Opinion ID: 2533998
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 9

Heading: the district court's application of the three-year statute of limitations for statutory violations to the real-estate related claims was proper

Text: The determination of the applicable statute of limitation is a question of law over which this Court has free review. Cf. Oats v. Nissan Motor Corp. in the U.S.A., 126 Idaho 162, 164-72, 879 P.2d 1095, 1097-1105 (1994).
There is no Idaho law directly on point as to whether the 3-year statute of limitations for statutory violations or the 5-year statute for breach of contract applies when a contract incorporates a statute and the allegations stem from violations of those statutes. The district court's application of the three-year statute of imitations stemmed from its finding that the gravamen of HLFPD's claims were grounded in statute. In Kelso this Court held that Kelso's claims that the SIF acted beyond its statutory authority in real estate investments with the State survived a motion to dismiss. Id. at 140, 997 P.2d at 601. This holding was premised on this Court's determination that the SIF's governing statutes were incorporated into its contracts with its policyholders. Id. at 138, 997 P.2d at 599. This Court did not make any findings as to the statute of limitation that would apply to the claims. HLFPD's breach of contract and implied covenant claims are based on alleged statutory violations. The district court looked to Dietrich v. Copeland Lumber Co., 28 Idaho 312, 154 P. 626 (1916), which held that the statute of limitation for a statutory liability applied, despite the fact that the case was brought as an action to collect on promissory notes. This Court reasoned that, [a] `statutory liability' is one that depends for its existence on the enactment of the statute, and not on the contract of the parties. Id. at 318, 154 P. at 628 (quoting 4 Words and Phrases, Second Series, 686). Though the district court recognized that Dietrich may not be controlling in light of this Court's Kelso decision, it stated that [ Dietrich ] is useful in support of the proposition that the true gravamen of the plaintiffs' claims should control the question of which statute of limitations is applicable, rather than the manner in which the claims are actually pled. This conclusion is correct.