Court Opinion

ID: 9678207
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 06:14:21.008857+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:17:02.532702
License: Public Domain

MADDOX, Justice
(dissenting.)
“A dissent in a court of last resort is an appeal to the brooding spirit of the law, to the intelligence of a future day, when a later decision may possibly correct the error into which the dissenting judge believes the court to have been betrayed.”
—Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes1
Thomas Jefferson thought each judge should write an opinion in every case so as to “throw himself in each case on God and country; both will excuse him for error and value him for honesty.” 2
Hoping that a later decision may someday possibly correct the errors here made, I set out those errors which I think are most prominent:
(1) The majority viewed the title to Act No. 788 with “hypercritical exactness” rather than in a broad and liberal spirit as the law requires; (2) Some of the majority think the statute here has “two subjects,” a statute of limitations and an immunity from liability; (3) The majority makes architects and contractors liable in perpetuity to third persons for injuries and damages resulting from their negligent acts or omissions; (4) The majority construes “cause of action” in a manner completely inconsistent with settled law.

“Hypercritical Exactness”

We are a coordinate branch of government, bearing great responsibilities. The powers of our government are divided in three distinct departments, those which are legislative, those which are executive and those which are judicial.
The Constitution of Alabama specifically prohibits the judiciary from exercising legislative and executive powers. Art. 3, § 43, Constitution, 1901.
I think the majority, by interpretation, has infringed upon the prerogatives of the Legislature. The majority has made a microscopic examination of Act No. 788 and concluded it violates Section 45 of our Constitution. It is not the province of this Court to view legislation with “hypercritical exactness.” We are supposed to construe acts passed by the Legislature in a very broad and liberal spirit. That principle of law is so settled it needs no citation, but a recent statement by the Chief Justice in Knight v. West Alabama Environmental Improvement Authority, 287 Ala. 15, 246 *201So.2d 903 (1971), makes the point. He wrote, with seven members of this Court concurring:
“Among other provisions, Section 45 of the Constitution says that each law enacted by the legislature ‘shall contain but one subject which shall be clearly expressed in its title.’
“The title to Act No. 1117 does not make any expressed reference to the provisions of Sections 3, 8(7) and 8(9) of the Act which set forth detailed purposes and powers of such public corporations and authorize said public corporations to render financial assistance to industries and private corporations and the provisions of Section 8(1) which authorize the public corporations to engage in works of watershed improvements.
“A lucid discussion of this constitutional provision is found in Opinion of the Justices, 275 Ala. 254, 154 So.2d 12, wherein the following language appears:
“ ‘(2) One of the purposes of the requirement of Section 45, supra, that the subject of a law shall be clearly expressed in the title, is to prevent surprise or fraud upon the legislature by incorporating in bills provisions not reasonably disclosed by its title, and which might be overlooked, and unintentionally approved in enacting the bill. Opinion of the Justices, 247 Ala. 195, 23 So.2d 505. Another purpose is to fairly apprise the public of the import of the legislature so they may be heard. Grayson v. Stone, 259 Ala. 320, 66 So.2d 438.
“ ‘(3) However, this court is committed to the principle that this requirment as to clear expression of the subject of a bill in the title is not to be exactingly enforced in such manner as to cripple legislation, or is it to be enforced with hypercritical exactness, but is to be accorded a liberal interpretation. Kendrick v. Boyd, 255 Ala. 53, 51 So.2d 694; Taylor v. Johnson, 265 Ala. 541, 93 So.2d 143.
“‘(4) When the subject of a bill is expressed in general terms in the title everything which is necessary to make a complete enactment in regard to it, or which results as a complement of the thought contained in the general expression, is included in and authorized by it. Dearborn v. Johnson, 234 Ala. 84, 173 So. 864.’
“This Court in Yeilding v. State ex rel. Wilkinson, 232 Ala. 292, 167 So. 580, held that a statute has but one subject, no matter to how many different matters it relates if they are all cognate, and but different branches of the same subject.”
Examined in the light of the foregoing criteria, I believe Act 788 meets all the requirements of Section 45. Furthermore, an examination of the House and Senate Journals 3 will conclusively show that this *202Act received considerable attention when it was going through the Legislature. I cannot believe the legislators did not know what the bill contained. The consideration given the legislation is all to the contrary, as shown by the House and Senate Journals.

