Charles Brown v. Vanderburgh County Sheriff's Department and Vanderburgh County, Indiana

85 N.E.3d 866
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedOctober 13, 2017
DocketCourt of Appeals Case 82A04-1705-CT-1087
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 85 N.E.3d 866 (Charles Brown v. Vanderburgh County Sheriff's Department and Vanderburgh County, Indiana) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Charles Brown v. Vanderburgh County Sheriff's Department and Vanderburgh County, Indiana, 85 N.E.3d 866 (Ind. Ct. App. 2017).

Opinion

Crone, Judge.

Case Summary

Charles Brown appeals the trial court’s dismissal of his amended complaint against Vanderburgh County Sheriffs Department (“VGSD”) and Vanderburgh County, Indiana (“the County”). Brown contends that the trial court erred. -Finding no error, we affirm.

Facts and Procedural History

Brown was involved in a motorcycle accident on July 24, 2014. Due to injuries he suffered in the accident, he was taken by ambulance to Deaconess Hospital in Evansville. Upon his release from the hospital the following day, Brown was- arrested by Evansville City Police Department officers for operating a vehicle while intoxicated, and he was transported to the Vanderburgh County Detention Center. Brown was released from the detention center on July 30, 2014.

On January 20, 2015, Brown mailed his tort claim notice to VCSD, Vander-burgh County Sheriff Dave Wedding, Van-derburgh County Commissioners, the Indiana Political Subdivision Risk Management Commission, and the Indiana Attorney General, alleging a claim that he suffered injuries and damages while in the detention center as a result of VCSD’s “unprofessionalism, misconduct, failure to provide medical care, and abuse of power.” Appellant’s App. at 15. A little less than a year later, on January 11, 2016, Brown filed a complaint for damages naming the City of Evansville (“the City”) and UnNamed Police Officers as the sole defendants.

On July 26, 2016, the City filed a motion for summary judgment stating that the City had no control or jurisdiction over the Vanderburgh County Detention Center. On August 8, 2016, Brown filed a motion to amend his complaint stating that he had named “the wrong parties” in the initial complaint and that he wished to name VCSD and the County as defendants. Id. at 45. The trial court granted his motion to amend on September 8, 2016.

On October 27, 2016, VCSD and ⅛⅜ County filed a motion to dismiss arguing that Brown’s amended complaint was filed after the expiration of the two-year statute of limitations. Following a hearing, the trial court entered a detailed order granting the motion to dismiss. This appeal ensued.

Discussion and Decision

A motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted tests the legal sufficiency of a claim, not the supporting facts. Veolia Water Indpls., LLC v. Nat’l Trust Ins. Co., 3 N.E.3d 1, 4 (Ind. 2014). An appellate court engages in a de novo review of the trial court’s grant or denial of a motion based on Indiana Trial Rule 12(B)(6). Id. We stand in the shoes of the trial court and must determine if the trial court erred in its application of the law. Chenore v. Plantz, 56 N.E.3d 123, 126 (Ind. Ct. App. 2016).

A motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim on which relief may be granted is an appropriate means of raising the statute of limitations. Id. When the complaint shows on its face that the statute of limitations has run, the defendant may file a Trial Rule 12(B)(6) motion. Id. The trial court’s grant of a motion to dismiss is proper if it is apparent .that the facts alleged in the complaint are incapable of supporting relief under any set of circumstances. Id.

It is undisputed that Brown’s claims against VCSD and the County are subject to a two-year statute of limitations. See Ind. Code § 34-ll-2-4(a). The undisputed facts similarly show that Brown’s cause of action accrued, at the latest, on July 30,2014, the date Brown was released from the detention center. Therefore, the statute of limitations ran on July 30, 2016. Brown’s amended complaint naming VCSD and the County as defendants was not filed until August 8, 2016. 1

“[T]he onus of bringing suit against the proper party within the statute of limitation is upon the claimant.” Rieth-Riley Constr. Co. v. Gibson, 923 N.E.2d 472, 478 (Ind. Ct. App. 2010). Brown concedes that his amended complaint naming VCSD and the County as defendants was filed outside the statute of limitations, but he maintains that his amended complaint should relate back to the date of his original complaint pursuant to Indiana Trial Rule 15(C). Under Trial Rule 15(C), a plaintiff may add an entirely new defendant after the statute of limitations has run only after demonstrating that the conditions of the rule governing relation back of amendments have been satisfied. Magic Circle Corp. v. Schoolcraft, 4 N.E.3d 768, 770 (Ind. Ct. App. 2014), aff’d, Camoplast Crocker, LLC v. Schoolcraft, 12 N.E.3d 251 (Ind. 2014). Specifically, where no more than 120 days have elapsed since the filing of the original complaint and (1) where the claim arises out of the same conduct; (2) the substituted defendant has notice such that he is not prejudiced by the amendment; and (3)' the substituted defendant knows or should know that but for the misidentification, the action should have been brought against him, then the amended complaint relates back to the date of the original complaint. Raisor v. Jimmie’s Raceway Pub, Inc., 946 N.E.2d 72, 76 (Ind. Ct. App. 2011) (citing Ind. Trial Rule 15(C)). 2 “The party who seeks the benefit of the relation back doctrine bears the burden of proving that the conditions of Trial Rule 15(C) are met.” Id.

VCSD and the County do not dispute that the claims asserted by Brown in his amended complaint arose out of the conduct, transaction, or occurrence set forth or attempted to be set forth in the original pleading. However, VCSD and the County .assert that Brown has failed to satisfy the additional conditions of the rule governing relation back of amendments. That is, Brown was required to show that, within. 120 days after the original complaint was filed, VCSD and the .County were on notice of the institution of the action against the City and that they knew or should have known that but for a mistake concerning the identity of the proper party, the action should have been brought against them.

We agree with VCSD and the County that Brown failed to make such a showing. Here, the 120-day period from the date of the original complaint extended to May 11, 2016. At that time, there is no evidence to suggest that VCSD. and the County, had any notice, actual or constructive, of Brown’s legal action filed against the City. Although Trial Rule 15(C) does not require service of process on the new defendant, “notice of the pending of the claim must be such that the added party received either actual or constructive notice of the legal action.” Porter Cty. Sheriff Dep’t v. Guzorek, 857 N.E.2d 363, 368 (Ind. 2006).

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85 N.E.3d 866, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/charles-brown-v-vanderburgh-county-sheriffs-department-and-vanderburgh-indctapp-2017.