Bethel Investment Company v. City of Hampton

Summary

The Supreme Court of Virginia held that, in a common-law action for damages, a party who demands a jury trial is entitled to have a disputed factual issue concerning when the statute of limitations began to run decided by a jury. The court concluded that the City of Hampton failed to present sufficient evidence that Bethel Investment Company's claims accrued more than five years before filing. It reversed the dismissal based on the statutes of limitations and the municipal notice requirement and remanded for trial on all issues.

Holdings

1. When accrual of a claim depends on a disputed fact concerning when property damage first occurred, a party who demands a jury is entitled to have that factual issue resolved by a jury in an action at law seeking damages.
2. The City failed to present sufficient evidence as a matter of law to establish that Bethel's cause of action accrued more than five years before the action was filed; therefore, the statutes-of-limitations defenses and related Code § 8.01-222 motion could not be sustained.
3. The City was not entitled to relitigate the accrual issue on remand because it had submitted the issue to the trial court and failed entirely to present sufficient evidence supporting the trial court's finding.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the time when Bethel's property first suffered damage, and thus when its causes of action accrued for statute-of-limitations purposes, was a disputed factual issue for a jury.
2. Whether the trial court could sustain the City's statutes-of-limitations defenses and Code § 8.01-222 motion based on the evidence presented.
3. Whether the City, having submitted the accrual issue to the trial court, was entitled to relitigate that issue on remand.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded