COURT UPHOLDS STRICT RULES FOR CLAIMS AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT

4-5-07

            We have written in our Blog of the importance of hiring an experienced attorney when dealing with claims against government entities.   This recommendation is reinforced by a recent Nebraska Supreme Court holding upholding a lower court decision to dismiss a claim for failing to fully comply with the technical requirements of Nebraska's laws dealing with the procedures that must be followed in order to allow a lawsuit against a government entity.  

            In Geddes v. York County, 273 Neb. 271 (2007), the Nebraska Supreme Court confronted a case where a lawyer failed to wait the full six month waiting period after filing written notice of the injury claim with the governmental agency.  The lawyer actually filed suit on the six month anniversary of filing the claim.   I a rather "harsh" decision, the court acknowledged the strict rule, but still found that the case had to be dismissed because the governmental agency was entitled to one more day in which to consider the claim before the claimant's attorney was permitted to withdraw the claim for purposes of filing suit.

            The Nebraska Supreme Court also commented that the lower court had also made a finding that the limitations period for filing suit against the government agency had also expired, but that the claimant's lawyer did not assign an error to that lower court finding and did not appeal on that issue.  That precluded the Supreme Court's consideration of that issue.   It is likely that the lower court's ruling may have been erroneously decided because the filing of the written notice of the claim is generally found to extend the two year limitations period for filing suit.

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