Brown v. Creek County, 2007 OK 56

In answering certain certified questions from the District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma, the Oklahoma Supreme Court faced the question of whether the time limitations contained in the Oklahoma Governmental Tort Claims Act ("GTCA") or the statute of limitations contained in 12 O.S. sec. 95(A)(11) applied to the plaintiff's claim. The GTCA generally requires that any action brought under the GTCA be filed within 180 days after the claim is denied or deemed denied. The statute of limitations, on the other hand, appeared to require that certain prisoner-lawsuits be brought within one year of "accrual."

HELD: The Court first addressed the date on which a GTCA claim "accures." While recognizing disparate case law on the issue, the Court ultimately concluded that a review of the more "prevalent" articulations "leads one to the inescapable conclusion that a cause of action does not accrue until the claim may be maintained." In the case of a GTCA claim, a claim cannot be maintained until the claim has been denied (or until the claim has been "deemed" denied). This is because the plaintiff has no access to the courts while awaiting the political subdivision's decision.

Once the GTCA claim has "accrued," the GTCA itself governs the time limit within which the action must be filed. The statute of limitations contained in 12 O.S. sec. 95(A)(11) apparently has no application in such a situation. The language of the GTCA compelled this result, as did the principle that, in the case of a conflict, the specific controls the general.
Opinion

Miller Dollarhide, P.C., v. Moshe Tal, 2007 OK 58

The plaintiff had, on several occasions, requested that the trial judge recuse from the case on the basis of "bias." The trial judge refused. While the plaintiff pursued several remedies related to the recusal issue, the trial court entered a default judgment against the plaintiff. The plaintiff later attempted to have the judgment vacated in light of the pending recusal proceedings, but the trial judge denied his request.

HELD: The trial court erred in continuing to entertain proceedings during the pendency of the disqualification process. "When a Rule 15 proceeding to seek disqualification of a trial judge is initiated, the trial court must refrain from presiding over the case until the disqualification ruling is memorialized and the movant has, at the movant's option, exhausted the Rule 15 procedure." In fact, the trial court has no discretion in this regard; it must refrain from further participation, lest a party's right to due process of law be violated.

The Court also held that the trial court abused its discretion in refusing to disqualify on the basis of "bias." The Court cited certain dialogue between the trial judge and the plaintiff, and held that "although the trial court may have believed himself to be unprejudiced, unbiased and impartial, circumstances . . are of such a nature at to cause doubts as to the impartiality. . . [E]rror, if any, should be made in favor of disqualification."
Opinion

Williams v. CSC Credit Serv's, 07-255-CVE

Williams filed suit under both the Oklahoma Consumer Protection Act, (OCPA) (15 O.S. 751 et seq.), and the Fair Credit Reporting Act, (FCRA) (15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq), alleging Defendant credit reporting agency wilfully and maliciously refused to correct his credit report.

HELD: Willaims' FRCA claim is regulated by the Federal Trade Commission. The OCPA, in turn, exempts all claims that are regulated by other agencies. Therefore, because the FTC regulates Williams' FRCA claim, he cannot proceed under the OCPA.

Opinion

Claims of Deliberate Indifference

The June 2007 issue of For the Defense contains an article regarding civil rights claims of deliberate indifference in the correctional context. The article provides a framework for litigaitng such cases as well as practical defense considerations.

DRI Article - Section 1983 Claims - Deliberate Indifference to Serious Medical Needs