“Liability of Architects and Contractors To Third Parties and Statutes of Repose”

Historically, most courts,, in passing upon the question of a building or contractor’s negligence resulting in injury or damage to third persons after the completion of the work and acceptance thereof by the owner, start with the assumption of what has been considered to be the general rule, namely, that the contractor is not liable for such injuries to third persons, on the theory that no privity of contract exists between the contractor and such third persons, and that no duty is owed by the contractor in performing the contract other than to the contractee. There was no liability at common law. However, as in the case of manufacturers and sellers of chattels, a long list of exceptions to the general rule grew up in an attempt to lessen the harshness of the original nonliability rule. During the last decade or two, numerous courts have repudiated the rule and have brought an end to the differentiation between manufacturers of goods and building or construction contractors. See Annotation: Contractor-Liability to Third Person, 58 A.L.R.2d 865. Therefore, liability of a contractor or architect for damages to third parties not in privity was nonexistent until less than twenty years ago. My research shows that Alabama has not considered the rule. In Beasley v. McDonald Engineering Co., 287 Ala. 189, 249 So.2d 844 (1971), this Court did consider liability of an inspector for an alleged negligent inspection which resulted in injury to a person not in privity of contract. While I do not predict what Alabama would do, I assume that Alabama would probably follow the modern trend and impose liability on a contractor even after completion and acceptance of the work. I think the possibility of liability prompted the Legislature, probably at the urging of architects and contractors, to set limitations insofar as the maintenance of such an action is concerned.
In determining what the Legislature intended, I start with some basic principles. In the past, an architect or builder could not be sued for negligence by a third person, after he turned over his work to the owner. There was no privity of contract. The privity rule was being abolished. The question was, “Should architects and builders be liable in perpetuity?” Our Legislature and over thirty other Legislatures answered this question in the negative. Then what time should be set ?4 The statutes in each of the states vary. The proceedings of the Alabama House of Representatives where Act No. 788 originated indicate that the Legislature gave considerable attention to the question of the time within which there would be no liability. (See footnote 3.) I would leave this policy decision to the Legislature where the Constitution places it.
The Legislature is bound by the Constitution also. Then, a threshold question is: Could the Legislature constitutionally pass this statute to shield contractors and others from liability after the passage of a specified period of time? I think so. I find no constitutional violation because the statute of limitations applies only to persons within a designated class or that it abolishes a right to sue after the expiration of four or seven years, as may be applicable. In Sellers v. Edwards, 289 Ala. 2, 265 So. *2032d 438 (1972), (medical malpractice statute of limitations) this Court said:
“A state is not prohibited upon constitutional grounds from making classifications of persons and objects, or from passing laws which apply only to persons within a designated class. Classification is an inherent power of the Legislature but it must not be arbitrary or unreasonable. In order to justify interference by the courts with the wide discretion which the Legislature has in such matters, it should appear that the interests of those generally affected by the act, as distinguished from those of a particular class, require such interference. In Re: Opinion of the Justices, 252 Ala. 559, 561, 42 So.2d 56 (1949).”
Alabama’s statute is similar to statutes passed in over thirty other states, all designed to limit liability in perpetuity of architects and contractors. I find two courts which have held such statutes unconstitutional. In Skinner v. Anderson, 38 Ill.2d 455, 231 N.E.2d 588 (1967), the Illinois court held a statute similar to Alabama’s to be unconstitutional. However, I think that the Alabama Supreme Court, in Sellers v. Edwards, supra, answers this question contrary to the holding in Skinner v. Anderson.
In Saylor v. Hall, 497 S.W.2d 218 (Ky. 1973), the Kentucky Court of Appeals did declare their statute unconstitutional. But Kentucky also declared its “guest law” violative of the Kentucky Constitution. The Kentucky Court, after discussing other decisions which had upheld those statutes, noted:
