Opinion
H024718.
11-21-2003
DEBRA GUTIERREZ, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. VIRGINIA RICO, Defendant and Appellant.
This appeal is simply resolved. Plaintiff obtained a jury verdict for damages on a cause of action for libel. Defendant claims on appeal that plaintiffs action was barred by the statute of limitations. Libel is subject to a one-year limitations period. (Code Civ. Proc., § 340, subd. (c).) "The time in which any act provided by law is to be done is computed by excluding the first day, and including the last, unless the last day is a holiday, and then it is also excluded." (Code Civ. Proc., § 12.)
On March 22, 1999, defendant mailed a letter to plaintiffs husband. The anonymous letter stated that plaintiff was having an affair with a coworker. Plaintiffs husband received the letter on March 23, 1999, became extremely distressed and told plaintiff of the accusation. Plaintiff filed her action against defendant on March 23, 2000. Defendant claims that the cause of action accrued on March 22, 1999 with the mailing of the letter and therefore the limitations period expired one day prior to the commencement of plaintiffs action.
Since the action was timely if the libel cause of action accrued on March 23 rather than March 22, the sole issue is whether the delayed discovery rule is applicable here. "[A] cause of action for libel generally accrues when the defamatory matter is published; under the discovery rule, however, the date of accrual may be delayed where the defendants actions hinder plaintiffs discovery of the defamatory matter." (Bernson v. Browning-Ferris Industries (1994) 7 Cal.4th 926, 931-932.) Obviously, by mailing the defamatory letter to plaintiffs husband, defendant delayed plaintiffs discovery of the defamatory matter until March 23, 1999 when the letter was received by the addressee. Consequently, the date of accrual of the libel cause of action was delayed until March 23, 1999, and plaintiffs action was timely filed on March 23, 2000.
The judgment is affirmed.
WE CONCUR: Rushing, P.J., Wunderlich, J.