City of Indianapolis v. Rachael Buschman

988 N.E.2d 791, 2013 WL 2407481, 2013 Ind. LEXIS 443
CourtIndiana Supreme Court
DecidedJune 4, 2013
Docket49S02-1210-CT-598
StatusPublished
Cited by24 cases

This text of 988 N.E.2d 791 (City of Indianapolis v. Rachael Buschman) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
City of Indianapolis v. Rachael Buschman, 988 N.E.2d 791, 2013 WL 2407481, 2013 Ind. LEXIS 443 (Ind. 2013).

Opinion

MASSA, Justice.

This case presents a single question: when a claimant includes information in her tort claim notice beyond that required by the Indiana Tort Claims Act, may that information operate to restrict the scope of her claim? As the statute imposes no such sanction and we are bound to construe it narrowly, we answer that question in the negative.

Facts and Procedural History

On July 25, 2008, Officer Brian Sche-menaur of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department rear-ended Rachael Buschman’s vehicle while driving eastbound on 86th Street near Keystone Avenue in Indianapolis. On August 1, prior to retaining counsel, Buschman submitted a tort claim notice to the City of Indianapolis. In the notice, Buschman briefly described the accident, provided her home address and telephone numbers, and listed Officer Schemenaur’s name, address, birth date, and driver’s license number. She included a copy of the accident report, photographs of the damage, and an estimate of the cost to repair her vehicle. The notice also included the following statements:

*793 Damage: Rear Bumper and side panels damaged, see estimate from Sam Swope. No injuries.

Claim: $960.99

App. at 19.

On July 9, 2010, Buschman and her husband Jeffry filed a complaint against the City and the IMPD in the Marion Superior Court alleging she “suffered personal injuries, including left hip pain, right leg pain, lower back pain and herniation of her lumbar discs at L4-5” as a direct result of Officer Schemenaur’s negligence. App. at 8. Jeffry brought a claim for loss of consortium. 1 The Buschmans moved for summary judgment and, after a hearing, the trial court granted their motion.

The City appealed, arguing Buschman’s tort claim notice did not substantially comply with the requirements of the Indiana Tort Claims Act, Ind.Code ch. 84-13-3, because it stated “No injuries.” Specifically, the City claimed “Buschman not only failed to mention an injury, she specifically misled the City into believing no personal injury claim existed.” Appellant’s Br. at 8. The Court of Appeals agreed and reversed the trial court, finding Buschman’s “notice did not substantially comply with the requirements of the Act for purposes of her personal injury claim, and summary judgment in her favor on this issue was improper.” City of Indianapolis v. Buschman, 970 N.E.2d 757, 761 (Ind.Ct.App.2012).

We granted transfer, thereby vacating the opinion below. City of Indianapolis v. Buschman, 976 N.E.2d 1234 (Ind.2012) (table); Ind. Appellate Rule 58(A).

Standard of Review

A party is entitled to summary judgment only when she “affirmatively shows that there are no genuine issues of material fact with regard to a particular issue or claim.” Haegert v. Univ. of Evansville, 977 N.E.2d 924, 936 (Ind.2012); see also Ind. Trial Rule 56(C). If the moving party makes such a showing, the burden shifts to the non-moving party to point out a genuine issue of material fact. Town of Avon v. W. Cent. Conservancy Dist., 957 N.E.2d 598, 602 (Ind.2011). The trial court must construe all evidence and resolve all doubts in the fashion most favorable to the non-moving party. Id.

Where, as here, the facts are un-controverted, we review the trial court’s grant of summary judgment de novo. Woodruff v. Ind. Family & Soc. Servs. Admin., 964 N.E.2d 784, 790 (Ind.2012) cert. denied, — U.S. -, 133 S.Ct. 233, 184 L.Ed.2d 44 (2012). We will affirm the trial court upon any theory supported by record evidence, and we will reverse only if the trial court incorrectly applied the law to the facts. Id.

Buschman’s Notice Met the Requirements of the Indiana Tort Claims Act.

The City argues Buschman’s notice was inadequate to inform it that Buschman intended to bring a personal injury claim because the notice stated “No injuries.” We disagree.

The purpose of the ITCA is “to advise the city of the accident so that it may promptly investigate the surrounding circumstances.” Collier v. Prater, 544 N.E.2d 497, 498 (Ind.1989). It provides that a tort claim against a municipality is barred unless the claimant provides the municipality with notice of the claim within *794 180 days of the loss. Ind.Code § 34-13-3-8 (2008). The notice

must describe in a short and plain statement the facts on which the claim is based ... [and] include the circumstances which brought about the loss, the extent of the loss, the time and place the loss occurred, the names of all persons involved if known, the amount of the damages sought, and the residence of the person making the claim at the time of the loss and at the time of filing the notice.

Ind.Code § 34-13-3-10 (2008).

Like any statute in derogation of the common law, the ITCA “must be strictly construed against limitations on the claimant’s right to bring suit.” Hinshaw v. Bd. of Com’rs of Jay Cnty., 611 N.E.2d 637, 639 (Ind.1993). Where a claimant’s notice substantially complies with the content requirements of the statute, such that the purpose of the statute is satisfied, we will find it sufficient. Collier, 544 N.E.2d at 498-99. As we have said before, whether a notice substantially complies with the statutory requirements is a question of law dependent upon the individual facts of the case. Id. at 499. We generally will find substantial compliance where a notice is timely filed, operates to inform the municipality of the claimant’s intent to pursue the claim, “and contains sufficient information which reasonably affords the municipality an opportunity to promptly investigate the claim.” Id.

We note that a previous version of this statute did require “written notice,” including “a brief general description of ... the nature and extent of the injury to person-” Ind.Code § 48-8001 (Burns 1963). The current statute does not include the words “the nature and extent of the injury to person.” We find this persuasive evidence that the legislature, when it amended the statute, intended to remove any pre-existing requirement of specificity in regards to personal injuries. See Miller v. Walker,

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
988 N.E.2d 791, 2013 WL 2407481, 2013 Ind. LEXIS 443, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/city-of-indianapolis-v-rachael-buschman-ind-2013.