Opinion ID: 1969096
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Tortious Misrepresentation

Text: [¶ 14] Cottle alleges that it relied to its detriment on false representations of material fact by Moore as to the Town's waste-water treatment capacity. Cottle contends that the court erred by ruling that the Town's insurance does not cover such a cause of action, and therefore it never waived its immunity pursuant to 14 M.R.S.A. § 8116 (Supp.1996). [3] We do not reach that insurance issue because we affirm on grounds different than those relied on by the court. As the Town argues, Cottle's misrepresentation claim should have been resolved on the basis of its failure to satisfy the notice of claim requirement of the Maine Tort Claims Act. [¶ 15] The misrepresentations at issue were made by Moore no later than early 1989. Cottle did not serve a notice of claim on the Town until May 1993. The Act requires the filing of a notice of claim within 180 days of the wrongful act alleged to produce a judicially cognizable injury. [4] 14 M.R.S.A. § 8107(1) (1980 & Supp.1995); Smith v. School Admin. Dist. No. 58, 582 A.2d 247, 249 (Me.1990); McNicholas v. Bickford, 612 A.2d 866, 869 (Me.1992). Given the facts of this case, neither the substantial compliance provision, 14 M.R.S.A. § 8107(4); see Erickson v. State, 444 A.2d 345, 349-50 (Me.1982) (substantial compliance exception applicable only when 180-day requirement is satisfied), nor the exceptions for good cause apply. 14 M.R.S.A. § 8107(1), (5); see Smith, 582 A.2d at 249-50 (good cause due to physical inability to file a claim); Smith v. Voisine, 650 A.2d 1350, 1352 n. 4 (Me.1994) (noting statutory expansion of definition of good cause to include belief that governmental entity or its liability insurer would cover a claim); McNicholas, 612 A.2d at 869 (good cause due to plaintiff's having been prevented from learning information forming basis of complaint). [5]