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MATTER OF ESTATE OF VOSS9/18/1996
stion of the administrative remedy provided by chapter 669 is jurisdictional. Swanger, 445 N.W.2d at 347; Brumage v. Woodsmall, 444 N.W.2d 68, 70 (Iowa 1989). Improper presentment of a claim, or not presenting one at all, has been considered a failure to exhaust one's administrative remedies, depriving the district court of subject matter jurisdiction. E.g., Bloomquist v. Wapello County, 500 N.W.2d 1, 8 (Iowa 1993) (no jurisdiction of loss-of-consortium claims because they had not been included in administrative claim); Swanger, 445 N.W.2d at 346 (plaintiffs had failed to wait the required six months from the filing of their administrative claim before commencing suit in district court); McGruder v. State, 420 N.W.2d 425, 426 (Iowa 1988) (administrative claim not made within two years of date claim accrued as required by Act); Feltes v. State, 385 N.W.2d 544, 544, 549 (Iowa 1986) (plaintiff filed no claim with the State Appeal Board). Thus, a suit commenced without complying with the Tort Claims Act is subject to dismissal. Swanger, 445 N.W.2d at 347; Brumage, 444 N.W.2d at 70.
B. Must a claimant have the capacity to sue? The State argues here that a claim filed with the Board under chapter 669 by a person who is not entitled to recover for the personal injury or death that is the subject of the claim is defective and does not comply with the requirements of the Act. We agree.
It is "an elementary rule of law" that a plaintiff must have the capacity to sue in order to commence and maintain an action in district court. Dumbaugh v. Cascade Mfg. Co., 264 N.W.2d 763, 765 (Iowa 1978). One reason we require that a lawsuit be brought by the real party in interest is to protect the defendant from multiple suits. Wayne County Mut. Ins. Co. v. Grove, 318 N.W.2d 192, 193 (Iowa 1982). The present case requires us to examine the Tort Claims Act to decide whether the legislature intended the same requirement to apply to claims filed with the State Appeal Board.
In construing a statute, we look to the object to be accomplished and give the statute a meaning that will effectuate, rather than defeat, that object. Chung v. Legacy Corp., 548 N.W.2d 147, 150 (Iowa 1996). When the text of a statute is plain and its meaning clear, we will not search for a meaning beyond the express terms of the statute or resort to rules of construction. Henriksen v. Younglove Constr., 540 N.W.2d 254, 258 (Iowa 1995).
Under chapter 669, the Board has authority to "consider, ascertain, adjust, compromise, settle, determine, and allow any claim as defined in this chapter." Iowa Code § 669.3. The legislature defined a "claim" for purposes of the Tort Claims Act as one made for a death occurring "under circumstances where the state, if a private person, would be liable to the claimant for such . . . death." See id. § 669.2(3)(a) (emphasis added). The necessity of liability to the claimant is highlighted by the requirement the claimant sign a written release before any payment will be made by the State. See id. § 669.11. These statutory provisions clearly contemplate that the person making the claim is the real party in interest, that is, the one to whom the State would be liable if it were sued in court as a private person.
A requirement the claimant possess the capacity to sue is consistent with the purpose of the administrative procedures of the Act. [553 NW2d Page 881]
The administrative process set forth in chapter 669 is intended to allow a prompt investigation of claims against the State and facilitate an early settlement when possible. See Adams v. United States, 615 F.2d 284, 288-89 (5th Cir. 1980) (citing S.Rep. No. 1327, 89th Cong., 2d Sess. 6 (1966), reprinted in 1966 U.S.C
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