[11] These unrelated cases were consolidated for argument on appeal because they involve the same legal issue: the require *467 ments for a valid notice of claim under the Wyoming Governmental Claims Act (the WGCA). In both cases, we affirm the granting of summary judgment to the defendants.
FACTS
Case No. 03-241
[T2] On September 22, 2000, Terry Bell (Bell) was involved in the third of a series of car accidents caused by poor weather conditions. Bell was asked by a responding Wyoming state trooper to sit in a patrol vehicle at the seene. The patrol vehicle was subsequently struck by another oncoming vehicle, causing the injuries claimed by Bell in this case.
[13] On November 20, 2001, Bell presented to the State a notice of claim seeking compensation as a result of the collision. The claim was denied and Bell filed suit in federal district court. That suit was later dismissed without prejudice and, on March 20, 2003, Bell filed a complaint in state district court.
[T4] In their answer to 'the latter complaint, the State alleged that Bell's notice of claim failed to comply with Wyo. Const. art. 16, § 7 and, therefore, failed to comply with the WGCA. The State also filed a motion for judgment on the pleadings or, in the alternative, for summary judgment. The gravamen of the State's argument was that the notice of claim was not signed by Bell, but by his attorney, and it was not certified under penalty of perjury. The district court heard and begrudgingly granted the State's motion:
While this judge has some significant reservations concerning the legal analysis supporting the Beaulieu [v. Florquist,2001 WY 33 , 11 15, 17, 20 P.8d 521, 527 (Wyo.2001)] ruling, it appears that the mandates of that decision are clear. Applying those mandates to the matter at hand, it is nee-essary to conclude that the. initial claim submitted on behalf of Bell does not comply with the requirements that it be signed by the claimant, and that it be certified under penalty of perjury.
The district court refers to the "initial" claim because, on December 7, 2002, while the matter was pending in federal court, Bell presented and served on the State a document entitled "Certification Under Wyo. Const. Art. 16 § 7," in which he certified to the truth and accuracy of the notice of claim, under penalty of perjury, and certified that his attorney signed the notice of claim with Bell's knowledge and authority.
Case No. 04-1
[15] On June 3, 1999, Anita Clark (Clark) was driving a vehicle that collided with a vehicle being driven by Quince Olsen, an employee of the State Department of Agriculture. On May 10, 2001, Clark presented to the State a notice of claim based upon the accident. Upon receiving no response to the notice of claim, Clark filed a complaint in state district court on May 1, 2002.
[T6] The State responded to Clark's:complaint by filing a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. The basis for the motion was the fact that the notice of claim was not certified under penalty of perjury, as required by the WGCA, by Wyo. Const. art. 16, § 7, and by Beqaulieu v. Florquist,
[17] Following the district court's ruling on its motion to dismiss, the State answered the complaint and filed a motion for summary judgment. The motion for summary judgment asked the district court to look once again at Bequliew I and to reconsider its conclusion that Clark's initial notice of *468 claim was valid. The State argued that Beaulieu I clearly mandated that, to be valid, a notice of claim must meet the requirements of both the WGCA and Wyo. Const. art. 16, § 7, meaning that Clark's initial notice of claim was not valid because it did not meet the constitutional signature and certification requirements. Further, the State contended that Clark's belated attempt to cure that defect failed because it was done after the statutory period for filing a notice of claim had expired. The district court agreed and granted summary judgment.
ISSUES
[18] We will restate the issues as follows:
1. Were the initial notices of claim invalid because they were neither signed by the claimants nor certified under penalty of perjury?
2. If the initial notices of claim were invalid, was that invalidity overcome by application of Wyoming's savings statute?
3. If the initial notices of claim were invalid, was that invalidity cured by later signature by the claimant certified under penalty of perjury?
4. Should the State be equitably estopped from raising the constitutional signature and certification requirements as a defense?
