Opinion ID: 1111486
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Colon

Text: The majority opinion of the Third District Court of Appeal would permit Meehan and Nance, who were exposed to asbestos in other states, to bring their causes of action in Florida under Florida's statute of limitations. On the other hand, the Third District's decision would not allow Louis Colon, a Florida resident who was exposed to asbestos in Florida, to bring his cause of action in Florida, and would require him to comply with Tennessee's one-year statute of limitations. Colon worked in Florida for twenty-three years as an installer and dismantler of asbestos products manufactured by Celotex. On June 25, 1979, Mr. Colon visited a doctor in Tennessee who diagnosed his bronchial problems as asbestosis. As a result, Colon filed this suit on June 26, 1980, in Florida. The trial court entered a summary judgment in favor of Celotex based on Tennessee's one-year statute of limitations. The Third District Court of Appeal held that in light of Meehan, Florida is required to borrow the Tennessee limiting statute because the cause of action was discovered while plaintiff was in Tennessee. Colon, 465 So.2d at 1333. The district court remanded, however, for further evidence concerning the date that would begin the Tennessee statute of limitations period. As the district court noted, this case presents the other side of the coin to the issue presented in Meehan and Nance. Here, a Florida resident, who was exposed to asbestos in Florida, may be barred from recovery because of Tennessee's statute of limitations. We hold that Florida's borrowing statute does not apply. Mr. Colon was employed in Florida, was exposed to asbestos in Florida, and has been a Florida resident from the time of that exposure to the present day. Florida, under these circumstances, clearly has significant relationships to this action. The fact that Colon traveled to Tennessee, where a doctor diagnosed his disease, does not change the fact that his injury arose in Florida. The district court of appeal held that an injury's diagnosis and discovery in another state binds the injured party to the foreign state's statute of limitations. We find that is not the intent and purpose of section 95.10. If we accepted the district court's analysis of section 95.10, a potential plaintiff suffering from a latent disease would always be required to comply with the statute of limitations period in the state where he or she received medical diagnosis of the injury. In other words, the foreign state's limitation period would be applied without regard to the significant relationships test. We further find the phrase when the cause of action arose in another state in section 95.10 precludes the application of the statute in these circumstances because the significant relationships with Florida have been clearly established. See Bates. Colon's suit was filed in 1980 and comes well within Florida's four-year statute of limitations. Consequently, the suit must be allowed to proceed. For the reasons expressed, we quash the district court's opinion in Meehan with directions to remand to the trial court for further proceedings in accordance with this opinion; we quash the district court's opinion in Nance except as to the wrongful death issue, which we approve, and remand with directions for further proceedings to apply the significant relationships test in accordance with the principles expressed in this opinion; and we quash the district court's opinion in Colon with directions to remand to the trial court for further proceedings in accordance with the views expressed in this opinion. It is so ordered. McDONALD, C.J., and EHRLICH and SHAW, JJ., concur. BARKETT, J., concurs in part and dissents in part with an opinion.