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Bryant v. City of Blackfoot5/31/2002
to a judgment as a matter of law. Id.
III.
ANALYSIS
A. DID IDAHO CODE § 50-219 REQUIRE BRYANT TO GIVE THE CITY TIMELY NOTICE OF HER CLAIMS FOR WRONGFUL TERMINATION AND BREACH OF THE COVENANT OF GOOD FAITH AND FAIR DEALING?
In her first and second causes of action, Bryant sought to recover damages for wrongful termination and for violation of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing. The district court dismissed those claims because she failed to comply with Idaho Code § 50-219. That statute provides, "All claims for damages against a city must be filed as prescribed by Chapter 9, Title 6, Idaho Code [the Idaho Tort Claims Act]." Section 6-906 of the Tort Claims Act provides that claims against a city must be presented to and filed with the city clerk within 180 days from the date the claim arose or reasonably should have been discovered, whichever is later.
Bryant contends that her claims for wrongful termination and breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing are actions for breach of contract and that Idaho Code § 50-219 does not apply to claims based upon breach of contract. We first addressed this issue in Harkness v. City of Burley, 110 Idaho 353, 715 P.2d 1283 (1986), wherein we upheld the dismissal of claims for breach of an employment contract and breach of the employer's duty of good faith and fair dealing because the plaintiff had failed to provide the city with timely notice of these claims as required by Idaho Code § 50-219. This Court again addressed the issue in Sweitzer v. Dean, 118 Idaho 568, 573, 798 P.2d 27, 32 (1990), wherein we stated, "We construe the language in I.C. § 50-219 to require that a notice of claim must be filed for all claims against a subdivision of the state, and not limited solely to tort claims."
Bryant's counsel stated that he elected not to file a notice of claim because of this Court's decision in City of Chubbuck v. City of Pocatello, 127 Idaho 198, 899 P.2d 411 (1995). According to him, the Chubbuck case conflicts with this Court's earlier decisions in Harkness and Sweitzer. In the Chubbuck case, the City of Chubbuck sued the City of Pocatello over a dispute regarding the rates that Pocatello charged Chubbuck for treating its wastewater. One of its claims for relief was breach of contract. Before filing the lawsuit, Chubbuck filed a notice of claim with the Pocatello City Clerk. No issue was raised regarding the notice requirements of Idaho Code § 50-219. Instead, Pocatello alleged that it was immune from suit under the provisions of the Idaho Tort Claims Act, I.C. §§ 6-901 et seq. This Court held that because Chubbuck's claim was based upon breach of contract, the immunity provisions of the Tort Claims Act did not bar Chubbuck's cause of action.
The holding in Chubbuck does not conflict with this Court's decisions in Harkness and Sweitzer. The issue in those two cases was not whether all provisions of the Idaho Tort Claims Act applied to actions for breach of contract. The issue was whether the language of Idaho Code § 50-219 providing that notice as required under the Tort Claims Act must be given for "all claims" for damages against a city including breach of contract claims. This Court's recognition in Harkness and Sweitzer that Idaho Code § 50-219 expressly incorporates by reference the notice of claim provisions of the Tort Claims Act for all claims against a city, including contract claims, does not conflict with this Court's holding in Chubbock that the immunity provisions of the Tort Claims Act do not apply to contract actions. The district court did not err in dismissing the claims for wrongful termination and breach of the covenant of good faith and fai
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