5. Do the district court's rulings violate public policy?
STANDARD OF REVIEW
[19] Our standard for reviewing summary judgments was set forth in Beaulieu I,
DISCUSSION
Validity of the Initial Claims
[110] Bequliey I did not create new law. Rather, Bequlieu I clarified that it has always been the law that governmental claims must meet the requirements not just of the WGCA, but also of Wyo. Const. art. 16, § 7. Beaulieu I,
[111] The direct effect of the holding in Bequlieu I was to save the plaintiffs' cause of action from a statute of limitations attack. This Court reversed the district court's application of the one-year period for filing an action based upon a governmental claim because no valid governmental claim had yet been presented. Beqauliew I,
The Savings Statute
[112] It is difficult to address. this issue because the parties' arguments in regard to it are "like ships passing in the night" and because the district court did not consider the savings statute in its decision in either case. 3 We will begin our discussion by recit, ing the statute:
If in an action commenced in due time a judgment for the plaintiff is reversed, or if the plaintiff fails otherwise than upon the merits and the time limited for the commencement of the action has expired at the date of the reversal or failure, the plaintiff, or his representatives if he dies and if the cause of action survives, may commence a new action within one (1) year after the date of the failure or reversal. This provision also applies to any claim assérted in any pleading by a defendant.
Wyo. Stat. Ann. § (LexisNexis 2003). -
[T13] In their answer to Bell's state district court complaint, the State defendants alleged that the complaint was untimely in that it had not been "commenced in accordance with" the savings statute. Bell's responsive motion to strike contended that his state court complaint was timely filed after his federal court complaint was dismissed. In his brief opposing the State's motion for summary judgment, Bell broadened his argument by contending that, even if the savings statute did not apply, the statute of limitations was tolled during the pendency of the federal case. In finding the claim presented by Bell to be defective, the district court mentioned neither the savings statute nor Bell's tolling argument.
[114] Confusion begins to enter the pic'— ture in the parties' appellate briefs. Bell's principal brief restates his belief that his state court complaint was timely under the savings statute. The State's brief, however, treats the savings statute issue as one having to do with the timely presentation of a notice of claim, as opposed to the timely filing of a complaint. Beyond that, the State also contends that savings statutes do not apply to periods of limitation found in specialized statutes whose effect is to create a cause of action that did not exist at common law. Finally, in his reply brief, Bell points out that the savings statute played no part in- the district court's decision, and he declines ever having "proposed that the savings statute extended to, or in any way affected his government claim." |
[T 15] We conclude that resolving the savings statute issue is not necessary to resolving these appeals. As recognized by the district court, these cases rise and fall on the question of the validity of the notices of claim. . If the claims were not valid, it does not matter whether the complaints were timely filed. Furthermore, Clark has not raised the issue at all, and Bell has not contended that the statute applies to the presentation of a notice of claim. We, therefore, will not further consider the matter. 4
Cure
[116] Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 1-89-113(a) requires that a claim be presented to the governmental entity within two years of the alleged act, error, or omission. Two years from the Bell accident was September 22, 2002. < Two years from the Clark accident *470 was June 3, 2001. No valid claim was timely presented in either case. Bell attempted to cure that deficiency on December 7, 2002, two-and-a-half months after the statutory period expired. Clark's similar effort on May 28, 2002, was nearly a full year late. Both Bell and Clark now want this Court to hold that their respective curative effort relates back to the date of presentment of the invalid notice of claim.
[117] Bell's and Clark's cure argument is grounded in the relation back doctrine. We recently described that doctrine, although in a different context:
The [relation back] doctrine invokes the "principle by which, when an act is done at one time, it is considered, by a fiction of law, as if done at some antecedent time." 2 Clesson S. Kinney, A Treatise on the Law of Irrigation and Water Rights § 748 at 1284-85 (2d ed.1912).
