Injury & Property Damage – There Can Be No Cause Of Action Until Damages Are Sustained

The Los Angeles personal injury and property damage attorneys at Gholian Law are constantly evaluating cases and claims to determine whether there are sufficient grounds to file a claim. The first step in this evaluation process is determining if liability actually exists. And the next step is ascertaining whether actual damages occurred. Liability may be abundantly clear, but without damages, there’s no cause of action under California law. Equally important in evaluating damages is defining the statutes of limitations (the window of time in which you have to file a lawsuit). In many cases, the statutes of limitations has run their course and you no longer have grounds to file a claim.

California law is specific on the matter of actual damages, mandating the accrual of damages before a claim or cause of action is legally ripe for filing. [See C.C.P. § 312.] Additionally, California law notes a cause of action does not accrue until the damages have been sustained. {See City of Vista supra 84 Cal. App. 4th at 886 (“When damages are an element of a cause of action, the cause of action does not accrue until the damages have been sustained.”) (Emphasis added); see also McAllister v. Clement, (1988) 75 Cal. 182, 184 (“But it is clear that no action will lie to recover damages if no damages have been sustained.”); see also Allen v. Gardner, (1954) 126 Cal. App. 2d 335, 340; see also Vaca v. Wachovia Mortg. Corp., (2011) 198 Cal. App. 4th 737, 743 (“[I]t is often stated that the statute commences ‘upon the occurrence of the last element essential to the cause of action.’”) (Internal citations omitted.); see also Pooshs v. Phillip Morris USA, Inc. (2011) 51 Cal. 4th 788, 797 (“A cause of action accrues ‘when [it] is complete with all of its elements’—those elements being wrongdoing, harm, and causation.”) (Emphasis added) (Internal citations omitted.)]

It’s also important to note that the threat of harm, if not yet realized, does not trigger the clock running on a statute of limitation. [See United States Liab. Ins. Co. v. Haidinger-Hayes, Inc., (1970) 1 Cal. 3d 586, 597 (“Mere threat of future harm, not yet realized, is not enough…The cause of action must be matured so that a suit can be based upon it…No action will lie to recover damages if no damages have been sustained…Basic public policy is best served by recognizing that damage is necessary to mature such a cause of action.”) (Emphasis added.) (Internal citations omitted.); see also Walker v. Pacific Indem. Co., (1960) 183 Cal. App. 2d 513, 517 (“It is clear that mere possibility, or even probability, that an event causing damage will result from a wrongful act does not render the act actionable…”); see also McAllister supra 75 Cal. at 814.]