A Tort Report: Christ v. Exxon Mobil and the Extension of the Discovery Rule to Third-Party Representatives of Decedents in Wrongful Death and Survival Suits

IntroductionOn July 13, 2006, former employees and representatives of deceased employees of an Eau Claire, Wisconsin tire manufacturing facility filed suit against parties associated with operating the facility alleging injuries from forced benzene exposure.1 Those plaintiffs who were personal representatives of decedents made their claims through survival suits, whereby they "stood in the shoes" of the decedents to recover damages benefiting the decedents' estates.2 These plaintiffs also filed wrongful death suits for their own injuries stemming from the loss of the decedents.3After the resolution of various pre-trial matters, the remaining defendants filed a motion on March 5, 2012 to dismiss the complaints of eight of the plaintiffs who represented decedents.4 The defendants argued that the plaintiffs had filed their wrongful death and survival suits after the running of the applicable three-year statute of limitations provided for by Section 893.54(2) of the Wisconsin Statutes.5 According to the defendants, wrongful death and survival suits accrue when the decedent dies and do not accrue pursuant to the "discovery rule" that is applicable to injured parties themselves, whereby a claim does not accrue until the harmed party could have, through diligent effort, obtained the knowledge necessary to file a claim.6On April 30, 2012, the Eau Claire County Circuit Court granted the defendants' motion to dismiss because the court found that the discovery rule does not apply to wrongful death and survival claims made by third-party representatives of decedents.7 On February 12, 2014, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals summarily reversed the Eau Claire County Circuit Court, finding that the claims of the eight plaintiff-representatives accrued within the statute of limitations provided that they could show upon remand that they were diligent in finding the information necessary to file their claims.8 After the Court of Appeals denied a subsequent motion for reconsideration, the defendants appealed to the Wisconsin Supreme Court.9The Wisconsin Supreme Court affirmed the Court of Appeals on June 23, 2015, holding that the discovery rule applies to third-party representatives of decedents in wrongful death and survival suits.10 A majority of the Supreme Court stated that the discovery rule that already exists for regular plaintiffs allowing the extension of statutes of limitation should extend to third-party plaintiffs because there is strong public policy in favor of hearing meritorious claims and there is no significant difference between the two types of plaintiffs that would render such an extension untenable.11 The majority also pointed out that this decision will not open the floodgates for courts to have to hear stale claims because its decision leaves intact several other existing barriers which also work to prevent the progression of stale claims.12 The dissent, however, emphasized that the statute of limitations under Section 893.54 of the Wisconsin Statutes is harm-based and that the harm giving rise to wrongful death and survival claims always occurs upon the death of the decedent.13Part I of this Comment summarizes the factual and procedural history of Christ. Part II discusses the majority's decision to extend the discovery rule to allow the claims of third-party representatives of decedents to accrue when they could not have found all of the information necessary to file their claims upon diligent effort. Finally, Part III agrees with the Wisconsin Supreme Court's extension of the discovery rule to third-party representatives of decedents because it best preserves the legal right of all tort victims to recover damages resulting from those torts.I.Accrual of Wrongful Death and Survival ClaimsOn July 13, 2006, several past employees, as well as representatives of deceased past employees, of an Eau Claire, Wisconsin tire manufacturing facility run by the Uniroyal Goodrich Tire Company, Inc. …