Idaho Supreme Court Update: Idaho’s catch-all statute of limitations revokes any common law rule that a claim cannot be time barred

On January 25, 2023, the Court issued a substitute opinion in Easterling v. HAL Pacific Properties. The decision, which was decided 3-2, provides insights into the Court’s views on statutory interpretation and construction. It also addresses actions that fall within Idaho’s catch-all statute of limitations, Idaho Code § 5-224.

The facts. The case concerns landlocked parcels owned by the Easterlings. The Easterlings sued an adjacent landowner, Hal Pacific Properties (“HAL”), claiming an easement by necessity over HAL’s property. The trial court mostly ruled in the Easterlings’ favor on summary judgment and at a bench trial. The trial court rejected HAL’s affirmative defense that the Easterlings’ claims were barred by the statute of limitations set forth in Idaho Code § 5-224, and held that the Easterlings were entitled to an easement by necessity over HAL’s property and set the location and width of the easement. HAL appealed.

The issues. The decision largely centered on whether the catch-all statute of limitations of Section 5-224 applies to an easement by necessity claim. Section 5-224 provides: “An action for relief not hereinbefore provided for must be commenced within four (4) years after the cause of action shall have accrued.” HAL argued that a plain reading of the statute requires its application to an easement by necessity claim, while the Easterlings argued the statute was inapplicable because the claim cannot be time barred. If Section 5-224 does apply to an easement by necessity claim, the issue turned to the accrual of the claim.

The result. A divided Court reversed the trial court’s decision rejecting HAL’s statute of limitations defense. The majority held the plain and unambiguous language of Section 5-224 applies to an easement by necessity claim because the claim is not “specifically provided for” in another statute. From there, the majority reversed the trial court’s decision that the Easterlings were entitled to an easement by necessity and remanded for determinations of accrual. In a spirited dissent, the minority argued that a statute of limitations defense is inapplicable to an easement by necessity claim based on common law and public policy grounds.

Practice Pointers

1. The catch-all statute of limitations in Section 5-224 was first enacted in 1881. At that time, it abrogated any common law rule that a claim cannot be time barred. Any exceptions to Section 5-224 must be enacted by statute. According to the majority, “[t]he only prerogative for the legislature, where a catch-all operates in the background, is to expressly exempt, or provide for, a statute of limitations where the legislature deems fit.”
2. If anything, the decision reinforces that statutory interpretation begins with the plain language of the statute and that public policy plays a role only if the language is ambiguous. While both the majority opinion and the dissent discussed the public policy of whether easement by necessity claims can or cannot be time barred, none of that matters if the statute is unambiguous. Only where legislative language is ambiguous, and other rules of statutory construction do not control, should the court consider social and economic results.
3. Statute of limitations defenses must be pleaded, preserved, and argued before the trial court. The Court does not sua sponte address statute of limitation defenses. It was critical, as the majority observed, that HAL raised Section 5-224 as an affirmative defense, preserved it for appeal, and raised it on appeal.
4. The decision also clarifies Idaho law on easements by necessity. In particular, the Court held that the right to an easement by necessity arises at severance, the doctrine of merger applies to such a claim, and the claim is, in substance, a quiet title action under Idaho Code § 6-401, which sets the accrual standard.