Opinion ID: 3218863
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: facts

Text: The following facts are not disputed. The house that is at the center of this litigation was built in 2001. Defendant Cite as 359 Or 694 (2016) 697 was a subcontractor involved in its original construction, responsible for installing synthetic stucco siding on the house’s exterior. That work was completed in May 2001. Plaintiffs bought the house in December 2004. In March 2011, plaintiffs filed a complaint against defendant for negligence and negligence per se.1 Their complaint alleged that numerous construction defects in the siding led to water intrusion, which caused damage to the house. Plaintiffs alleged that they did not learn of that damage until May 2010. Defendant moved for summary judgment, arguing that plaintiffs’ claims were time-barred. Defendant argued that plaintiffs’ construction negligence claims were subject to ORS 12.110(1), which has been construed to require tort claims to be initiated within two years of the date of discovery of the injury or damage. In this case, defendant argued, plaintiffs initiated their action more than two years from when they discovered the siding defects and resulting water damage. In support of its motion, defendant submitted evidence that plaintiffs had obtained reports from two experts before purchasing the home in 2004 and that those expert reports noted defects in the siding. Defendant also offered evidence that, in response to those reports, plaintiffs received a bid from a contractor to fix a number of those problems. Defendant’s evidence also included reports in 2005, 2007, and 2008 from that contractor noting concerns about cracks in the siding and resulting water intrusion. Plaintiffs disputed the significance of the evidence that defendants had submitted and argued that their claims were timely under the two-year statute of limitations in ORS 12.110(1). In the alternative, they argued that their claim was subject to the six-year statute of limitations set out in ORS 12.080(3) and that the six-year statute—like the two-year statute of limitations in ORS 12.110(1)—includes a discovery rule. In plaintiffs’ view, there was at least a genuine issue of material fact as to whether they knew or should 1 Plaintiffs alleged claims against other defendants as well, but the claims against those defendants are not at issue in this appeal. 698 Goodwin v. Kingsmen Plastering, Inc. have known about the negligent construction of their siding within six years of filing their complaint. As noted, the trial court granted defendant’s motion for summary judgment. The trial court agreed with plaintiffs that the six-year statute of limitations in ORS 12.080(3) applied to this negligent construction action. But it ruled that that statute was not subject to a discovery rule. As a result, the court concluded, the six-year limitation period began to run at the time of the completed installation of the siding—in 2001—and plaintiffs initiated their action well beyond six years from that date. Plaintiffs appealed, arguing that, although the trial court was correct in concluding that the six-year statute of limitations in ORS 12.080(3) applies, it nevertheless erred in concluding that the statute is not subject to a discovery rule. The Court of Appeals agreed and reversed. Relying on one of its own prior cases, Riverview Condo. Assn. v. Cypress Ventures (A150586), 266 Or App 574, 339 P3d 447 (2014), the court first concluded that construction negligence claims are subject to the six-year statute of limitations set out in ORS 12.080(3). The court next held that, in light of this court’s recent decision in Rice v. Rabb, 354 Or 721, 320 P3d 554 (2014), the six-year statute of limitations in ORS 12.080(3) is, as plaintiff had contended, subject to a discovery rule. The court then remanded the case to the trial court to resolve the remaining factual issue pertaining to when plaintiffs discovered or, in the exercise of reasonable care, should have discovered the injury.