Opinion ID: 2621331
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Filing Time

Text: The ITCA provides no claim or action shall be allowed against a governmental entity or its employee unless the claim has been presented and filed within the time limits prescribed by this act. I.C. § 6-908. Idaho Code § 6-906 proscribes the applicable time limit as: All claims against a political subdivision arising under the provisions of this act and all claims against an employee of a political subdivision for any act or omissions of the employee within the course and scope of his employment shall be presented to and filed with the clerk or secretary of the political subdivision within one hundred eighty (180) days from the date the claim arose or reasonably should have been discovered, whichever is later. The purpose of I.C. § 6-906 is to `(1) save needless expense and litigation by providing an opportunity for amicable resolution of the differences between parties, (2) allow authorities to conduct a full investigation into the cause of the injury in order to determine the extent of the state's liability, if any, and (3) allow the state to prepare defenses.' Friel v. Boise City Housing Auth., 126 Idaho 484, 486, 887 P.2d 29, 31 (1994) (quoting Pounds v. Denison, 120 Idaho 425, 426-27, 816 P.2d 982, 983-84 (1991)). The failure to file within the ITCA time limitation acts as a bar to any further action. McQuillen v. City of Ammon, 113 Idaho 719, 722, 747 P.2d 741, 744 (1987). Compliance with the Idaho Tort Claims Act's notice requirement is a mandatory condition precedent to bringing suit, the failure of which is fatal to a claim, no matter how legitimate.... The notice requirement is in addition to the applicable statute of limitations. Id. This Court has held that the notice requirement begins running when a person is aware of such facts that would cause a reasonably prudent person to inquire further into the circumstances surrounding the incident even if the full extent of damages and the government's role are not known at the time. Mitchell v. Bingham Mem'l Hosp., 130 Idaho 420, 423, 942 P.2d 544, 547 (1997); see also Mallory v. City of Montpelier, 126 Idaho 446, 448, 885 P.2d 1162, 1164 (Ct.App.1994) (The statute does not begin running when a person fully understands the mechanism of the injury and the government's role, but rather when he or she is aware of such facts that would cause a reasonably prudent person to inquire further into the circumstances surrounding the incident.). The Cobbleys assert that the district court acted arbitrarily when it determined that September 14, 1999, was when the ITCA 180-day time period began to run against the Cobbleys' claim. The Cobbleys assert that they were not fully apprised of the City's role with regard to the road and that the ownership information was essential to determine whether a claim against the City should be filed. The Cobbleys contend that the date should have been either January 11, 2000, when the report from the city attorney was issued or July 3, 2000, when the Cobbleys received a title report establishing ownership of the road. Further, the Cobbleys argue that because this was a continuing tort the ITCA time limitation was tolled until the tortious conduct ceased. The district court found that the Cobbleys had sufficient facts to formulate a claim by the first city council meeting the Cobbleys attended on August 10, 1999. The district court stated the Cobbleys knew that the City owned and operated the sewage lagoon adjacent to their property, and that the road would have been used by the City to gain access to the lagoon; they knew that Cyprus had `deeded' the property to the City. They knew by September 14, 1999 that the City would not pave the road, and that it would be reluctant to close the road. The time period began to run as early as 1981; but the latest date the Cobbleys could have reasonably known they had a claim against the City would have been September 14, 1999. The district court did not address this case from the standpoint of a continuing tort, nor that the Cobbleys could pursue a claim for abatement of a nuisance an action that would not be limited by the requirements of the ITCA. As justification for the district court's omission, the City submits that the Cobbleys did not raise to the district court either the theory of continuing tort nor a claim for abatement of a nuisance. We note, however, that as pled by the Cobbleys in their complaint, the conduct of the City in refusing to abate the ongoing problems experienced by the Cobbleys from speeding vehicles and resulting dust, through some reasonable method of controlling traffic flows, gating, paving, or resurfacing the road to reduce dust, demonstrates nothing more than a claim alleging a continuous tort. A continuing tort has been defined as: one inflicted over a period of time; it involves a wrongful conduct that is repeated until desisted, and each day creates a separate cause of action. A continuing tort sufficient to toll a statute of limitations is occasioned by continual unlawful acts, not continual ill effects from an original violation. Curtis v. Firth, 123 Idaho 598, 603, 850 P.2d 749, 754 (1993) (quoting 54 C.J.S. Limitation of Actions, § 177, at 231 (1987)). The Court has held that where a continuing tort appears the focus is on the acts complained of, rather than the damages, when determining when the ITCA 180-day notice period is triggered. Farber v. State, 102 Idaho 398, 630 P.2d 685 (1981). Furthermore, the district court precluded the Cobbleys from amending their complaint when the court held that the original complaint was improper because the notice of tort claim was untimely. Had the court allowed the Cobbleys