi Tort Claims Act, Miss.Code Ann. § 11-46-1 to -23 (Supp.1993). Section 11-46-11(3) provides the applicable statute of limitations in actions against the state or its political subdivisions, and reads as follows:
All actions brought under the provisions of this chapter shall be commenced within one (1) year next after the date of the tortious, wrongful, or otherwise actionable conduct on which the liability phase of the action is based, and not after; provided, however, that the filing of a notice of claim as provided by subsection (1) of this section shall serve to toll the statute of limitations for a period of ninety-five (95) days. The limitations period here shall control and shall be exclusive in all actions subject to and brought under the provisions of this chapter, notwithstanding the nature of the claim, the label or other characterization the claimant may use to describe it, or the provisions of any other statute of limitations which would otherwise govern the type of claim or legal theory if it were not subject to or brought under the provisions of this chapter.
Miss.Code Ann. § 11-46-11(3) (Supp.1998).
¶4. The one year limitations period allowed by the statute may be extended for a period of ninety-five days provided a pre-suit notice of claim is filed by the claimant at any point during the one year period. The undisputed facts in the instant case show that the accident occurred on June 20, 1994. However, Stringer did not file his complaint against the Department of Public Safety and Marty Davis until June 19, 1996. Consequently, even if Stringer had filed a notice of claim within one year from the date of the accident thus extending the limitations period for ninety-five days, the complaint would nevertheless have been filed beyond the time period allowed by statute.
¶ 5. Stringer argues that the Appellants should be estopped from asserting the statute of limitations as a defense. He alleges that the Appellants deliberately delayed his claim until the statute of limitations had run. A careful review of the record reveals that the Appellants were diligent in working with Stringer to resolve his claim, as evidenced by prompt responses to Stringer's letters and telephone calls, and more than one offer to settle the claim. Although the facts are few, we reiterate that they are undisputed.
¶ 6. Michael Green was the Assistant Claims. Manager at Sedgwick James, a company that evaluates claims for the Department of Public Safety. He evaluated Stringer's claim and dealt directly with Stringer concerning the car accident. On June 27, 1994, following the June 20 accident, Green wrote Stringer requesting he contact him about the accident. Following this letter, the two men corresponded often in an effort to satisfy Stringer's claim.
¶ 7. Approximately three months after the accident, Stringer was paid $2,500 for property damage to his vehicle. Subsequently, on or about February 22, 1995, Green made Stringer an offer to settle the claim for $8,000. Stringer responded by letter dated February 23, 1995, rejecting that offer. The reason he advanced for rejecting the offer was that the amount would not even cover the wages he lost due to the accident. Green's prompt reply, dated February 28, 1995, informed Stringer that this was the first he had heard of the lost wages claim and that in order to evaluate the lost wages claim he would need Stringer to fill out. a form and return it to Green, so that he could request the necessary information from Stringer's employer. A subsequent offer of $10,000 was then made which Stringer also rejected. On April 17, 1995, Stringer wrote Green requesting that Green contact him. We find no other mention of Green in the record except during the hearing in which Stringer's attorney mentioned that Green was replaced by Gina Connell.
¶ 8. On September 1, 1995, after the statute of limitations had run, Gina Con-nell, a field claim representative from Sedgwick James, wrote to Stringer informing him that they had received his employment records and requesting that he contact her. The record is unclear as to whether he responded. Stringer filed his complaint with the Circuit Court of George County on June 19, 1996, almost two years to the day after the accident.
¶ 9. Stringer argues that the doctrine of equitable estoppel should prevent the Appellants from asserting the statute of limitations as a defense. He argues that according to the Ninth Circuit case of United States v. Lazy FC Ranch, the estoppel doctrine can be applied to the government "where justice and fair play require it" for example, where "the government's wrongful conduct threatens to work a serious injustice and if the public's interest would not be unduly damaged by the imposition of estoppel ." United States v. Lazy FC Ranch, 481 F.2d 985, 988-989 (9th Cir.1973). However, his reliance on Lazy FC Ranch is misplaced because Lazy FC Ranch does not provide authority for applying estoppel to circumvent a statute of limitations.
¶ 10. After careful research, we find no precedent where this Court has applied the doctrine of equitable estoppel to excuse a plaintiffs failure to comply with the statute of limitations of the Tort Claims Act. We have allowed the doctrine to estop the sovereign's assertion that a claimant did not substantially comply with the pre-suit notice of claim provisions of the Act. In Carr v. Town of Shubuta, 738 So.2d 261 (Miss.1999), we found that the "Report of Public Liability" which Carr completed at the office of the city clerk sufficiently complied with the pre-suit notice of claim provisions of the Tort Claims Act. We held that where the form had been provided by the office of the city clerk and settlement negotiations were ongoing, the city was estopped from asserting that the notice of claim form was not in substantial compliance with the notice provisions of the Act.
¶ 11. Carr is not applicable to the present case. We need not reach the question of whether Stringer's notice of claim was sufficient because Stringer neglected to file his claim until two years after the accident occurred. The applicable statute of limitations provides for one year plus ninety-five days from the time of the accident, provided that the claimant complies with the notice provisions of the Act. In Carr we cited favorably a Wisconsin Supreme Court case in which that court remarked that a notice of claim statute is "not a statute of limitation but imposes a condition precedent to the right to maintain an action." Carr v. Town of Shubuta, 733 So.2d at 265 (quoting Mannino v. Davenport, 99 Wis.2d 602, 614, 299 N.W.2d 823, 828 (1981)). We have previously held that the timely filing of notice is a jurisdictional issue. City of Jackson v. Lumpkin, 697 So.2d 1179, 1181 (Miss.1997), overruled on other grounds, Carr v. Town of Shubuta, 733 So.2d 261 (Miss.1999). Notice may substantially comply with the statute so long as it is timely filed. Additionally, while inequitable or fraudulent conduct does not have to be established to estop an assertion of an inadequate notice of claim defense, inequitable or fraudulent conduct must be established to estop a party from asserting a statute of limitations defense. Carr v. Town of Shubuta, 733 So.2d at 265 (citing Mannino v. Davenport, 99 Wis.2d 602, 614, 299 N.W.2d 823, 828).
¶ 12. We have long held that the elements of equitable estoppel are as follows:
Conduct and acts, language or silence, amounting to a representation or concealment of material facts, with knowledge or imputed knowledge of such facts, with the intent that representation or silence, or concealment be relied upon, with the other party's ignorance of the true facts, and reliance to his damage upon the representation or silence. The burden of establishing the elements of an estoppel is on the party asserting the estoppel. The existence of the elements of an estoppel must be established by the preponderance of the evidence.
Chapman v. Chapman, 473 So.2d 467, 470 (Miss.1985) (citations omitted).
¶ 13. Although under certain circumstances a defendant's actions may be such that estop that defendant from claiming the protection of a statute of limitations, we do not agree that equitable estoppel should be applied so liberally as to allow a plaintiff to assert estoppel where no inequitable behavior is present. Statutes of limitations are well established in our judicial system. We have stated their purpose before as follows:
The primary purpose of statutory time limitations is to compel the exercise of a right of action within a reasonable time. These statutes are founded upon the general experience of society that valid claims will be promptly pursued and not allowed to remain neglected. They are designed to suppress assertion of false and stale claims, when evidence has been lost, memories have faded, witnesses are unavailable, or facts are incapable of production because of the lapse of time.
Accordingly, the fact that a barred claim is a just one or has the sanction of a moral obligation does not exempt it from the limitation period. These statutes of repose apply with full force to all claims and courts cannot refuse to give the statute effect merely because it seems to operate harshly in a given case. The establishment of these time boundaries is a legislative prerogative. That body has the right to fix reasonable periods within which an action shall be brought and, within its sound discretion, determine the limitation period....
Deficiencies, if such there should be, in statutes of limitation should be remedied by the legislature. It should not be the province or function of this court to intrude upon an area peculiarly -within the channel of legislative action. .
Smith v. Sneed, 638 So.2d 1252 (Miss.1994).
¶ 14. Additionally, as to the one-year statute of limitations in the Mississippi Tort Claims Act, we have specifically found that it's purpose is to protect the State's interest in "conserving government funds and protecting the public health and welfare at the earliest possible moment." Barnes v. Singing River Hospital Systems, 733 So.2d 199, 203 (Miss.1999) (citing City of Jackson v. Lumpkin, 697 So.2d 1179 (Miss.1997), overruled on other grounds).
¶ 15. A review of the law of other states, while not controlling, is helpful to our determination of this issue. The South Carolina Supreme Court held in Black v. Lexington School Distr. No. 2, 327 S.C. 55, 488 S.E.2d 327, 330 (1997), that "the mere fact that settlement negotiations have -been undertaken is no bar to the defendant's assertion of the statute of limitations." That court did hold that it is possible for a statute of limitations to be estopped equitably and discussed the situation as follows:
Under South-Carolina law, "a defendant may be estopped from claiming the statute of limitations as a defense if 'the delay that otherwise would give operation to the statute had been induced by the defendant's conduct.' " Such inducement may consist either "of an express representation that the claim will be settled without litigation or conduct that suggests a lawsuit is not necessary."
Id.
¶ 16. In Jarvis v. City of Stillwater, 732 P.2d 470 (Okla.1987), the claimant received a letter from the city that asked for more information regarding medical expenses and mentioned an ongoing investigation, the results of which would be revealed to Jarvis upon completion. Following the letter, the city wholly failed to communicate with Jarvis. Jarvis argued' on appeal that the letter induced him to delay bringing suit because he was awaiting further correspondence from the city. The court in Jarvis found that there was no support for a claim of equitable estoppel, and that "the Act requires, without exception, that the plaintiff give notice and commence an action within the prescribed statutory time limits."
¶ 17. In Molinar v. City of Carlsbad, 105 N.M. 628, 735 P.2d 1134, 1137 (1987), the city attorney assured the claimants that the matter could be satisfactorily settled. The claimants relied on the representation that litigation was unnecessary and postponed filing suit as requested. The Court found that "[i]t is clear that offers or promises of settlement, in connection with other conduct of defendants upon tohich plaintiffs have reasonably relied, may have the effect of tolling the statute of limitations." Id. at 1137 (emphasis added).
¶ 18. Finally, in Woodard v. Lincoln, 256 Neb. 61, 588 N.W.2d 831 (1999), a cyclist was struck by a city bus. The cyclist was Phillip Woodard, and he and his wife sued the city of Lincoln in a negligence action brought pursuant to the Nebraska Political Subdivisions Tort Claims Act. A claims specialist from thé city's risk management office met with the Woodards and asked them "not to retain counsel, but instead to negotiate directly with the City." The meeting was memorialized in a "Letter of Understanding" that specified that the Woodards would receive voluntary payments from the City, but that those payments would stop if either side retained counsel "for the purpose of representation for the May 28, 1992 accident." The letter also specifically stated that it "reservefd] the rights of Mr. and Mrs. Philip Woodard to claim damages in the future on account of the . accident." The city stopped making the voluntary payments on April 28, 1993, and Philip Woodard filed a notice of claim letter on May 12. The city made several offers to settle the claim, none of which were accepted by the Woodards. The Woodards subsequently filed a claim for damages on March 26, 1996. The city countered that the claim was barred by the two year statute of limitations.
¶ 19. The Supreme Court of Nebraska found that there was "no reason to place the tort claims acts outside the reach of the doctrine of equitable estoppel." The Woodard Court found that equitable estop-pel did apply to prevent the barring of Woodard's claim by the statute of limitations. The reasoning offered was that considered together, the statements made to Woodard gave "rise to the reasonable inference that the City intended to convey to Philip that his claim would be settled rather than litigated. As the filing of a petition is unnecessary if there is to be no litigation it is a reasonable inference that the City also intended to convey the impression that no petition need be filed at all. Certainly the concept that no petition need be filed at all includes the concept that no petition need be filed within the statute of limitations." Id. at 837. Additionally, the Court held that "the mere pendency of negotiations during the period of a statute of limitations, which are conducted in good faith with a view to ultimate compromise, is not of itself sufficient to establish an estoppel." Id. (emphasis added).
¶ 20. We find no allegation or evidence that the State misled Stringer to believe that he need not comply with the notice and statute of limitations provisions in the statute. Although settlement negotiations were ongoing between the parties, there was never any representation by the Appellants that the statute of limitations was tolled. Never did Stringer allege that the Appellants led him to believe that he need not comply with the statute, or that he had already complied with the statute. He vaguely alleges that he was given assurances that "he was doing what was proper to pursue his claim." There is simply no evidence to support a claim of equitable estoppel in this case. We agree with the Nebraska Supreme Court that good faith settlement negotiations alone are not sufficient to waive the statute of limitations.
¶ 21. Though statutes of limitation may sometimes have harsh effects, it is not the responsibility of the State, nor any other potential defendant, to inform adverse claimants that they must comply with the law. We find that the Appellants have in no way conducted themselves in a manner that could be described as inequitable or fraudulent. Therefore, Stringer's argument that the State is estopped from asserting the statute of limitations as a defense is without merit.
¶ 22. This Court has recently adopted substantial compliance as the standard by which the validity of a pre-suit notice of claim is judged. Reaves v. Randall, 729 So.2d 1237 (Miss.1999). This authority does not apply here because the action was not timely commenced. Therefore, the trial court erred as a matter of law in denying the State's motion to dismiss.
CONCLUSION
¶ 23. We therefore reverse the judgment of the George County Circuit Court and render judgment in favor of the Mississippi Department of Public Safety and Marty Davis, finally dismissing with prejudice Olur V. Stringer's complaint and action since they are barred by the one year statute of limitations contained in Miss. Code Ann. § 11-46-11(3) (Supp.1998).
¶ 24. REVERSED AND RENDERED.
PRATHER, C.J., PITTMAN, P.J., SMITH AND WALLER, JJ" CONCUR.
BANKS, J., DISSENTS WITH SEPARATE WRITTEN OPINION JOINED BY SULLIVAN, P.J., AND McRAE, J.
McRAE, J., DISSENTS WITH SEPARATE WRITTEN OPINION JOINED BY SULLIVAN, P.J.
COBB, J., NOT PARTICIPATING.