Court Opinion

ID: 9686675
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 16:00:50.268923+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:18:21.262567
License: Public Domain

Gerrard, J.,
concurring.
It is not possible to condone the behavior of Arps and MAT in this case. One would think that a political subdivision’s responsibility to its constituents, and in this case, MAT’s relationship with its customers, would be well served by at least taking some steps to ensure that potential claimants understand the requirements of MAT’s claims process. The absence of a legal obligation does not *328preclude a political subdivision from acting fairly toward a potential claimant in an accident case. Nonetheless, the plaintiff in this case failed to satisfy the notice requirements of the Political Subdivisions Tort Claims Act (the Act), Neb. Rev. Stat. § 13-901 et seq. (Reissue 1997), and MAT was under no legal duty to inform the plaintiff of the mistake prior to alleging a meritorious defense. Consequently, I join in the opinion of the court.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Act, as well established in this court’s jurisprudence, it is the plaintiff who must ensure that notice of a claim has been filed with the appropriate agent of a political subdivision. If the identity of the appropriate party is unknown, mirroring the statutory language and addressing a claim to the “clerk, secretary, or other official whose duty it is to maintain the official records” of a political subdivision would, in my opinion, suffice to meet the statutory requirement. See § 13-905. See, e.g., McLendon v. City of Houston, 153 Tex. 318, 267 S.W.2d 805 (1954). Guesswork is not required. A claimant is entitled to rely on the representations and procedures of a political subdivision to identify the party to whom a claim should be addressed for filing — provided that the plaintiff is diligent in inquiring.
Because the plaintiff did not inquire in this case, however, there were no representations made by MAT on which the plaintiff could demonstrate reliance, and there is no basis to conclude that the notice provided to MAT met the requirements of the Act. Therefore, I join the opinion of the court.
McCormack and Miller-Lerman, JJ., join in this concurrence.