“Kentucky has no guest-passenger automobile statute, not because of legislative inaction, but because such a statute was voided as violative of our state Constitution. In the decision, section 54 played a prominent part. In Ludwig v. Johnson et al., 243 Ky. 533, 49 S.W.2d 347 (1932), this court struck down a statute that prohibited recovery by a guest passenger in an automobile against the owner or host driver for personal injuries or death resulting from the driver’s negligence.”
This Court, unlike Kentucky’s, has upheld our guest statute. Pickett v. Matthews, 238 Ala. 542, 192 So. 261 (1939). This Court does not follow the rationale expressed in either Skinner or Saylor.
The Arkansas Supreme Court, in Carter v. Hartenstein, 248 Ark. 1172, 455 S.W.2d 918 (1970), upheld an Arkansas statute similar to Alabama’s against an attack on constitutional grounds. The court commented :
“The question raised is whether the legislature was arbitrary or capricious in granting this immunity from suit four years after substantial completion of construction to those enumerated in the statute without giving such protection to others such as materialmen and owners, whom appellant claims belong to the same class as those exempted.
******
“. . . Further, a vital distinction, nonetheless, exists between owners or suppliers and those engaged in the professions and occupations of design and building. This is not arbitrary or unreasonable. It is a legitimate and practical exercise of the legislative function.
“To say that there can be no limitation in perpetuity against a designer or erector of a structure would be in effect to discriminate against professional builders and designers. Whether three years, four years or five years — or more or less —is the correct or appropriate period, should not and cannot be the concern of the judiciary. We only must determine whether the legislature has acted reasonably in respect to their mandate from the people as set out in the Constitution.
* * * * *
“Almost every statute or law serves to work for some and against others. Here, we simply do not view this enactment as granting special privileges and *204immunities. Our opinion is that Act 42 is valid, reasonable, constitutional and not enacted for arbitrary or capricious reasons. We think the legislature was entirely within its constitutional right in passing such statute.”
See also, Josephs v. Burns, 260 Or. 493, 491 P.2d 203 (1971), (not a violation of a provision similar to Art. 1, § 13, of Alabama’s Constitution); Yakima Fruit & Cold Storage Co. v. Central Heating & Plumbing Co., 81 Wash.2d 528, 503 P.2d 108 (1972), (not special class legislation); Rosenberg v. North Bergen, 61 N.J. 190, 293 A.2d 662 (1972), (not a violation of due process by barring a cause of action before it had arisen; not special class legislation); Salesian Society v. Formigli Corporation, 120 N.J.Super. 493, 295 A.2d 19 (1972), (not, in effect, an amendment to present statute of limitations without that law being fully set out in the statute under review); see also, O’Connor v. Altus, 123 N.J.Super. 379, 303 A.2d 329 (1973).
Therefore, it appears that other state courts have had little difficulty finding a legislative purpose for similar statutes of repose. They have upheld them for good reason. There must be a time when, even in the absence of a statute, a builder’s liability to third parties would cease. If the Legislature does not set a limit, the judiciary must. The Kentucky court recognized this principle in Saylor v. Hall, supra. The court said:
“Returning now to the principle that we discussed in the opening of this opinion, we conclude that it is unnecessary in this case to delineate or define the outer limits of a builder’s liability in 1964 in Kentucky to a third party injured by the negligence of the builder whose work had been completed and accepted by the owner. We are satisfied that, under the precise facts of this case, the builder at that time was at the least subject to liability to third parties for negligent construction, though completed and accepted, that created a latent defect in a stone mantel and fireplace in a home where innocent third parties on the property could foreseeably be injured by such dangerous and concealed condition. Therefore, we hold that there was an existing right of action in this state for the type of negligence claimed in this lawsuit when, the questioned statutes were enacted.”
Even in actions involving equitable causes the doctrine of laches is recognized. In fairness to a defendant, whether by statute or judicial determination, there comes a time when a defendant ought to be secure in his reasonable expectation that the slate is clean of ancient obligations, and he ought not to be called on to resist a claim when “evidence has been lost, memories have faded, and witnesses have disappeared.” Order of R. R. Telegraphers v. Ry. Express Agency, Inc., 321 U.S. 342, 64 S.Ct. 582, 88 L.Ed. 788 (1944); See “Developments in the Law, Statute of Limitations,” 63 Harv.L.Rev. 1177. Potential defendants have constitutional rights, too.

