Opinion ID: 1808951
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: comparable michigan case law

Text: In Connelly v Paul Ruddy's Co, 388 Mich 146, 151; 200 NW2d 70 (1972), we interpreted the accrual statute and stated that the wrong which triggers the statute is not the date of the breach of duty, but the date on which an injury results from that breach. If the statute were interpreted as requiring accrual from the date of the breach of duty, negligence actions would be barred before they could be brought. The rationale behind the Connelly interpretation of the accrual statute is very similar to that behind the discovery rule. Applying a discovery rule to the accrual date would mean that a claim could not be barred by the statute of limitations before a plaintiff knew or should have known of the disease. This Court has explicitly adopted a discovery rule in certain circumstances. In Johnson v Caldwell, 371 Mich 368, 379; 123 NW2d 785 (1963), this Court held that the cause of action for medical malpractice did not accrue until the plaintiff discovered or should have discovered the wrongful act. In another case based on negligent misrepresentation, the Court held that the statute of limitations does not begin running until the point where plaintiff knows or should have known of this negligent misrepresentation. Williams v Polgar, 391 Mich 6, 25; 215 NW2d 149 (1974). We have suggested that in consumer actions against manufacturers the statute of limitations should not begin to run until a plaintiff discovers or in the exercise of reasonable diligence should have discovered his loss. Parish v BF Goodrich Co, 395 Mich 271, 281; 235 NW2d 570 (1975). We have also applied the statutory discovery rule in breach of warranty cases. See Parish, 395 Mich 281; Southgate Schools v West Side Construction Co, 399 Mich 72, 82; 247 NW2d 884 (1976). See also Yustick v Eli Lilly & Co, 573 F Supp 1558, 1562 (ED Mich, 1983) (under Michigan law the discovery of the injury is the earliest possible date of accrual). Clearly when the situation requires it, this Court will apply the discovery rule to determine the date of accrual. We now consider the implications of applying that rule in these cases.