In re the General Adjudication of All Rights to Use Water in Big Horn River System,
[118] Before we discuss the possible application of the relation back doctrine in the present cases, it will be helpful to review the factual and legal context. Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 1-39-118(a) requires claims to be presented to the governmental entity within two years of the date of the alleged act, error, or omission. Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 1-89-114 requires actions against governmental entities based on those claims to be filed within one year of such presentment. We are being asked to apply the relation back doctrine in the first situation, not the second. 5 In other words, the question is not whether the doe-trine applies to the filing of an amended complaint or other pleading; the question is whether the doctrine applies to the presentment of a second notice of claim after the two-year period stated in Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 1-39-113(a) has expired. More precisely, the question is whether the presentment of a verified notice of claim after expiration of the statutory period "relates back" to the date the original unverified notice of claim was presented to the governmental entity, so as to "cure" the deficiency.
[119] Also pertinent to this discussion is recognition that the relation back doctrine, as it relates to court pleadings, has been adopted by this Court in W.R.C.P. 15(c):
Relation back of amendments. -An amendment of a pleading relates back to the date of the original pleading when:
(1) Relation back is permitted by the law that provides the statute of limitations applicable to the action; or
(2) The claim or defense asserted in the amended pleading arose out of the conduct, transaction, or occurrence set forth or attempted to be set forth in the original pleading; or
(3) The amendment changes the party or the naming of the party against whom a claim is asserted if the forgoing provision (2) is satisfied and, within 120 days after the filing of the complaint, the party to be brought in by amendment (A) has received such notice of the institution of the action that the party will not be prejudiced in maintaining a defense on the merits, and (B) knew or should have known that, but for a mistake concerning the identity of the proper party, the action would have been brought against the party.
[120] The parties have cited numerous cases in which courts have applied, or declined to apply, the relation back doctrine. We will briefly address those cases, although many of them are of little assistance because their facts are dissimilar or because their holdings rely upon local rules or statutes. The cases do, however, present a good picture of the general nature and purpose of the relation back doctrine.
[121] In 1948, the Appellate Court of Indiana held that timely verification of a will
*471
contest petition was not jurisdictional, and thus the lack of a required verification could be cured by the filing of an untimely verified petition. Workman v. Workman,
[122] We have already noted herein Big Horn River System,
[123] Unfortunately, none of these cases answers the question now before this Court. The notice of claim coritemplated under Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 1-89-118 is not, of course, a court pleading, and Bell and Clark have provided neither cogent argument nor compelling authority for the proposition that W.R.C.P. 15(c) applies to anything other than court pleadings.
6
There are a few cases, however, that do more directly address our issue. In Edelman v. Lynchburg College,
*472
[¥24] Also published in 2002, and more directly on point with our case, is Wilson v. City of Buffalo,
[125] This last-mentioned holding from Wilson leads to the next point of discussion-what is the nature of the notice of claim requirement found in Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 1-39-113(a)? There are three distinct types of statutes that have been characterized as statutes of limitation:
"Special" statutes of limitation have jurisdictional effect. They are included in statutes creating a new right and become elements of that right, limiting its availability; compliance with such a statute is a condition precedent to prosecution of a claim. Commonwealth v. Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corp.,288 Va. 595 , 598-99,385 S.E.2d 865 , 867 (1989); Harper v. City of Richmond,220 Va. 727 , 788,261 S.E.2d 560 , 567 (1980). Another type of statute of limitations is a "statute of repose." This involves a legislatively mandated limitation which reflects a policy determination that a point in time arrives beyond which a potential defendant should be immune from liability for past conduct. School Bd. of the City of Norfolk v. United States Gypsum Co.,284 Va. 82 , 37,360 S.E.2d 325 , 327-28 (1987). Of course, there is a third type of limitation, the so-called "pure" or procedural statute of limitations, which serves only to place a time limit upon assertion of a remedy and furnishes an affirmative defense that may be waived. Owens-Corning,288 Va. at 598 ,385 S.E.2d at 867 .