Act No. 788 is a Statute of Repose

Act No. 788 is a statute of repose. It applies to persons who perform or furnish the design, planning, supervision or construction of improvements on real property. It applies to all actions, in contract or tort. While the Act may not be a “traditional statute of limitations” in that it can bar a right of action before it accrues, it nevertheless is a limitation on the right to bring an action. The statute of repose is also different in kind in that it specifies when the time period begins to run — after final completion of the improvements, rather than when the cause of action accrues. Most limitation statutes specify that the period begins to run from the date of the accrual of the cause of action. While this statute is different, it is still a statute of repose. It does not bar a right of action which has accrued. The majority uses the words “statute of limitations.” The title to Act No. 788 does not read that way. It says “to regulate further the time *205within which actions against persons . must be commenced.”
The court in Rosenberg v. Town of North Bergen, 61 N.J. 190, 293 A.2d 662 (1972), discussed the purpose and constitutionality of New Jersey’s statute. The court said:
“We come then to a consideration of the constitutionality of this enactment. In three other jurisdictions similar acts have been subjected to constitutional challenge. In Illinois the statute was found to be unconstitutional; in Arkansas and Oregon the enactments were sustained. Skinner v. Anderson, 38 Ill.2d 455, 231 N.E.2d 588 (1967); Carter v. Hartenstein, 248 Ark. 1172, 455 S.W.2d 918 (1970), appeal dismissed, 401 U.S. 901, 91 S.Ct. 868, 27 L.Ed.2d 800 (1971); Josephs v. Burns, [260 Or. 493,] 491 P. 2d 203 (1971).
“It seems important, first, to examine the nature of this law. In an important respect it is unlike the typical statute of limitations. Commonly such a statute fixes a time within which an injured person must institute an action seeking redress, and generally this time span is measured from the moment the cause of action accrues. Here such is not the case. The time within which suit may be brought under this statute is entirely unrelated to the accrual of any cause of action.
“Where a claim for redress is based upon negligent injury to person or property, the cause of action accrues when there has been a negligent act with proximately resulting injury or damage. The careless act itself is not enough to give rise to a cause of action; there must also be consequential injury or damage. Rosenau v. City of New Brunswick, supra, 51 N.J. 130, at 137-139, 238 A.2d 169. Thus plaintiff’s alleged cause of action did not arise until she fell and sustained injury. Of course this was many years after the ten-year period fixed by the statute had expired. She claims that the statute, in its application to her, amounts to a■ deprivation of due process, since, as she expresses it, the statute bars her cause of action before it has arisen. This formulation suggests a misconception of the effect of the statute. It does not bar a cause of action; its effect, rather, is to prevent what might otherwise be a cause of action, from ever arising. Thus injury occurring more than ten years after the negligent act allegedly responsible for the harm, forms no basis for recovery.. The injured party literally has no cause of action. The harm that has been done is damnum absque injuria — a wrong for which the law affords no redress. The function of the statute is thus rather to define substantive rights than to alter or modify a remedy. The Legislature is entirely at liberty to create new rights or abolish old ones as long as no vested right is disturbed. . . .” [Emphasis added.]
Admittedly, the title to Act No. 788 does not contain the actual periods of limitation as does the title to the Act dealing with actions against doctors. (Act No. 766, Acts of Alabama, 1953, carried as Tit. 7, § 25(1), Code, 1940, Recomp., 1958). Admitting this, I fail to see, however, that the failure of the title to have the seven-year limitation specifically, mentioned makes the title vague. The subject of a bill can be expressed in general terms. At least, this Court has been committed to that principle heretofore. Knight, supra. As I understand Mr. Justice Harwood’s special concurrence, he does hot think Act No. 788 contains two subjects, only that the title is not clear. Mr. Justice Jones also says the title is vague and uncertain, but goes further and says Act No. 788 contains two subj ects.

“The Action was barred assuming the Seven-Year Limitation is void."

