California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from Chen v. Jordan, D064717, D065587 (Cal. App. 2014):
Nonetheless, under the discovery rule, accrual of a cause of action may be "postponed until the plaintiff 'discovers, or has reason to discover, the cause of action.' " (Pooshs, supra, 51 Cal.4th at p. 797.) For purposes of this rule, discovery "occurs when the plaintiff 'has reason . . . to suspect a factual basis' for the action." (Ibid.) A plaintiff has reason to suspect a factual basis for the action when the plaintiff has notice of information or circumstances that would put a reasonable person on inquiry. (Norgart v. Upjohn Co., supra, 21 Cal.4th at p. 398.) "[T]he discovery rule most frequently applies when it is particularly difficult for the plaintiff to observe or understand the breach of
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duty, or when the injury itself (or its cause) is hidden or beyond what the ordinary person could be expected to understand." (Shively v. Bozanich (2003) 31 Cal.4th 1230, 1248.)
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