Mitchell v. Sherwood

985 P.2d 870, 161 Or. App. 376, 1999 Ore. App. LEXIS 1240
CourtCourt of Appeals of Oregon
DecidedJuly 7, 1999
Docket9511-08218; CA A96769
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 985 P.2d 870 (Mitchell v. Sherwood) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Oregon primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Mitchell v. Sherwood, 985 P.2d 870, 161 Or. App. 376, 1999 Ore. App. LEXIS 1240 (Or. Ct. App. 1999).

Opinions

[378]*378LANDAU, P. J.

At issue in this case is whether the state may be held hable in contribution to a defendant/third-party plaintiff when the plaintiff in the underlying negligence action never filed a notice of intent to sue the state. We conclude that the state may not be held liable in contribution, because, under ORS 18.440(1), a party is liable in contribution only to the extent that it is liable in tort to the plaintiff in the underlying action.

The relevant facts are not in dispute. On November 9,1993, Mitchell was injured in an automobile accident when Sherwood’s car struck her. Sherwood’s insurer apparently paid Mitchell for her injuries. On March 3,1994, Sherwood’s insurer sent a letter to the state advising that it intended to seek contribution for the damages it paid to Mitchell. Meanwhile, Mitchell brought an action against Sherwood for negligence. Sherwood filed a third-party complaint against the state, alleging that the state’s negligent failure to paint a raised curb on the road where the accident occurred contributed to the accident. At no time did Mitchell send to the state a notice of intention to file a claim, nor did she ever file a claim against the state for damages resulting from the injuries she sustained in the November 9,1993, accident.

The state moved for summary judgment on the ground that it was not liable in contribution to Sherwood, because it had no underlying liability to Mitchell. According to the state, it was not liable to Mitchell as a matter of law, because she never filed a tort claim notice. Sherwood filed a cross-motion for summary judgment, contending that the state was liable in contribution as a matter of law, because the March 3,1994, notice that she sent to the state sufficed to satisfy any notice requirements as to a possible action by Mitchell against the state. The trial court agreed with Sherwood, but it denied both motions and allowed the matter to proceed to trial.

At trial, the state reasserted its contention that it could not be liable in contribution as a matter of law. The state and Sherwood stipulated that the trial court should decide all factual and legal questions related to that issue. A [379]*379jury determined that the state was 45 percent responsible for Mitchell’s injuries. In accordance with the stipulation, the trial court then determined that Sherwood’s notice to the state was sufficient to put the state on notice as to its liability to Mitchell, the plaintiff in the underlying action. The trial court entered judgment on Sherwood’s contribution claim against the state.

On appeal, the state contends that the trial court erred in imposing liability in contribution against the state when there was no liability to Mitchell, the underlying plaintiff. The state contends that the precise issue was addressed, and resolved in its favor, in Beaver v. Pelett, 299 Or 664, 705 P2d 1149 (1985). Sherwood acknowledges Beaver, but contends that its holding has been undercut by subsequent changes in the pertinent statutes.

ORS 18.440(1) provides, subject to exceptions not relevant to this case:

“[W]here two or more persons become jointly or severally liable in tort for the same injury to person or property or for the same wrongful death, there is a right of contribution among them even though judgment has not been recovered against all or any of them. There is no right of contribution from a person who is not liable in tort to the claimant.”

The issue in this case is whether the state is “liable in tort” to the claimant, that is, Mitchell. If not, then it is not liable in contribution to Sherwood. The state asserts that, because Mitchell failed to file a tort claim notice, it is not liable to her. Sherwood argues that the state’s liability was fixed at the time of the accident and that Mitchell’s failure to file a tort claim notice determined only whether she could have sued the state to collect on that liability.

The precise issue, indeed, was addressed in Beaver. The question in that case was whether the state could be held liable in contribution to a defendant in a tort case when the injured plaintiff had made no claim against the state and had given no tort claim notice, and the only claim or notice came from the defendant who sought contribution. The court began by noting that, under ORS 18.440(1), there can be no right of contribution against the state unless the state is liable to the [380]*380plaintiff in the underlying tort action. It then turned to the question whether the state, in fact, was hable.

The court observed that the version of the Tort Claims Act in effect at the time provided that the state “is liable for its torts and those of its officers, employe[e]s and agents acting within the scope of their employment or duties,” subject to various statutory limitations. ORS 30.265(1) (1983). One of those limitations was ORS 30.275(1) (1983), which provided, in part:

“Every person who claims damages from a public body or from an officer, employe[e] or agent of a public body acting within the scope of employment or duties for or on account of any loss or injury within the scope of [the Tort Claims Act] shall cause to be presented to the public body within 180 days after the alleged loss or injury a written notice stating the time, place and circumstances thereof, the name of the claimant and of the representative or attorney, if any, of the claimant and the amount of compensation or other relief demanded.”

The court held that, under the terms of ORS 30.265(1) (1983) and ORS 30.275(1), the state’s liability is conditioned on the provision of the required notice within 180 days. The court expressly rejected as inconsistent with the language of those statutes the defendant’s argument that liability attaches at the time of injury and that failure to comply with the notice requirements of the Tort Claims Act does not affect the state’s liability, only the ability to bring an action for damages. The court further held that notice from someone other than the injured plaintiff — in that case, the defendant who sought contribution from the state — did not suffice to satisfy the notice requirements of the statute.

The facts of Beaver are — as Sherwood acknowledges — remarkably similar to the facts of this case. Sherwood nevertheless insists that Beaver is not controlling, because, in her view, the relevant statutes have changed in material respects.

First, Sherwood notes that, in 1985, the legislature amended ORS 30.265(1) to provide:

“Subject to the limitations of ORS 30.260

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
985 P.2d 870, 161 Or. App. 376, 1999 Ore. App. LEXIS 1240, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mitchell-v-sherwood-orctapp-1999.