I believe the action was barred even assuming the seven-year limitation is void. *206Mr. Justice Jones does not discuss the effect of Act No. 788 which remains.
He concludes:
“Since under the facts of this case the defendant’s request for the general affirmative charge necessarily sought to invoke only the seven-year provision of the Act, we pretermit consideration of the constitutionality of the remaining portion of the Act including its retrospective application.”
Mr. Justice Harwood says:
“Having concluded that the said proviso is invalid, it necessarily follows that the appellee’s suit was within the remaining limitations specified in Act No. 788.”
Assuming Mr. Justice Jones finds some portions of Act No. 788 constitutional, (if it contains two subjects, no part of it could be saved, in my opinion) then I think he is wrong when he says the point was not properly raised.
Mr. Justice Harwood gives no reasons to support his conclusion that the part of the statute which remains does not bar the action. I think it does. The period of limitation began to run from the date of the “completion of the improvement” in 1959. If McBride had a cause of action based on any act or omission, whether in contract or tort, the action must have been commenced within four years after completion of the improvement; “provided, that if the cause of action is not discovered and could not reasonably have been discovered within such period [the four-year period], then the action may be commenced within six months from the date of such discovery or the date of discovery of facts which would reasonably lead to such discovery, whichever is earlier. . . . ”
McBride’s cause of action did not arise during the four-year period. It did not arise until after the effective date of the Act; therefore, the provisions of Section 4 to the effect that the Act “shall apply only to causes of action arising subsequent to the effective date of this Act,” are applicable to McBride’s claim. The words “cause of action mean a legal wrong for which an “action” may be, but has not been, brought in court, McDowell v. Henderson Mining Co., 276 Ala. 202, 160 So.2d 486 (1964). Since McBride had no right to sue prior to the effective date of the Act, the statute of repose applies to his claim.
I suggest a look at the Act will show that the words “cause of action” in Sections 1 and 4 mean the same thing in both sections. I will give examples, involving tort and contract situations, to prove my point.
The statute covers actions in contract and tort. Even though we deal here with a tort action, the statute is not limited to tort actions. In contract, a party’s right of action on the contract accrues when the contract is broken by the other party. He may sue as soon as the contract is breached. The amount or kind of damages which the plaintiff claims and which may be recoverable by him on the breach is immaterial. 54 C.J.S. Limitations of Actions § 125, p. 40. In personal tort actions, such as the one here, the right to bring suit does not occur until a person is injured. Unquestionably, McBride’s “cause of action” did not accrue until November 3, 1969, when he was injured.
What does the phrase regarding discovery of a “cause of action” mean in the context of Section 1? First, let us consider what it means in a contract action. There was evidence that Bagby failed to construct the elevator in accordance with industry standards. This failure probably constituted a breach of its contract with the YMCA. The YMCA may not have discovered the omission and “breach”- — the “cause of action” for this breach — until sometime later — maybe not until McBride was hurt. But since any “cause of action” by the YMCA against Bagby for breach of contract would have accrued when the breach occurred, Act No. 788 would not *207“apply” to that “cause of action.” The limitations on actions for breach of contract [either six or ten years] in effect at the time the cause of action accrued would have controlled. Similarly, if McBride had been injured prior to the effective date of Act No. 788, his “cause of action” would have accrued and Act No. 788 would not “apply.” In such case, McBride would have been able to take advantage of not only the one-year statute but also the provisions of Title 7, Section 36, Code of Alabama 1940 (Recompiled 1958), which allows infants additional time within which to file suits. But McBride was not injured before the Legislature acted, and since McBride’s right to sue did not exist on the effective date of the Act, his right could be barred or limited as the Legislature saw, fit. He had no substantive right to sue. Therefore, the Legislature took nothing from him.
If injury gives rise to the “cause of action”, how can a person discover an injury? It may seem anomalous at first blush to say that a person would discover an injury in a purely personal action. In most cases, a person knows immediately when some act or omission has caused him injury. But this is not always true. The classic example is the malpractice action. Sometimes a foreign object is left in a person during an operation. The patient might have a “cause of action” but did not discover it. As a matter of fact, the proviso in Act No. 788 regarding discovery of the “cause of action” is identical with the proviso in the malpractice statute. Consequently, I think the proviso has the same meaning in Act No. 788 as it does in the malpractice statute [Title 7, § 25(1), Code of Alabama, 1940, (Recompiled, 1958)] The question may arise as to when a person might have a right.to sue an architect or builder for negligence and has not discovered his “cause of action.” One example could be as follows: A negligently constructs pipes in a building carrying gases which are dangerous. B works in the building and is unaware that the gases are escaping because of the faulty construction. He becomes ill because of the inhalation of the gases. Later, after an inspection turns up the negligent construction as being the cause for the escape of the gases, B, for the first time, discovers his “cause of action” against A. Assume the four year period has run. Is B barred? No, not if B’s injury occurred within the four-year period but B did not discover it or could not have reasonably discovered it during the four-year period after “final completion of such improvements.” As I construe the statute, B would have up to seven years after completion of the improvement in such cases, provided B filed his suit within six months after he discovered his cause of action, or could have reasonably discovered it.
In other words, I believe the proviso, which gives additional time to sue when a “cause of action” is not discovered or could not reasonably have been discovered, is beneficent in both contract and tort actions. The general rule is that ignorance of a cause of action, unless superinduced by fraud, is not one of the instances in which the running of a limitation statute is tolled. Hudson v. Moore, 239 Ala. 130, 194 So. 147 (1940). The provisos in Act No. 788 and the malpractice statute change the harsh results of the rule set out in Hudson v. Moore, in my judgment. But the malpractice statute and Act No. 788 set an outside limit beyond which no action can be maintained. I think the Legislature can do this. In fact, this Court, in Sellers v. Edwards, said it could be done in medical malpractice cases.
I would like to list one further reason why I think the phrase “but it shall apply only to causes of actions arising subsequent to the effective date of this Act” should be construed as I suggest.
Had the Legislature made no reference to existing “cause of action” on which suit had not been brought, then this Court would have to construe the new statute as giving the entire time prescribed by the *208new law before the prescription would be complete. Henry v. Thorpe, 14 Ala. 103 (1848). But the Legislature made special provision in Act No. 788 and specifically said that the Act would apply only to causes of actions “arising subsequent to the effective date of the Act.”
I interpret Act No. 788 to mean that if a person’s right to sue existed at the time the Act became effective, whether his right to sue sounded in contract or tort, the old law limiting actions applied. If the right to sue occurred after the effective date of the Act the new limitation [a basic four-year period after final completion of the improvements, but no more than seven] applied.
Consequently, I think the Act is constitutional and that McBride’s action was barred. If the four-year limitation remains, I still think McBride’s claim was barred.
I make one further point regarding the opinions of some of the Justices that Act No. 788 contains two subjects — one a “traditional statute of limitation” and one which grants immunity. That conclusion, in my opinion, is incongruous. Since Act No. 788 specifies that the limitation runs from the time of the "completion of the improvement,” the four-year provision, and the six-month proviso, and the seven-year proviso are all immunity provisions. Suit “must be commenced,” to use the words of the title, within the specified time periods or the right to sue is barred. That is immunity. All statutes of limitations grant immunity from suit after the expiration of specified periods of time. Most limitations run from the time the cause of action accrues. The statute here runs from the “completion of the improvements.” The intent of the Legislature was to limit the liability of architects and contractors after expiration of the limits set out in the statute. I would carry out this intent. Therefore, I must respectfully dissent.
McCALL, J., concurs.

