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Marshall v. Warren County Board of Supervisors12/3/2002
NATURE OF THE CASE: CIVIL - STATE BOARDS AND AGENCIES
DISPOSITION: AFFIRMED - 12/03/2002
. The Warren County Circuit Court dismissed as time-barred Bonnie Marshall's action against the Warren County Board of Supervisors, which was brought under the Mississippi State Tort Claims Act. See Miss. Code Ann. §§ 11-46-1 through 11-46-23 (Supp. 2001). Bonnie Marshall appeals, asserting that the circuit court erred in finding that the complaint was time-barred. We find that Marshall's action is time-barred.
FACTS
. Bonnie Marshall's husband, Gerald, had a history of being hospitalized for depression. In July of 1999, he began to exhibit violent behavior. On July 31, 1999, Gerald's mother, JoAnn Dornbush, went to the Warren County Chancery Clerk's office and filed an affidavit for his civil commitment. The Warren County Sheriff's Office took Gerald Martin into custody. However, an official with the chancery clerk's office told Dornbush that Gerald Martin's problems were related to drugs and alcohol, and the sheriff's office refused to hold him. He was released without any provision for his medical or psychological needs. One day later, he took an overdose of prescription medication and died several days later.
. At some point in time, Marshall obtained legal counsel, and on March 1, 2000, counsel gave notice to Warren County of an asserted wrongful death claim. Warren County received this notice on March 6, 2000. It appears from the record that at some uncertain point in time, Marshall and her original counsel ended their agreement for representation, because on November 2, 2000, Marshall filed the present claim pro se. The record shows no subsequent appearance or filing by the original counsel. However, Marshall did obtain substitute counsel, who filed an amended complaint on February 9, 2001, and represents Marshall in her appeal.
ANALYSIS
. There is no factual question before this Court. The circuit court found that the action arose on July 31, 1999. Warren County received notice of her claim on March 6, 2000. The action was filed on November 2, 2000. Neither party contests these facts. Rather, the determinative issue is the application of a statute of limitations of Mississippi State Tort Claims Act. An appellate court grants a de novo standard of review to the statutory interpretation of a circuit court. Roberts v. New Albany Separate Sch. Dist., 813 So.2d 729 ( ) (Miss. 2002). The construction given to the 1999 amendment of Mississippi Code Annotated Section 11-46-11 (Supp. 2001) is determinative in this case.
. There is no controversy that the current notice and tolling provisions apply to this case. However, the previous version of the statute affected the circuit court's reasoning in its construction of the current version. All versions of the statute require that Mississippi State Tort Claims Act claims be brought within one year of when the cause of action arose. But, the pre-1999 version differs from the post-1999 versions on the determinative issue in this case: when and for how long the one-year statute of limitations is tolled when a plaintiff gives a governmental entity notice of a pending claim prior to filing an action based on that claim. Prior to the 1999 amendments, filing the notice tolled the statute of limitations for ninety-five days, and generally resulted in an action being timely filed so long as the required notice was given, and the action was filed no later than one year and ninety-five days after it arose. Miss. Code Ann. § 11-46-11 (Supp. 1998). See also State of Mississippi v. Dampeer, 744 So. 2d 754 ( ) (Miss. 1999). The amended statute, however, provides:
All a
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