Opinion ID: 2385358
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: (1) Accrual of a cause of action on a contract

Text: Under D.C.Code § 12-301(7) (1981), in order to maintain a cause of action on a simple contract, express or implied, a lawsuit must be brought within three years following the accrual of the claim. The term accrual is left undefined by the statute and is thus left to judicial interpretation. Courts of this jurisdiction provided the necessary gloss on this term several decades ago, and it is well settled that in a contract action, the statute of limitations begins to run from the date a contract is breached. Fowler v. A & A Co., supra note 8, 262 A.2d at 347; see Foley Corp. v. Dove, 101 A.2d 841, 842 (D.C.1954); Poole v. Terminix Co., 91 U.S. App.D.C. 287, 288, 200 F.2d 746, 747 (1952). In other words, the contract is breached when [the] defective work is done and [] the statute [of limitations] begins to run from that time. Lieberman v. Aldon Construction Co., 125 A.2d 517, 518 (D.C. 1956). Absent fraud (which is not alleged) or the existence of a continuing promise to maintain, see Fowler, supra ; Zellan, supra ; and Part I, were we to apply the law strictly, the three-year statute of limitations on appellant's contract claims would begin to run when work was completed in the fall of 1977, and therefore his present contract claims would be time-barred.