Opinion ID: 2608607
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Date on Which Cause of Action Accrued.

Text: Appellant's second major contention is that the trial court erred in finding that his cause of action accrued in late August of 1970. Evidently, the trial court was under the mistaken impression that Waugh returned from his sabbatical in late August of 1970 and at that time discovered that various items of personal property were missing from his office. It is clear from his testimony at trial that Professor Waugh did not return from sabbatical until September 6, 1970. However, this erroneous finding by the trial court [6] does not make a substantial difference with regard to the date on which plaintiff's cause of action accrued. In several instances, this court has had occasion to construe the meaning of the word accrued as used in a statute of limitations. In Yoshizaki v. Hilo Hospital, 50 Haw. 150, 154, 433 P.2d 220, 223 (1967), we held that a limitation period of two years on actions for damages to persons or property did not begin to run until the plaintiff knew or should have known of the defendant's negligence. In Basque v. Yuk Lin Liau, 50 Haw. 397, 441 P.2d 636 (1968), a tort action for property damage, we reversed a trial court judgment barring the action because of a two-year limitation period, and remanded for a determination of whether the plaintiff knew or in the exercise of reasonable care should have discovered that an actionable wrong has been committed against his property. 50 Haw. at 399, 441 P.2d at 637-38. We have closely examined the facts of this case and conclude that plaintiff had sufficient knowledge of the loss or damage to his personal property at the very earliest in September of 1970 and at the very latest in December of 1970. Plaintiff returned from sabbatical on September 6, 1970. At that time, he became aware that his laboratory had been completely cleaned out, that some of his equipment was in storage, and that the vacuum rack of his own design had been dismantled. Appellant testified that the vacuum rack was constructed primarily from materials that he had supplied. Further, he stated that a sample of pure boron as well as samples of boron iodides had been under vacuum in the hexagonal rack and had been destroyed upon the rack's dismantling. Thus, upon returning from sabbatical, appellant knew that his vacuum rack and some of his research materials had been destroyed. We believe that at this point appellant knew, or reasonably should have known, that an actionable wrong had been committed against his property. As far as his other research materials were concerned, appellant had a right to those items upon his return to the University and thus he may have been able to bring a tort claim against the University in September of 1970. However, it was not unreasonable for appellant to believe, or at least hope, that these materials would be found in the boxes stored by the stockroom personnel. In December of 1970, appellant received four boxes from storage containing the remains of his laboratory. Appellant testified that the boxes contained broken pieces of glass, stuff that is common enough and not of any great value to anyone else. Appellant's missing research compounds were not among the items in storage. At this point, it is clear that appellant knew or should have known that his property was either damaged or missing and could have filed an action against defendants. Appellate has argued that he did not actually know that his research materials were irretrievably lost until a later date. He suggests various other dates on which the cause of action could have accrued, including May 19, 1971 when Contracts Officer Bloede made appellant aware of the State Tort Liability Act and July 1, 1971 when the ad hoc committee reported that it could not find appellant's missing research materials. It has never been the rule in this jurisdiction that the defendant or an agent of defendant must inform the plaintiff of the right to bring suit. Thus, the date on which Bloede informed appellant of the State Tort Liability Act is irrelevant for purposes of the statute of limitations. Further, although appellant did not know with certainty that his research materials would not be discovered, Waugh did know upon his return to the University that some of his materials had been destroyed and others were missing. This knowledge was sufficient in itself to form the basis for an action against the University, and the ad hoc committee's conclusion could only serve to buttress appellant's knowledge.