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Murphy v. Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corp.6/26/2000
ongs in which the state has little interest, and (3) encouragement of activity and investment in the state by foreign corporations without subjecting them to actions unrelated to their activity within the state. Rosenthal v. Unarco Industries Inc., 278 S.C. 420, 297 S.E.2d 638 (1982).
The crucial language in the statute is "when the cause of action shall have arisen . . . within this tate." In Ophuls & Hill v. Carolina Ice & Fuel Co., 160 S.C. 441, 158 S.E. 824 (1931), the supreme court defined the term "cause of action" in the context of the Door Closing Statute. The court stated "the cause of action has been described as being a legal wrong threatened or committed against the complaining party." Id. at 450, 158 S.E. at 827. See also Knight v. Fidelity & Casualty Co. of New York, 184 S.C. 362, 192 S.E. 558 (1937). With respect to the term "arise" in the Door Closing Statute, the supreme court in Cornelius v. Atlantic GreyHound Lines, 177 S.C. 93, 180 S.E. 791 (1935), equated "arise" with "accrue" and stated that a "cause of action accrues when facts exist which authorize one party to maintain an action against another." Id. at 96, 180 S.E. at 792. (quoting 1 C.J. 1146). Beyond the context of the Door Closing statute, the supreme court has stated that our cases have used the verbs "arise" and "accrue" interchangeably and a cause of action in tort accrues at the moment when the plaintiff has a legal right to sue on it. Stephens v. Draffin, 327 S.C. 1, 488 S.E.2d 307 (1997).
The elements of a cause of action in tort are (1) duty, (2) breach of that duty, (3) proximate causation, and (4) injury . Shipes v. Piggly Wiggly St. Andrews, 269 S.C. 479, 238 S.E.2d 167 (1977). In the factual context of this case, all of those elements were met when Janet Murphy was diagnosed with mesothelioma. Prior to that point, the element of injury had not been established. Once injury was established, the cause of action or "legal wrong" had "arisen" and Murphy could maintain an action in tort against the respondents. Accordingly, the cause of action arose in Virginia, not South Carolina.
The decision of the circuit court is AFFIRMED.
CURETON, J., and MOREHEAD, A.J., concur.
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