Georgia-Pacific Corp. v. Bondurant

EAGLES, Judge.

Notice of appeal was timely given. G.S. 1-279; App. R. 3. The appeal is properly before us.

I

North Carolina, apparently alone among American jurisdictions, continues to adhere to the rule that once the statute of limitations has been properly pleaded in defense the burden of proof shifts to the plaintiff to show that the action was filed within the statutory period. Lea Co. v. N.C. Bd. of Transp., 308 N.C. 603, 304 S.E. 2d 164 (1983); Little v. Rose, 285 N.C. 724, 208 S.E. 2d 666 (1974); see 54 C.J.S. Limitations of Actions Section 386 (1948). This anomalous rule survived the…