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Friedland v. Gales12/29/1998
rt held that it did not and that the plaintiff was required to bring her action within the limitations period of G.S. ยง 1-53(4). King did not involve application of the doctrine of equitable estoppel to prevent a defendant from relying upon a statute of limitations defense, thus it is inapposite to our decision in this case.
Generally, where there are facts in dispute as to the existence of the elements of equitable estoppel, the issue of estoppel is for the jury. Miller v. Talton, supra. However, defendant presented no evidence upon the issue, requested that it not be submitted to the jury, and waived "the right to a determination of any factual issues by the jury pertaining to the statute of limitations." According to the trial court's findings, to which no exception has been taken, defendant actively concealed his wrongful conduct and prevented plaintiff from learning his identity before the statute of limitations had run. As was the case in Bryant, the actual injury was known and the claim had accrued, but due to defendant's intentional concealment, an essential fact necessary to bring the action, i.e., the identity of the tortfeasor, was unknown. Plaintiff, lacking the reasonable means to discover the identity of the wrongdoer, reasonably relied on the concealment to his detriment by not filing a wrongful death action until such information became available to him. These findings of fact establish, as a matter of law, that defendant, having actual knowledge of material facts, actively and deliberately concealed those facts with the intent to prevent discovery thereof by others, including the plaintiff; and that in consequence of defendant's conduct, plaintiff was without knowledge of those facts and without means to discover them within the period of the statute of limitations, thereby relying to his detriment on defendant's conduct. Therefore, defendant is equitably estopped from asserting the statute of limitations as a bar to plaintiff's claim. The order granting defendant's motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict is reversed and this case is remanded to the trial court for entry of judgment in accordance with the verdict of the jury.
Reversed and remanded.
Judges MARTIN, Mark D., and HUNTER concur.
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