Date: 02-20-2002

Case Style: Ghorbanni v. North Dakota Council on the Arts

Case Number: 20010164

Judge: VandeWalle

Court: In The Supreme Court for the State of North Dakota

Plaintiff's Attorney: Albert A. Wolf (argued) and Steven L. Latham (on brief), Wheeler Wolf, P.O. Box 2056, Bismarck, N.D. 58502-2056.

Defendant's Attorney: Tag C. Anderson, Assistant Attorney General, Attorney General's Office, 500 N. 9th St., Bismarck, N.D. 58501-4509.

Description: [1] Daphne Ghorbanni appealed from a summary judgment dismissing her claims for retaliatory discharge and defamation against the North Dakota Council on the Arts and the State of North Dakota. We conclude Ghorbanni failed to properly give notice of her claims as required by statute, and we affirm.

I

[2] The North Dakota Council on the Arts ("the Council") is a statutorily created body made up of members appointed by the governor. N.D.C.C. § 54-54-02. Daphne Ghorbanni was hired as Executive Director of the Council by its chairman, David Trottier, in August 1999. See N.D.C.C. § 54-54-04 (the council chairman may employ officers and other employees of the Council, and "[s]uch persons shall serve at the pleasure of the chairman").

[3] In reviewing the Council's budget, Ghorbanni discovered several discrepancies, including alleged misuse of public funds. Ghorbanni reported these financial discrepancies to the Office of Management and Budget and submitted a written report for consideration by the Council at its meeting scheduled for May 5-6, 2000. Before Ghorbanni could present her allegations to the Council, Trottier terminated her employment on April 28, 2000. On May 1, 2000, Trottier gave a radio interview explaining alleged reasons for Ghorbanni's termination. On May 6, 2000, the governor issued a press release stating he supported Trottier's decision to terminate Ghorbanni and indicating Ghorbanni did not have the management skills the position required.

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Click the case caption above for the full text of the Court's opinion.

Outcome: [¶15] We conclude Ghorbanni's retaliatory discharge claim sounded in tort, and N.D.C.C. § 32-12.2-04(1) was the applicable notice-of-claim statute.

IV

[¶16] The summary judgment dismissing the complaint and the order denying Ghorbanni's motion to amend the judgment are affirmed.

Plaintiff's Experts: Unavailable

Defendant's Experts: Unavailable

Comments: C.L.