Opinion

Berry v. Branner

  • 245 Or. 307
  • 421 P.2d 996
  • 1966 Ore. LEXIS 385
Court
Oregon Supreme Court
Filed
Dec 28, 1966
Status
Published
Author
McALLISTER
On the bench
McAllister, Perry, Sloan, O'Connell, Goodwin, Denecke, Holman
Cited by
161 cases
Authority
More cited than 6.8%

Superseded by statute, as recognized in Lesch v. DeWitt

cause of action “accrued” at time plaintiff obtained knowledge, or reasonably should have obtained knowledge, of tort committed upon her person by defendant

How later courts described this case

  • cause of action “accrued” at time plaintiff obtained knowledge, or reasonably should have obtained knowledge, of tort committed upon her person by defendant
  • unlike malpractice claims, ‘other tort actions * * * are normally immediately ascertainable upon commission of the wrong.’
  • “To say that a cause of action accrues to a person when she may maintain an action thereon and, at the same time, that it accrues before she has or can reasonably be expected to have knowledge of any wrong inflicted upon her is patently inconsistent and unrealistic. She cannot maintain an action before she knows she has one. To say to one who has been wronged, “You had a remedy, but before the wrong was ascertainable to you, the law stripped you of your remedy,’ makes a mockery of the law.”
  • explaining the difficulty in inferring legislative intent from inaction

Written by the judges who cited it.

Later courts went against this

  • Superseded by statute, as recognized in Lesch v. DeWitt

    245 Or. 307, 309 , 421 P.2d 996 (1966), superseded by statute as stated in Lesch v. DeWitt, 118 Or. App. 397
    Court of Appeals of OregonMar 3, 1993by statutemedium confidenceRead it

Distinguished

  • Distinguished by Whalen v. American Medical Response Northwest, Inc., 256 Or. App. 278 (2013)

    Nonetheless, defendants argue that the discovery rule does not apply here for two reasons: (1) the text of ORS 12.110(1) does not create a discovery rule for battery claims and (2) the discovery rule articulated in Berry and its progeny is inapplicable to battery claims because those claims are “inherently discoverable.
    Court of Appeals of OregonApr 17, 2013Read it

The opinion

McALLISTER, C. J.,

dissenting.

For the reasons stated by Lusk, J., in Vaughn v. Langmack, 236 Or 542 , 390 P2d 142 (1964), I dissent.

This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.

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