Insight
An Update on Prescription – The Most Important Issue
Published on: November 26, 2019
“Prescription” is the timeperiod in which a litigant must file suit, or the action is barred. Oneof the first lessons a Louisiana law student learns is the importance ofdetermining the prescriptive period of a cause of action. Filing a causeof action too late is fatal. A recent decision from the Louisiana FifthCircuit Court of Appeal reads like a law school exam and illustrates thatdetermining which prescriptive period applies is sometimes the key to the case.
In DeFelice v. FederatedNat'l Ins. Co., 18-374 (La. App. 5 Cir. 7/9/19), mold was discovered inplaintiff’s home on June 10, 2016. Plaintiffs notified their insurancecompany, who hired a mold remediation company to inspect the home. Whenthe home was inspected on June 22, 2016, the inspector verbally informedplaintiffs that the home was safe. On the same day, a separate moldinspector collected samples. The second mold inspector issued a report on June23, 2016 advising that mold remediation may be necessary. This reportspecifically stated that “certain mold and mold spores in buildings and housingcan result in mild to severe health effects in humans and can deteriorate thestructure of the dwelling resulting in content or structure damage.” Thesecond report was provided to the plaintiffs.
Plaintiffs continued to live inthe home. In August of 2016, plaintiffs’ infant son was born. Shortly thereafter, the infant began to experience breathing issues and wasdiagnosed with a lung condition by December of 2016. Plaintiffs vacatedthe premises in January of 2017.
More than one year after receiptof the second mold report, plaintiffs filed suit on July 24, 2017 against theirinsurer and the inspector who advised that the home had no mold problems. Plaintiffs raised claims for property damage, damage to the health of theparents, damage to the health of the minor child, and consortium claims onbehalf of the parents for the damage to the minor child.
The DeFelice court foundthat prescription began to run on June 23, 2016 with regard to the parents’individual and property damage claims. Because suit was not filed withina year of the second mold report advising of possible health and propertydamages, the parents’ individual health claims and the claims for propertydamage were prescribed under the one-year period set by Civil Code article3492.
The minor child was not bornwhen the report was issued on June 23, 2016. Plaintiffs argued that thoseclaims were brought within a year of the child’s birth, and were thereforetimely. The DeFelice court agreed and held that prescription could notbegan to run until the child was born. While Louisiana law provides that a childis a “person” upon conception, this “legal fiction” applies only to protect theinterests of the child. The court reasoned that a finding that prescriptioncommenced prior to birth would not “protect the interests” of the child. While the parent’s claims were prescribed, the claim filed on behalf of theinfant, and any claims that the parents had related to their infant’s healthcondition, were timely.
The court's analysis inDeFelice reminds that determining which prescriptive period applies to whichclaim is often the most important issue.
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