explaining that "Mhe general rule concerning statutes of limitation is that a cause of action accrues when the wrong occurs and a party sustains injuries for which relief could be sought," but that the discovery rule is an exception to this general rule for accrual and that when applied, it tolls the statute of limitations period "until the injured party discovers or reasonably should have discovered facts supporting a cause of action"
How later courts described this case
- explaining that "Mhe general rule concerning statutes of limitation is that a cause of action accrues when the wrong occurs and a party sustains injuries for which relief could be sought," but that the discovery rule is an exception to this general rule for accrual and that when applied, it tolls the statute of limitations period "until the injured party discovers or reasonably should have discovered facts supporting a cause of action"
- ruling the statutory period of limitations is tolled “until the injured party discovers or reasonably should have discovered facts supporting a cause of action”
- finding that the statute of limitations for 10 conversion is discovery based
- "We recognize that injustice may result from our ruling in instances where (childhood sexual abuse) has occurred but cannot be demonstrated by corroborative evidence that is clear and convincing. We are persuaded, however, that the potential for fraudulent claims is sufficiently great to warrant such a ruling."
Written by the judges who cited it.
The opinion
Rose, J.,
concurring:
I concur in the result reached in the majority opinion. However, I would prefer to adopt a rule that tolls the running of the statute of limitations until the discovery of the cause of the victim’s psychological problems as has been done in cases from other jurisdictions such as Hammer v. Hammer, 418 N.W.2d 23 (Wis.Ct.App. 1987), rev. denied, 428 N.W.2d 552 (Wis. 1988), and Meiers-Post v. Schafer, 427 N.W.2d 606 (Mich.Ct.App. 1988); or until the victim can psychologically address his child sexual assault (CSA) and assert it publicly. Since Petersen’s discovery of the causal connection between his psychological problems and the CSA occurred in 1987 and his complaint was filed in July, 1988, the lower court may well find that this action was timely filed if the running of the statute of limitations is tolled until the discovery of the cause of the injury. The lower court could also find that sufficient evidence supports a claim that Mr. Petersen could not psychologically confront and make public the prior CSA until shortly before the complaint was filed. Neither *283 factual determination has been made in this case. I would also apply the tolling of the statute of limitations as stated in all CSA cases, whether the assault was established by clear and convincing evidence or simply by a preponderance of the evidence.
The majority opinion is very persuasive in advocating the elimination of the statute of limitations in all CSA cases where the assault can be established by clear and convincing evidence. However, I would defer the decision on the actual adoption of that position, in this or a later case, until this court is presented with a child sexual assault case that is determined to be barred by the statute of limitations even after application of the above stated rules.