Friends of Clark Mountain Foundation, Inc. v. Board of Sup'rs of Orange County,
[126] We have distinguished statutes of limitation from statutes of repose as follows:
" 'Statutes of repose and statutes of limitations are often confused. They are similar in that both prescribe the time period within which a plaintiff may commence his suit. The distinguishing feature between the two is the time at which the respective periods commence. Generally, * * * if the plaintiff's cause of action acerues and the statutory period commences when the injury occurs, or, as is most often the case, when the plaintiff is or should be aware that he has been injured, the statute is properly termed a statute of limitations. If the statutory period commences upon the occurrence of an event, regardless of when the injury occurs, at a time when the plaintiff may or may not be aware of any injury, the statute is properly termed a statute of repose." "
Bredthauer v. TSP,
[127] The concept of the "special" or "jurisdictional" statute of limitations, or the "something else altogether," carries various *473 appellations, but the underlying legal theory is the same:
[T]he rule [is] that where a statute creates a right unknown to the common law and in the same statute fixes a time limit within which an action must be brought, ordinarily the limitation so fixed is construed as a condition on the right itself so that the right is extinguished by the lapse of the time fixed in the statute. Both respondents cite and quote from 84 Am.Jur., Limitation of Actions, see. 7, pp. 16-17, which may be accepted as a fair statement of the rule and its limitations:
"A statute of limitations should be differentiated from conditions which are annexed to a right of action created by statute. A statute which in itself creates a new liability, gives an action to enforce it unknown to the common law, and fixes the time within which that action may be commenced, is not a statute of limitations. It is a statute of creation, and the commencement of the action within the time it fixes is an indispensable condition of the liability and of the action which it permits. The time element is an inherent element of the right so created, and the limitation of the remedy is a limitation of the right. Such a provision will control, no matter in what form the action is brought. The statute is an offer of an action on condition that it be commenced within the specified time. If the offer is not accepted in the only way in which it can be accepted, by a commencement of the action within the specified time, the action and the right of action no longer exist, and the defendant is exempt from liability. Whether an enactment is of this nature, or whether it is a statute of limitations, should be determined from a proper construction of its terms. Generally, the limitation clause is found in the same statute, if not in the same section, as the one creating the new liability, but the fact that this is the case is material only as bearing on questions of construction; it is merely a ground for saying that the limitation goes to the right created, and accompanies the obligation everywhere. The same conclusion may be reached if the limitation is in a different statute, provided it is directed to the newly created liability so specifically as to warrant saying that it qualifies the right."
Myers v. Stevenson,
[128] Many courts describe statutes of this nature as "nonclaim" statutes. A non-claim statute is a "law extinguishing a claim that is not timely asserted, esp. in the context of another proceeding." Black's Law Dictionary 1421 (7th ed.1999). The effect is essentially the same, whether the statute is denominated a nonclaim statute or a jurisdictional statute or a statute of creation or a condition precedent:
"[A] nonclaim statute ... grants to every person having a claim of any kind or character against a decedent's estate, the right to file the same in the court having jurisdiction thereof and have the same adjudicated, provided such claim is filed within the time specified in the statute. Unless such claim is filed within the time so allowed by the statute, it is forever barred. The time element is a built-in condition of the said statute and is of the essence of the right of action. Unless the claim is filed within the pre-seribed time set out in the statute, no enforceable right of action is created. While such statutes limit the time in which a claim may be filed or an action brought, they have nothing in common with and are not to be confused with general statutes of limitation. The former creates a right of action if commenced within the time prescribed by the statute, whereas the latter creates a *474 defense to an action brought after the expiration of the time allowed by law for the bringing of such an action."
[Donnella v. Crady,185 Ind.App. 60 , 62-63,185 N.E.2d 623 , 624 (1962) ]. Thus, the statute is a nonclaim statute when "there is clearly evidenced a legislative intent in [the] statute to not merely withhold the remedy, but to take away the right of recovery where a claimant fails to present his claim as provided in the statute." Rising Sun State Bank v. Fessler,400 N.E.2d 1164 , 1166 (Ind.Ct.App.1980).
