Law Extending Statute Of Limitations For Tort Actions Is Not Retroactive

Krupnick v. Duke Energy Morro Bay, 115 Cal. App. 4th 1026 (2004)

John Krupnick filed this personal injury action against Duke Energy Morro Bay on January 8, 2003 for injuries allegedly sustained on January 26, 2001. Duke filed a demurrer on the ground that the action was barred by the one-year statute of limitations of former California Code of Civil Procedure Section 340(3). Krupnick argued in response that the applicable statute of limitations was two years rather than one, based upon California Code of Civil Procedure Section 335.1, which was enacted in 2002 and became effective on January 1, 2003. Relying upon the express language of the statute, the Court of Appeal held that the two-year statute of limitations was not retroactively applicable except to victims of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.