to amend their complaint, they could have specifically alleged a claim for abatement of a nuisance, which would not be an action to recover damages and subject to the constraints of the notice requirements under the Tort Claims Act. In her dissenting decision to the opinion of the Court of Appeals in this case, Judge Karen Lansing pointed out: The Cobbleys' complaint expressly alleges that the City is causing or allowing a nuisance condition on its property that adjoins the Cobbleys' property. Thus, the question presented is when a nuisance claim arises for purposes of application of the tort claim notice of statute. In the analogous circumstances of applying the statute of limitation to a nuisance claim, a continuing nuisance is treated like a continuing tort for which the limitations period begins to run anew for each repetition of the nuisance. The rule is described as follows in 58 AM.JUR.2D Nuisances § 307 (1989): [W]ith regard to nuisance[s] which are continuing in nature, as to which every repetition of the wrong may create further liability and create a new cause of action, the statute of limitations does not run merely from the original intrusion with respect to property damage or personal injury, and cannot be a complete bar in any case where the nuisance is of a continuing character and the resulting encroachment has progressively increased up to the time of the commencing action. Rather, a new statute of limitations begins to run after each separate invasion of plaintiff's property. Thus, as to nuisances which are temporary or recurring in nature, the applicable statute of limitations may bar only those events that occurred more than the designated time period to the filing of the lawsuit, so that an action may be brought for damages accrued by the time of trial and occurring within the prescribed time before the filing of the lawsuit. Recovery may be had in an action for temporary or continuing nuisance for damages accruing within the statutory period next preceding the commencement of the action although more than the statutory period has elapsed since the creation of the nuisance. Judge Lansing further pointed out that in Curtis v. Firth, supra , this Court held that in the case of a continuing tort, the statute of limitations does not begin to run upon the commencement of the tortious conduct but, rather, is tolled until the tortious behavior has ceased. She noted that the Court used a similar analysis in application of the statutory notice requirement in Farber v. State, supra , when the Court considered a tort claim against the state for damage allegedly caused to the plaintiffs in the course of a project for reconstruction of a street. The Farbers brought an action against the state and the contractor performing the work, alleging damages from the negligent planning, construction and design of the project. The Court noted that the State's conduct of which the plaintiffs complained `is in the nature of a continuing tort.' Id. at 401, 630 P.2d at 688. The Court held that the notice period did not begin to run when the project or damage began, but rather, when the construction project was completed. The Court commented that this interpretation of § 6-905, as applied to continuing torts arising out of projects for which the State contracts, is consistent with our announced policy of liberally construing statutes `with a view to accomplishing their aims and purposes, and attaining substantial justice,' Keenan v. Price, 68 Idaho 423, 438, 195 P.2d 662, 670 (1948), and our generally liberal approach to interpreting the notice requirement of the ITCA. Id. at 402, 630 P.2d at 689. In many of the cases dealing with the continuing tort and the ITCA there is a definite starting or ending point that begins the running of the ITCA 180-day notice period. See e.g. Mallory v. City of Montpelier, 126 Idaho 446, 885 P.2d 1162 (Ct.App.1994) (plaintiff injured in city baseball field, although it was not known at the time the cause of the injury or that the city owned the baseball field, the ITCA notice period began on the day of the accident); Farber v. State, supra , (in suit against the State and the contractor performing the work, alleging damages from the negligent planning, construction and design of the reconstruction project of a street, ITCA notice period began when the construction project was complete rather than when the project or damage began). Here, there is a starting point at which the allegedly tortious conduct and damages began, however, the conduct continues; and the end is not determinable. There is a series of ongoing, discrete events or conduct and resultant damages allegedly arising from each incident. The Cobbleys could have filed a notice of tort claim years ago when the road use providing access to the sewer treatment center increased, however, they chose to repair the road themselves. When the problem became too much for the Cobbleys to deal with, they went to the city council to seek assistance because they thought that the City had an ownership interest in the road. The City prolonged the Cobbleys' claim until the city attorney concluded that the City did not own the road and therefore was not going to close or maintain it. When the City realized it owned the road, it chose not to maintain the road for various reasons, leaving the road to continue to cause problems for the Cobbleys. Upon filing their notice of claim, the Cobbleys could seek damages that resulted during the 180-day period preceding their notice. Aside from the question of recoverable damages, leave should be granted to the Cobbleys to amend their complaint by alleging a claim to abate a nuisance, should they so move. Such a claim would not be subject to the ITCA.