Susman v. Kearney Towing & Repair Center, Inc.

Summary

The Nebraska Supreme Court held that the plaintiffs’ ordinary negligence claim against a tire repair company accrued when they were injured in the tire-related accident, not when the tire was installed. Because the action was filed within four years of the accident, it was not barred by Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-207. The court reversed the summary judgment and remanded for further proceedings.

Holdings

1. An ordinary negligence cause of action accrues, and the statute of limitations begins to run, when the plaintiff has a present right to institute and maintain suit—meaning that all elements of the claim, including actual injury and causation, have occurred. The limitations period does not begin when the defendant's allegedly negligent act occurs if the plaintiff has not yet suffered an injury.
2. The plaintiffs' negligence claim was not barred by Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-207(3) because the claim accrued on May 1, 2015, when the tire failure caused their injuries, rather than on June 10, 2014, when Kearney Towing installed the tire.
3. The court disapproved Grand Island School Dist. #2 v. Celotex Corp. to the extent it could be interpreted to hold that a § 25-207(3) negligence claim accrues upon the defendant's act or omission regardless of whether the plaintiff has yet been aggrieved by that conduct.

Questions Presented

1. Whether an ordinary negligence cause of action under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-207(3) accrues when the defendant's allegedly negligent act or omission occurs or when the plaintiff suffers an actual injury giving rise to a right to institute and maintain suit.
2. Whether the plaintiffs' negligence claim was barred by the four-year statute of limitations when they filed suit within four years of the accident but more than four years after the tire installation.
3. Whether the Nebraska Supreme Court should disapprove language in Grand Island School Dist. #2 v. Celotex Corp. suggesting that a tort claim accrues when the defendant's act or omission occurs regardless of whether the plaintiff has yet been injured.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded