Opinion ID: 2463577
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: facts

Text: [¶ 3] Appellant, as personal representative of the decedent's estate, initiated a wrongful death action against the Hospital and Dr. Darnell upon filing a complaint in the Johnson County District Court. According to the complaint, on August 20, 2006, at 1:40 a.m., Mr. Pickett was taken to the Hospital's emergency room after complaining of back, side, and groin pain. Dr. Darnell, the treating physician and an employee of the Hospital, diagnosed Mr. Pickett with a kidney stone. After observing Mr. Pickett for approximately 12 hours, Dr. Darnell discharged him from the Hospital. Later that evening, Mr. Pickett's wife called 911 after finding him unconscious in their bathroom. When the ambulance arrived, Mr. Pickett was pale and unresponsive. The personnel on duty at the Hospital were unable to resuscitate Mr. Pickett, and he was pronounced dead at 8:20 p.m. An autopsy determined that he did not have a kidney stone but that a leaking abdominal aortic aneurysm had caused his death. [¶ 4] On February 4, 2008, Appellant presented a notice of claim to the Hospital. The notice of claim was timely filed and satisfied all the requirements set forth in Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 1-39-113(b) as to the contents of a notice of governmental claim. The claim was also signed and sworn to under penalty of perjury in compliance with Article 16, § 7 of the Wyoming Constitution. [¶ 5] On April 25, 2008, Appellant filed suit against the Hospital and Dr. Darnell within the two-year statute of limitations for a wrongful death action set forth in Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 1-38-102. Appellant's complaint stated that [a]ll conditions precedent to the bringing of this action have been performed or have occurred, including the processing to completion of an application for review of claim before the Wyoming Medical Review Panel, and the presentation and filing of this claim to and with the Johnson County Hospital District. The Hospital and Dr. Darnell answered and asserted affirmative defenses. At that time, neither the Hospital nor Dr. Darnell claimed that Appellant's complaint was insufficient to invoke the court's jurisdiction. The court held a scheduling conference on August 4, 2008, and set trial for the week of August 24, 2009. [¶ 6] On July 28, 2009, approximately 15 months after the case commenced, and after the statutes of limitations for a wrongful death action and for a governmental claim had expired, Appellees asserted that the complaint was insufficient to invoke subject matter jurisdiction and that the action should be dismissed. Appellees filed a joint motion for judgment on the pleadings arguing the complaint was deficient because it failed to allege the date on which the notice of claim had been presented to the Hospital and failed to allege that the claim complied with the signature and certification requirements of the Wyoming Constitution, as required by Beaulieu v. Florquist, 2004 WY 31, 86 P.3d 863 (Wyo.2004) ( Beaulieu II ). Appellant moved for leave to amend the complaint to allege compliance with the WGCA and Wyoming Constitution. Appellant attached a proposed amended complaint to the motion. The district court determined that it was without subject matter jurisdiction to grant Appellant leave to amend the defective complaint and dismissed the action with prejudice because the statute of limitations had expired. This appeal followed.