Title 27, Title 27

No malpractice claim may be filed in any court against a health care provider before an application is made to the panel and its decision is rendered.

The running of the applicable limitation period related to a malpractice claim is tolled upon receipt by the director of the application for review as to all health care providers named in the application as parties to the panel proceeding and as to all other persons or entities …

The director shall maintain records of all proceedings before the panel, which must include the nature of the act or omissions complained of, a brief summary of the evidence expressed, the decision of the panel, and any majority or dissenting opinions filed. Any records which may…

(1) A panel member may not be called to testify in a proceeding concerning the deliberations, discussions, decisions, and internal proceedings of the panel. (2) The decision and the reasoning and basis for the decision of the panel are not admissible as evidence in an action subs…

Parties to a question in difference which might be subject to a civil action may, without action, agree upon a case containing the facts upon which the controversy depends and present a submission of the same to any court which would have jurisdiction if an action had been brough…

The court must thereupon hear and determine the case and render judgment thereon as if an action were depending.

Judgment must be entered in the judgment book as in other cases but without costs for any proceeding prior to the trial.

The judgment may be enforced in the same manner as if it had been rendered in an action and is in the same manner subject to appeal.

This chapter may be cited as the "Uniform Declaratory Judgments Act".

This chapter is declared to be remedial; its purpose is to settle and to afford relief from uncertainty and insecurity with respect to rights, status, and other legal relations; and it is to be liberally construed and administered.

This chapter shall be so interpreted and construed as to effectuate its general purpose to make uniform the law of those states which enact it and to harmonize, as far as possible, with federal laws and regulations on the subject of declaratory judgments and decrees.

The word "person", wherever used in this chapter, shall be construed to mean any person, partnership, joint-stock company, unincorporated association, or society or municipal or other corporation of any character whatsoever.

Courts of record within their respective jurisdictions shall have power to declare rights, status, and other legal relations whether or not further relief is or could be claimed. No action or proceeding shall be open to objection on the ground that a declaratory judgment or decre…

Any person interested under a deed, will, written contract, or other writings constituting a contract or whose rights, status, or other legal relations are affected by a statute, municipal ordinance, contract, or franchise may have determined any question of construction or valid…

A contract may be construed either before or after there has been a breach thereof.

A person interested as or through an executor, administrator, trustee, guardian, other fiduciary, creditor, devisee, heir, or cestui que trust in the administration of a trust or of the estate of a decedent, minor, person committed pursuant to 53-21-127, or insolvent person may h…

The enumeration in 27-8-202 through 27-8-204 does not limit or restrict the exercise of the general powers conferred in 27-8-201 in any proceeding where declaratory relief is sought in which a judgment or decree will terminate the controversy or remove an uncertainty.

The court may refuse to render or enter a declaratory judgment or decree where such judgment or decree, if rendered or entered, would not terminate the uncertainty or controversy giving rise to the proceeding.

When declaratory relief is sought, all persons shall be made parties who have or claim any interest which would be affected by the declaration, and no declaration shall prejudice the rights of persons not parties to the proceeding. In any proceeding which involves the validity of…

(1) When a proceeding under this chapter involves the determination of an issue of fact, the issue may be tried and determined in the same manner as issues of fact are tried and determined in other civil actions in the court in which the proceeding is pending. (2) When a proceedi…

In any proceeding under this chapter the court may make such award of costs as may seem equitable and just.

All orders, judgments, and decrees under this chapter may be reviewed as other orders, judgments, and decrees.

Further relief based on a declaratory judgment or decree may be granted whenever necessary or proper. The application therefor shall be by petition to a court having jurisdiction to grant the relief. If the application be deemed sufficient, the court shall, on reasonable notice, …

Subject to 28-2-709, a judgment by confession may be entered without action, either for money due or to become due or to secure any person against contingent liability on behalf of the defendant, or both, in the manner prescribed by this chapter. Such judgment may be entered in a…

A statement in writing must be made, signed by the defendant, and verified by the defendant's oath to the following effect: (1) It must authorize the entry of judgment for a specified sum. (2) If it is for money due or to become due, it must state concisely the facts out of which…

The statement must be filed with the clerk of court in which the judgment is to be entered, who shall endorse upon it and enter in the judgment book a judgment of the court for the amount confessed, with $45 costs. The clerk of district court shall forward the costs to the depart…

In a justice's court that has authority to enter the judgment, the statement may be filed with the justice, who shall enter in the docket a judgment of the justice's court for the amount confessed, with costs. If a transcript of the judgment is filed with the clerk of the distric…

This chapter may be cited as the "Montana Chiropractic Legal Panel Act".

