Senate Bill 2845

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 11-46-11, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CLARIFY THE STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS AND NOTICES TO BE PROVIDED; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. Section 11-46-11, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

11-46-11. (1) After all procedures within a governmental entity have been exhausted, any person having a claim * * * under * * * this chapter * * * shall proceed as he might in any action at law or in equity * * *, except that at least ninety (90) days before instituting suit, the person must file a notice of claim with the chief executive officer of the governmental entity.

(2) (a) Service of notice of claim shall be made as follows:

(i) For local governments:

1. If the governmental entity is a county, then upon the chancery clerk of the county sued;

2. If the governmental entity is a municipality, then upon the city clerk.

(ii) If the governmental entity to be sued is a state entity as defined in Section 11-46-1(j) or a political subdivision other than a county or municipality, service of notice of claim shall be had only upon that entity's chief executive officer, who shall notify the board within five (5) days after receipt thereof if the governmental entity is participating in a plan administered by the board pursuant to Section 11-46-7(3) * * *.

(b) Every notice of claim * * * shall:

(i) Be in writing; * * *

(ii) * * * Be delivered in person or by registered or certified United States mail; and

(iii) * * * Contain a short and plain statement of the facts upon which the claim is based, including the circumstances which brought about the injury, the extent of the injury, the time and place the injury occurred, the names of all persons known to be involved, the amount of money damages sought, and the residence of the person making the claim at the time of the injury and at the time of filing the notice.

(3) (a) All actions brought under * * * this chapter shall be commenced within one (1) year next after the date of the tortious, wrongful or otherwise actionable conduct on which the liability phase of the action is based, and not after, except that:

(i) For a claim against a state entity as defined in Section 11-46-1(j), filing * * * a notice of claim * * * will toll the statute of limitations for * * * ninety-five (95) days from the date the chief executive officer of the state entity receives the notice of claim.

(ii) For a political subdivision, filing a notice of claim will toll the statue of limitations for one hundred twenty (120) days from the date the chief executive officer or other statutorily designated official of a municipality, county or * * * political subdivision other than a municipality or county receives the notice of claim.

(b) * * * No action may be maintained by the claimant until the claimant receives a notice of denial of claim or the tolling period expires, whichever comes first.

(c) When the tolling period expires or the governmental entity denies the claim, the claimant has an additional ninety (90) days to file an action * * *.

(d) All notices of denial of claim shall be served by governmental entities upon claimants by certified mail, return receipt requested, only.

(e) (i) To determine the running of limitations periods under this chapter, service of any notice of claim or notice of denial of claim is effective upon delivery by the methods statutorily designated in this chapter.

(ii) The limitations period provided in this section controls and shall be exclusive in all actions subject to and brought under the provisions of this chapter, notwithstanding the nature of the claim, the label or other characterization the claimant may use to describe it, or the provisions of any other statute of limitations that would otherwise govern the type of claim or legal theory if it were not subject to or brought under the provisions of this chapter.

(4) From and after April 1, 1993, if any person entitled to bring any action under this chapter shall, at the time at which the cause of action accrued, be under the disability of infancy or unsoundness of mind, he may bring the action within the time allowed in this section after his disability shall be removed as provided by law. The savings in favor of persons under disability of unsoundness of mind shall never extend longer than twenty-one (21) years.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2012.