Opinion ID: 1060258
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: procedural provisions

Text: To resolve these appeals, we first must determine whether the statutory provisions at issue are procedural or substantive in nature. This distinction is central to our inquiry, because Code § 1-16 and Code § 8.01-1 limit the applicability of new statutes, depending on the category into which they fall. In Morrison v. Bestler, 239 Va. 166, 387 S.E.2d 753 (1990), we described the notice of claim and the tolling provisions as procedural in nature. We stated that [t]he Virginia General Assembly has enacted certain procedures for the prosecution of [medical malpractice claims]. These procedures include the notice of claim, a waiting period for filing suit, the right to a malpractice review panel prior to a court proceeding, use of the opinion of the panel, and extensions of statutory filing limitations under certain conditions. .... All these procedural requirements ... were formulated to provide the defendant with adequate notice of the nature of the claim, to assist the parties in case preparation, and to encourage settlement prior to trial. Id. at 172-73, 387 S.E.2d at 757. See also Hewitt v. Virginia Health Servs. Corp., 239 Va. 643, 645, 391 S.E.2d 59, 60 (1990). In accord with this explanation, we hold that former Code §§ 8.01-581.2 and -581.9, as well as the repeal provision, are procedural in nature, since they control only the method of obtaining redress or enforcement of rights and do not involve the creation of duties, rights, and obligations. See Shiflet v. Eller, 228 Va. 115, 120, 319 S.E.2d 750, 753-54 (1984). Because Code §§ 8.01-581.2 and -581.9 prescribed only the procedural aspects of a remedy, they could, at the will of the legislature, be amended or repealed, as long as reasonable opportunity and time were provided to preserve substantive or vested rights. Walke v. Dallas, Inc., 209 Va. 32, 36, 161 S.E.2d 722, 724 (1968); Duffy v. Hartsock, 187 Va. 406, 416, 46 S.E.2d 570, 574 (1948). Further, since these former statutes were procedural, rather than substantive, in nature, neither plaintiff acquired any vested right in these statutes at the time their causes of action accrued. See Fletcher v. Tarasidis, 219 Va. 658, 661, 250 S.E.2d 739, 740 (1979); Hurdle v. Prinz, 218 Va. 134, 139, 235 S.E.2d 354, 357 (1977); Phipps v. Sutherland, 201 Va. 448, 453, 111 S.E.2d 422, 426 (1959).