Pead v. Ephraim City, 2020 UT App 113 (Aug. 6, 2020)

This case involves the narrow intersection of timelines to file a complaint under Utah’s Whistleblower Act against a governmental entity that is subject to the Governmental Immunity Act.  Under the GIA, a claimant is required to file a notice of claim and allow the governmental entity sixty days to respond before filing a complaint in court.  Once the sixty-day notice of claim period has expired, the WBA’s 180-day statute of limitations comes into play.  In this case, the sixtieth calendar day from the plaintiff’s notice of claim fell on Sunday, December 24, and December 25 was a legal holiday.  The plaintiff filed his complaint on December 26, which was the last day of the 180-day statute of limitation period under the WBA.  The Court of Appeals held that the computation of time to file a notice of claim under the GIA is governed by Utah Code § 68-3-7, which requires the exclusion of weekends and holidays from the last day.  The plaintiff was therefore not allowed to file his complaint until December 27, which was one day after the expiration of the WBA statute of limitations.  Accordingly, the Court reversed the district court’s denial of the defendant’s motion to dismiss and remanded with instructions to dismiss the plaintiff’s claim with prejudice.