Estate of Decker v. Farm Credit Services of Mid-America, ACA,
[129] This Court's experience with non-claim statutes primarily has been with Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 2-7-708(a) (LexisNexis 2003), the probate notice of claim statute. Recently, we described that statutory filing requirement as a condition precedent, rather than a statute of limitations:
The Personal Representatives of the Estate counter that our decision in State ex rel. State Bd. of Charities and Reform v. Bower,362 P.2d 814 (Wyo.1961) makes Wyo. Stat. § 2-7-708(a) applicable to HCF [Department of Health, Division of Health Care Financing], because the notice of claim requirement is a condition precedent, not a statute of limitations. We agree with the Personal Representatives of the Estate that Wyo. Stat. § 2-7-708(a) is not a statute of limitations, and that the State is subject to its provisions.
Statutes of limitation place time limits on the filing of a cause of action. Such statutes are a "declar[ation] that no suit shall be maintained on such causes of action * * * unless brought within a specified period of time after the right acerued." Black's Law Dictionary 927 (6th ed.1990). They create a defense to suit which must be pled and may be waived. See Bower,362 P.2d at 823 (quoting Donnally v. Montgomery County Welfare Bd.,200 Md. 534 ,92 A.2d 354 , 358 (1952)). Statutes of limitation are applicable only when affirmative relief is sought. Boller v. Western Law Associates, P.C.,828 P.2d 1184 , 1187 (Wyo.), cert. denied,506 U.S. 869 ,113 S.Ct. 198 , 121 LEd.2d 140 (1992). With respect to claims against an estate, there is no access to the courts, and thus no affirmative relief is sought, until the claim has been denied by the personal representative. Taylor v. Estate of Taylor,719 P.2d 234 , 288 (Wyo.1986). After rejection of the claim, Wyo. Stat. § 2-7-7118 allows the claimant thirty days in which to file an action in district court. This thirty-day limitation period constitutes a statute of limitations which may be raised as a defense to an action filed after that deadline. See Taylor,719 P.2d at 238, 239 .
Matter of Estate of Campbell,
[130] The statutory scheme for presentment of a governmental notice of claim and the subsequent filing of a complaint is analogous. Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 1-89-118(a) is not a statute of limitations; rather, it creates a statutory condition precedent to the filing of a civil action. Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 1-89-114 is a statute of limitations because it establishes a time limitation upon the seeking of affirmative relief from the judicial system. 9 This distinction is important because exceptions to *475 the application of a statute of limitations are not automatically exceptions to the application of a condition precedent. We have already noted herein that it is doubtful that the savings statute applies to conditions precedent, and we have not been provided with cogent argument or citation to controlling authority to convince us that W.R.C.P. 15(e)'s relation back provision applies to anything but court pleadings.
[131] This Court has not previously answered the precise question raised in this case-whether a defective notice of a governmental claim can be cured after passage of the statutory period for filing of such claims-but Beaulieu I and Beaulieu II, and the cases cited therein, have established that the notice of claim requirement is clearly jurisdictional.
10
Furthermore, we held in Awe v. University of Wyoming,
[132] Other courts have grappled with these issues, with varying results. See for example, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center v. Shalala,
(T33] If a general rule can be said to exist, that rule would be (1) that governmental notice of claim statutes gre jurisdictional nonclaim statutes, rather than statutes of limitations, and (2) a defective notice of claim cannot be cured by untimely amendment under the relation back docfcrifie. 'See 51 Am. Jur.2d Limitation of Actions, supra, §§ 10-12, 20-26, 30. That rule, however, is not universal. In Negron v. Llarena,
[T34] We are convinced that the clear and unambiguous language of Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 1-39-1183(a) makes it a nonclaim statute, in the traditional sense. Thus, the timely presentment of a notice of claim is a condition precedent to suit, is jurisdictional, and cannot be waived. The notice of claim provision is not a statute of limitations, but is a substantive element of the right to sue. Therefore, the right to sue ceases to exist when the limitation period expires and no valid notice of claim has been presented. It follows that, the right having expired, it cannot be resurrected by the later untimely presentment of a non-defective notice of claim.
