[¶ 1] Fathy Messiha appealed a summary judgment dismissing his action for wrongful termination and other claims against the State, acting through the University of North Dakota, and its officers and servants, Thomas Clifford, Kendall Baker, Clayton Jensen, and Sally Page.
[¶2] The UND School of Medicine hired Messiha as a tenured professor and chair of the Department of Pharmacology in April 1987. After some internal conflicts in the department, Messiha was relieved of his duties as department chair in September 1988, but remained as a tеnured professor. Messiha thereafter filed several grievances about his employment with UND, and in 1993 UND President Baker appointed an Administrative Review Team to consider Messiha’s “formal disagreements” with UND. After a two-day review in May 1993,
[¶ 3] In June 1993, UND President Baker notified Messiha that UND intended to terminate his employment as a tenured professor for cause, because his conduct “substantially impaired the fulfillment of [his] institutional responsibilities and substantially obstructed and disrupted departmental, college, and university activities.” Baker notified Messiha the dismissal would be effective July 1, 1993, unless Messiha exercised his appeal rights under the UND Faculty Handbook.
[¶ 4] Messiha appealed to a Special Review Committee that concluded the proceedings for dismissal of Messiha were “appropriate, timely; and in аccord with university policies and practices.” Messiha then appealed to a Standing Committee on Faculty Rights (SCOFR). After a formal hearing, the SCOFR found clear and convincing evidence that Messiha had intentionally and substantially disrupted teaching activities at UND and had interfered with his colleagues’ rights of free inquiry and expression of opinions. In April 1994, the SCOFR reсommended that Messiha be terminated as a tenured professor.
[¶ 5] Baker accepted the SCOFR recommendation and reaffirmed his June 1993 decision to terminate Messiha’s employment. Messiha then appealed to the North Dakota State Board of Higher Education. After review by an administrative hearing officer who recommended affirming UND’s action, the Board of Higher Education upheld Mess-iha’s termination in September 1995.
[¶ 6] Meanwhile, in September 1994, Mess-iha sued the State, acting through UND, and Baker, Clifford, Jensen, and Page, alleging breach of contract, deprivation of property without due process, and defamation. In April 1997, Messiha moved to amend his complaint to allege claims for breach of tenure against UND, tortious interference with contract against Joseph Miceli and the More-house School of Medicine, civil conspiracy
against UND and Miceli, and a personnel file violation against UND. The trial court allowed Messiha to amend his complaint to add the breach-of-tenure claim to clarify that his breach-of-contract claim also covered the termination of his employment, but the court denied his request to add other claims to the complaint. The court then granted summary judgment dismissing Messiha’s complaint, and he appealed.
I
[¶ 7] Messiha contends the trial court abused its discretion in denying his motion to amend his complaint. After a responsive pleading is served, N.D.R.Civ.P. 15(a) allows amendment of pleadings “only by leave of court or by written consent of the adverse party; and leave shall be freely given when justice so requires.” A trial court has discretion to grant or deny amendments to pleadings under N.D.R.Civ.P. 15(a), and we will not reverse the court’s decision absent an abuse of discretion. Isaac v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co.,
[¶ 8] Messiha served his initial complaint in September 1994, and he moved to amend it in April 1997. During part of that time, Messiha exercised his internal administrative rights at UND, culminating with the State Board of Higher Education’s decision to uphold his termination in September 1995. However, Messiha waited until April 1997 before seeking to amend his complаint. The trial court concluded Messiha had shown no reason for the long delay, and decided the delay was not justified and may not have been in the interests of justice. The court, however, observed UND had not claimed prejudice and, except for the breach-of-tenure claim, denied Messiah’s motion to amend, concluding the evidence did not suрport his other claims.
A
[¶ 9] Messiha’s claim for tortious interference with contract against Miceli and
Based upon the record, there were numerous grievances filed by and against [Mess-iha] long before the letter of Dr. Miceli reached the Administrative Review Team. Furthermore, the decision to terminate [Messiha] was based upon those numerous episodes. See Findings of the Administrative Hearing Officer. There is no evidence at all which would tend to show that Dr. Mieeli’s letter in any way influenced the decision of the Team nor of any of the Defendants.
[¶ 10] To establish a facial case for tortious interference with contract, a claimant must show a breach of contract instigated without justification by the defendant. Hennum v. City of Medina,
B
[¶ 11] Messiha asserts the trial court erred in denying his motion to amend to add a claim for civil conspiracy against the UND defendants and Miceli. The court concluded there was nothing to show an understanding between Miceli and the UND defendants and denied Messiha’s motion.
[¶ 12] A civil conspiracy requires an agreement between parties to inflict a wrong or an injury upon another. Burr v. Kulas,
C
[¶ 13] Messiha contends the trial court erred in denying his motion to amend his complaint against the UND defendants to add a claim for violations of the law against a secret personnel file. The court ruled Mess-iha had failed to produce any documents or other information that was kept secretly from him in violation of N.D.C.C. § 15-38.2-06, and the interests of justice precluded him from amending his complaint as a fishing expedition to find possible statutory violations. The court’s decision was not arbitrary, unconscionable, or unreasonable, and therefore was not an abuse of discretion.