The purpose of this chapter is to: (1) prevent, whenever possible, filed court actions against chiropractic physicians and their employees for professional liability in situations in which the facts do not permit at least a reasonable inference of malpractice; and (2) make possib…

As used in this chapter, the following definitions apply: (1) "Chiropractic physician" means: (a) for purposes of the annual assessment under 27-12-206, a person licensed to practice chiropractic under Title 37, chapter 12, who at the time of the assessment: (i) has the individua…

There is a Montana chiropractic legal panel. The panel is a quasi-governmental entity and is allocated to the Montana supreme court for administrative purposes only, except that 2-15-121(2) does not apply. The only state laws applicable to the panel are those contained in this ch…

The panel shall review all malpractice claims or potential claims against chiropractic physicians covered by this chapter, except claims subject to a valid arbitration agreement allowed by law.

Panelists and witnesses are absolutely immune from civil liability for all communications, findings, opinions, and conclusions made in the course and scope of the duties prescribed by this chapter.

The executive director of the Montana chiropractic association shall appoint the director of the panel, subject to the approval of the chief justice of the Montana supreme court. The director shall serve at the pleasure of and the director's salary must be set by the executive di…

(1) The director, subject to the approval of the chief justice, may employ and fix the compensation for clerical and other assistants that the director considers necessary. (2) The panel shall maintain adequate offices, in which its records must be kept and official business tran…

(1) Each member of the panel must be paid a salary of $40 an hour, under guidelines promulgated by the Montana supreme court. (2) Each member of the panel, the director, and the director's staff are entitled to travel expenses incurred while on the business of the panel, as provi…

The director, in consultation with the state bar of Montana and subject to approval of the supreme court, is authorized to adopt and publish rules of procedure necessary to implement and carry out the duties of the panel. Rules may not be adopted that require a party to make a mo…

The panel may provide for the administration of oaths, the receipt of claims filed, the promulgation of forms required by rules adopted by the director, the issuance of subpoenas, and the performance of all other acts required to fairly and effectively administer this chapter.

(1) There is a pretrial review fund to be administered by the director for the purposes stated in this chapter. The fund and any income from it must be held in trust, deposited in an account, and invested and reinvested by the director. The fund may not become part of or revert t…

(1) The panel and fund may be audited by or at the direction of the legislative auditor and in accordance with 5-13-304 and 5-13-309. Any audit that is conducted by the legislative auditor or approved by the legislative auditor under 5-13-411 must include a determination of the a…

A claimant shall submit a case for the consideration of the panel before filing a complaint in a court sitting in Montana by addressing an application in writing, signed by the claimant or the claimant's attorney, to the director of the panel.

The application must contain a statement: (1) in reasonable detail of the elements of the chiropractic physician's conduct that are believed to constitute a malpractice claim, the dates the conduct occurred, and the names and addresses of all witnesses, chiropractic and other phy…

Amendments to an application may be made in the manner authorized by rule.

If an application employs a theory of respondeat superior or any other derivative theory of recovery, the director shall give a copy of the application to the state professional society, association, or licensing board of both the individual chiropractic physician whose alleged m…

Upon receipt of an application, the director or the director's delegate shall serve a copy of the application on the chiropractic physician whose alleged malpractice caused the application to be filed. Service must be by mailing a certified copy of the application to the chiropra…

(1) If a chiropractic physician whose alleged malpractice caused the application to be filed chooses to retain legal counsel, the chiropractic physician's attorney shall informally enter an appearance with the director. (2) The chiropractic physician shall answer the application …