 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Taylor v. Goldsmith2/24/1994
This action arises from alleged defamatory statements made by defendant, Charlene Goldsmith. Plaintiff, Charles E. Taylor, appeals from the summary judgment dismissing his complaint as barred by the applicable statutes of limitation. We affirm.
Plaintiff filed his complaint in September 1991, alleging that defendant had made false and malicious statements about him to his employer in June and July of 1989. Plaintiff asserted that these statements eventually resulted in the termination of his employment in 1991. Plaintiff's claims for relief sought damages for slander, libel, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and outrageous conduct.
In her amended answer, defendant raised the pertinent one-and two-year statutes of limitation as affirmative defenses. Defendant later filed a motion for summary judgment asserting that plaintiff's claims were barred by the statutes of limitation.
Plaintiff filed an unverified response to the motion, asserting that defendant had repeated her defamatory allegations against him in 1991. He also asserted that he did not know the full impact of the damage resulting from the defamatory statements until 1991.
The trial court determined that plaintiff had alleged defamatory statements by defendant in June and July of 1989 and that the complaint was not filed until September 20, 1991. It further concluded that the libel and slander claims were governed by § 13-80-103(1)(a), C.R.S. (1987 Repl. Vol. 6A), which establishes a one-year limitation period.
In addition, the court determined that plaintiff's claims based upon alleged intentional infliction of emotional harm and outrageous conduct were governed by the two-year statute of limitations for tort actions, § 13-80-102(1)(a), C.R.S. (1987 Repl. Vol. 6A).
Finally, the trial court concluded that plaintiff's claims accrued in 1989 when defendant's statements were made and that the claims were therefore time-barred. Accordingly, the trial court entered summary judgment dismissing all of plaintiff's claims.
Plaintiff contends that the trial court erred in concluding that the applicable statutes of limitation began to run in 1989. We agree that the trial court's expressed reasoning was not entirely correct, but we nevertheless conclude that the judgment should be affirmed.
Relying on Spears Free Clinic & Hospital for Poor Children v. Maier, 128 Colo. 263, 261 P.2d 489 (1953), and Even v. Longmont United Hospital Ass'n, 629 P.2d 1100 (Colo. App. 1981), the trial court determined that a claim based upon libel or slander accrues when the defamatory statement is published. We conclude, however, that the accrual rule stated in these decisions has been superseded by the General Assembly's enactment in 1986 of § 13-80-108(1), C.R.S. (1987 Repl. Vol. 6A). Thus, we do not view those decisions as binding precedent.
A claim for relief based upon injury to reputation is now considered to accrue on the date both the injury and its cause are known or should have been known by the exercise of reasonable diligence. Section 13-80-108(1).
Plaintiff acknowledges that defendant's allegedly defamatory accusations were reported to him by his supervisor and an investigator during June and July of 1989. However, plaintiff argues that his claims did not accrue until February 1991, when he was first notified of the proposal to terminate his employment and given a copy of the complete investigative report. We disagree.
There is no post-1986 Colorado appellate decision
Page 1 2 Colorado Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|