II
[¶ 14] Messiha argues the trial court erred in granting summary judgment dismissal of his remaining claims. We review these issues under the summary judgment standards of N.D.R.Civ.P. 56. In Perry Center, Inc. v. Heitkamp,
[¶ 15] A party resisting summary judgment may not simply rely upon pleadings or unsupported conclusory allegations, but must present competent admissible evidence by affidavit or other comparable means that raises a dispute of material fact and must, if appropriate, draw the court’s attention to relevant evidence in the record by citing the page and line in depositions or other documents containing evidence that disputes a material fact. Kummer v. City of Fargo,
A
[¶ 16] Messiha asserts the trial court erred in dismissing his contractual claims against UND and its officials. The court ruled Messiha failed to comply with the notice requirements of the pre-1991 version of N.D.C.C. § 32-12-03:
No action upon a claim arising upon contract for the recovery of money only can be maintained against the state until the claim has been presented to the office of management and budget for allowance and allowance thereof refused. The neglect or refusal of the office to act on such claim for a period of ten days after its presentation for allowance shall be deemed a refusal to allow the claim.
In 1991, the Legislature amended N.D.C.C. § 32-12-03 to require contractual claims for money to be presented to the “department, institution, agency, board, or commission to which the claim relates” instead of the “office of management and budget.” 1991 N.D. Sess. Laws eh. 359, § 1. Messiha asserts his claims are governed by the 1991 version of the statute and the exhaustion of his administrative remedies at UND and by appeal tо the Board of Higher Education satisfied the requirements of that statute.
[¶ 17] In Livingood v. Meece, All N.W.2d 183, 188-89 (N.D.1991), we recognized the Legislature had amended N.D.C.C. § 32-12-03 in 1991, but we applied the earlier version of the statute and held it required a claimant making a contractual claim for the recovery of money against the State to present a written claim to OMB. We recognized one purpоse of the statute was to inform administrators of the amount of a claim so they had an opportunity to investigate and determine if it should be paid or disputed. Livingood, at 189. See Herman v. Magnuson,
[¶ 18] The 1991 amendments to N.D.C.C. § 32-12-03 were “housekeeping” changes intended to eliminate OMB from the process for making contractual claims against the State and, instead, to require a claim to be made directly to the appropriate department, institution, agency, board, or commission. Hearing on H.B. 1097 Before the Senate Judiciary Comm., 52nd N.D. Legis. Sess. (Jan. 28, 1991) (testimony of Bud Walsh, OMB Director of Accounting Operations). The 1991 amendments changed only the entity that must be presented with a written claim for money. Nothing in the legislative history suggests the amendments deleted the requiremеnt for presentment of a written claim for money. As in Livingood, we reject the argument that an administrative appeal satisfies the statutory requirement for presentment of a written claim for money. We believe construing the statute to allow an administrative appeal to satisfy the statutory requirement for presentment of a claim would make meaningless thе language requiring presentment of a claim for the recovery of money. We construe statutes to give meaning to each word and phrase, if possible. Raboin v. North Dakota Workers Comp. Bureau,
[¶ 19] Messiha’s complaint does not allege he presented a written claim for money to any еntity before bringing this action. See Livingood,
B
[¶20] Messiha argues the trial court erred in dismissing his noncontractual claims under the doctrine of sovereign immunity, because those claims did not accrue until after this Court abrogated sovereign immunity in Bulman v. Hulstrand Const. Co.,
[¶ 21] In Bulman,
A person bringing a claim against the state or a state employee for an injury shall present to the director of the office of management and budget within one hundred eighty days after the аlleged injury is discovered or reasonably should have been discovered a written notice stating the time, place, and circumstances of the injury, the names of any state employees known to be involved, and the amount of compensation or other relief demanded. The time for giving the notice does not include the time during which a person injured is incapacitated by the injury from giving the notice. If the claim is one for death, the notice may be presented by the personal representative, surviving spouse, or next of kin within one year after the alleged injury resulting in the death.
Under similar statutes, we have held that actual notice of a claim does not satisfy the
[¶22] Messiha failed to present any evidence by affidavit or otherwise that he presented a written claim for compensation to OMB as required by N.D.C.C. § 32-12.2-04. We therefore hold the trial court did not err in granting summary judgment dismissal of his noncontractual claims.
[¶23] We affirm the summary judgment dismissal of Messiha’s complaint.
Notes
. Clifford and Baker each served as UND’s president during this action, and Jensen was interim dean of the UND School of Medicine. Although Messiha's complаint did not describe Page’s office, she was identified in the record as an affirmative action officer at UND. Messiha's complaint alleged claims against the UND officers in their official capacities.
. The trial court ruled Messiha’s noncontractual claims were barred by sovereign immunity. Because we decide his noncontractual claims under N.D.C.C. § 32-12.2-04(1), wе do not need to decide when those claims accrued for purposes of the abrogation of sovereign immunity. We also do not consider UND's argument that its actions came under discretionary acts immunity under N.D.C.C. § 32-12.2-02(3). See Perry Center,