[185] In reaching this conclusion, we re-jeet the reasoning of Negron and like cases. Our reading of cases from across the nation
*476
suggests that the legislative purpose/public policy argument is little more than gloss over judicial legislating. It is the product of courts wanting to avoid the sometimes harsh result of the application of the traditional rule. See, for example, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, 125 F.8d at 770 (broad use of exceptions to bar of statute "as a practically useful principle of interpretation"); FDIC.,
[186] We have said many times that courts are not free to legislate, and we cannot create exceptions in the face of clear legislation to the contrary. Scott
Equitable Estoppel
[137] Bell did not in this appeal raise the issue of equitable estoppel. 11 Clark's principal brief contains a twelve-line argument, with no case citations, in which she contends that the State's "course of conduct" over the years in not raising the issue of certification should equitably estop it from now raising the issue.
[¥38] Generally, we will not address issues that have not been properly raised or supported by appropriate references to the record, citations to legal authority, and cogent argument. State ex rel. Reece v. Wyoming State Bd. of Outfitters and Professional Guides,
Public Policy
[139] As with the issue of equitable es-toppel, the issue of public policy was raised by Clark, but not by Bell. And as with the issue of equitable estoppel, Clark has not supported her public policy argument with references to the record or citations to persuasive authority. Instead, after suggesting that the public policy of concern is the policy behind Wyo. Const. art. 16, § 7, that being "to protect the public (taxpayers) from money being paid out of the State coffers unless it is for a bona fide claim," Clark basically repeats her equitable estoppel argument. She does not explain how the district court's ruling, which ruling might seem to enforce that policy, actually offends it. Therefore, we decline to address the issue.
CONCLUSION
[140] Bell and Clark presented putative notices of claim that were neither signed by them nor certified under penalty of perjury. Those notices of claim were invalid under the WGCA because they did not meet the requirements of Wyo. Const. art. 16, § 7. The belated attempts to cure the deficiencies were ineffective because the limitation period of the nonclaim statute had passed, thereby extinguishing the statutory right to sue the state. Bell and Clark have not shown that the deficient notices of claim were, or could be, salvaged by the savings statute, by the doctrine of equitable estoppel, or as a matter of public policy.
[T41] We affirm in both cases.
Notes
. (a) No action shall be brought under this act against a governmental entity unless the claim upon which the action is based is presented to the entity as an itemized statement in writing within two (2) years of the date of the alleged act, error or omission, except that a cause of action may be instituted not more than two (2) years after discovery of the alleged act, error or omission, if the claimant can establish that the alleged act, error or omission was:
(i) Not reasonably discoverable within a two (2) year period; or
(ii) The claimant failed to discover the alleged act, error or omission within the two (2) year period despite the exercise of due diligence.
Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 1-39-113(a).
Except as otherwise provided, actions against a governmental entity or a public employee acting within the scope of his duties for torts occurring after June 30, 1979 which are subject to this act shall be forever barred unless commenced within one (1) year after the date the claim is filed pursuant to W.S. 1-39-113.
*469 Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 1-39-114.
. Wyo. Stat,. Ann. § 1-39-113(a) says "presented." Wyo. Stat,. Aun. § 1-39-114 says "filed." We assume, having been shown nothing to the contrary, that the two words mean the same thing.
. Bell, but not Clark, raised the savings statute both below and in this appeal.
. For the proposition that savings statutes do not apply to presentation of the governmental claim, as opposed to filing of the complaint, see Awe v. University of Wyoming,
. In Mountain View/Evergreen Imp. and Service Dist. v. Brooks Water and Sewer Dist.,
. Some courts have compared the relation back of amended court pleadings to other situations. See, for example, Chisholm v. Vocational School for Girls,
. The court in Edelman relied upon Becker v. Montgomery,
. See Kuntz v. Kinne,
. We need not decide at this time whether Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 1-39-114 is a special substantive statute of limitations or a "traditional" procedural statute of limitations.
. We avoided answering the question in the probate context in Bower,
. " 'Equitable estoppel is the effect of the voluntary conduct of a party whereby he is absolutely precluded from asserting rights which might otherwise have existed as against another person who has in good faith relied upon such conduct and has been led thereby to change his position for the worse. aa Beaulieu II,