Oakes v. Loppnow
Plaintiff and appellant David Oakes appeals from a judgment of dismissal in favor of defendant and respondent Jeffrey Gray Loppnow[1] in this personal injury action. Oakes contends that: 1) Jeffrey waived the statute of limitations defense by citing an incorrect code section in his answer; 2) the trial court erred in determining the merits of Jeffrey’s statute of limitations defense based solely on evidence submitted in connection with the motion to bifurcate trial; 3) there is no substantial evidence to support the trial court’s finding the relation-back doctrine is inapplicable, because Oakes knew the identity of the driver at the time he filed his lawsuit; 4) the trial court abused its discretion in finding Mercury Insurance Group and defense counsel owed no duty to Oakes to provide information about other potential defendants; 5) and the trial court erred in finding Oakes’s property damage claim was time-barred as well.
We conclude Jeffrey’s failure to specify the applicable statute of limitations waived the defense. Therefore, we reverse the judgment and remand for trial.
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