Summary 2006 WY 75

Summary of Answers to Certified Questions issued June 28, 2006

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Summaries are prepared by Law Librarians and are not official statements of the Wyoming Supreme Court.

Case Name: Prokop v. Hockhalter; McJunkin and Timber Creek Outfitters

Citation: 2006 WY 75

Docket Number: 05-170

Certified Questions from the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, the Honorable Robert H. Henry, Judge.

Representing Appellant (Plaintiff): Robert J. Prokop, M.D., pro se, Wilber, Nebraska.

Representing Appellees (Defendants): Monty Barnett and James M. Meseck, of White and Steele, Denver, Colorado.

Certified Questions:
(1) Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 23-2-407 provides for licensing outfitters and professional guides. Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 1-3-107(a) requires that actions “arising from an act, error or omission in the rendering of licensed or certified professional or health care services be brought within…two (2) years of the date of the alleged act.” (2) Does this two year statute of limitations apply to actions against licensed outfitters and professional guides? The Wyoming Supreme Court has referred to § 1-3-107 (a) as “the professional malpractice statute,” and stated that “the premise of professional malpractice is usually based in tort.” If the two-year limitation period applies to actions against outfitters and professional guides, does it apply to contract claims as well as tort claims?

Answers to Certified Questions:
(1) The two-year statute of limitations set forth in Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 1-3-107 (a) applies to actions against licensed outfitters and professional guides.
(2) If a cause of action against a licensed outfitter or professional guide arises from an act, error or omission in the rendering of licensed or certified professional services, the two-year statute of limitations set forth in Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 1-3-107 (a) applies regardless of whether the claim is pled in tort or contract.

J. Burke delivered the answers for the court.

Link to the questions: http://tinyurl.com/eu9pb .