No action may be brought in Tribal Court for monetary damages under this Title and no claim shall be valid for monetary damages under this Title unless the person who claims to have suffered a tort shall, prior to the filing of any Court action, send a written notice of the claim for monetary damages by certified mail return receipt requested to the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribal Council and to the Office of the Tribal Attorney.
The written notice shall include the following:
(a) 
The name, current address, and telephone number of the claimant and the name, current address, and telephone number of the claimant’s attorney, if any;
(b) 
A concise statement of the factual basis of the claim, including the date, time, place, and circumstances of the act, omission, or condition that is alleged to have brought about the tort;
(c) 
A description of the nature and extent of the injury claimed to have been suffered;
(d) 
The name of any Tribal employee, agent, or official involved, if known, and the name, address, and telephone number, if known, of any other person involved or who has knowledge of the circumstances, facts, or injury; and
(e) 
The amount of monetary damages requested.
In the case of any claim where the claimant alleges a tort was caused by the act or omission of any Tribal authority, corporation, or enterprise, the written notice required by this Section shall also be given to the chief executive officer of such Tribal authority, corporation, or enterprise.
To be valid under this Title, the written notice of claim for monetary damages required by this Section must be given no later than one hundred and eighty (180) calendar days after the act or omission occurred that gave rise to the tort claim. The written notice of claim for monetary damages shall be conclusively deemed given and effective as of the date of the postmark on the written notice that the claimant sends by certified mail. Claimant must send the written notice with a return receipt request and provide proof of such return receipt.
(Res. 15-A-169, 12/9/2015)
(a) 
An action for monetary damages may be brought in Tribal Court under this Title against the Tribe by any person for any tort to that person caused:
(1) 
By an act or omission of the Tribe, or
(2) 
By an act or omission of any Tribal agent, employee, or officer acting on behalf of the Tribe and within the scope of authority of that agent, employee, or officer, or
(3) 
By an act or omission of any Tribal commission, utility, authority, or corporation, or by any agent, employee, or officer acting within their scope of authority, of such Tribal commission, utility, authority, or corporation, or
(4) 
By an act or omission of any Tribal agent, employee, or officer acting on behalf of the Tribe and within his/her scope of authority who is named in a claim in his/her individual capacity.
This waiver of sovereign immunity shall be limited as follows:
No monetary damages shall be awarded under this Title in excess of the limits of insurance that the Tribe maintains and that is in effect on the date of the occurrence of the act or omission that gave rise to the claim.
(b) 
No action for monetary damages may be brought under this Title until the expiration of sixty (60) days after the claimant gives the written notice required by Section 29.03.01.
(c) 
The Tribal Court shall not accept any action for filing against the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe under this Title unless the claimant at the same time files proof of compliance with the notice requirements of Section 29.03.01.
(d) 
No action for monetary damages shall be instituted under this Title for a sum in excess of the amount set forth in the written notice of claim required by Section 29.03.01, except where the increased amount is based upon newly discovered evidence not reasonably discoverable at the time the notice was given or upon allegation and proof of intervening facts relating to the amount of the claim.
The exclusive remedy for a tort claim is in the PGST Tribal Court, subject to limits of insurance coverage, with the insurance purchased either by the Tribe or by any Tribal commission, utility, authority, or corporation.
(Res. 15-A-169, 12/9/2015)
(a) 
Any person filing an action for money damages against the Tribe under this Title shall ensure that a copy of the complaint and summons is served upon the Tribal Council, the Office of the Tribal Attorney, and, in the case of a claim involving an act or omission of any Tribal authority, corporation, or enterprise, then also upon the chairman or chief executive officer of such Tribal authority, corporation, or enterprise.
(b) 
The claimant must complete service of the complaint and summons within the time required under the rules generally applicable to actions filed in Tribal Court and as governed by or consistent with the general rules of civil procedure established by Title 3 of the Port Gamble S’Klallam Law and Order Code.
(c) 
In any action against the Tribe under this Title, the Tribe shall have not less than sixty (60) days after receipt of the complaint and summons, and such other time as the Tribal Court may allow, to file an answer or other responsive pleading or motion. No default judgment may be entered against the Tribe under this Title.
(Res. 15-A-169, 12/9/2015)
Any action for monetary damages under this Title must be filed with the Tribal Court within two hundred and seventy (270) calendar days of the act or omission that occurred which gave rise to the tort.
(Res. 15-A-169, 12/9/2015)
This Title does not amend or repeal any other provision of the Port Gamble S’Klallam Law and Order Code that provides an administrative remedy to any person. Such remedies are presumed to be exclusive. Where administrative remedies are required, such remedies must be exhausted before a claimant may file under this Title.
(Res. 15-A-169, 12/9/2015)