. 32 J.Am.Jud.Soc’y at page 106.

. H.B. 899 was introduced by Representative Hill on the fifteenth legislative day and received its first reading on June 25, 1969. It was referred to the Committee on State Administration. House Journal, 1969, p. 794. On the twenty-fourth legislative day, H.B. 899 received its second reading. It was amended in Committee. House Journal, p. 1458. The bill was taken up on the twenty-eighth legislative day. At that time, the bill required “actions” to be commenced within two years, but not more than seven years. Representative Hill offered an amendment to strike out the word “two” and insert the word “four.” Hill’s amendment was adopted 76-0. Hill then offered an amendment to add to Section 5 (present Section 4 of Act No. 788), the following:
“ . . . [B]ut it shall apply only to causes of action arising subsequent to the effective date of this Act.” [Emphasis added.]
An amendment which would have increased the time within which the action could be commenced from four to seven years was tabled. The Bill, as amended, was passed by the House, 69-12. House Journal 2025, 2026. The Senate amended House Bill 899 by striking Section 2 which read, “Nothing in this Act shall be construed as extending the period prescribed by the laws of this state for the beginning of an action.” The Bill passed the *202Senate. Senate Journal, p. 2575. The Bill was returned to the House and the House concurred in the Senate amendment striking Section 2 of the Bill. House Journal, p. 2576. The vote was 75-2 for passage.

. A survey of actions pending against architects showed that 84.3% of all claims against architects would normally be brought within four years from completion of services. 18 Cath.U.L.R., at page 366.