Robert Earley, by and Through His Father and Next Friend, Charles Earley v. Louisville & Nashville Railroad Co., a Corporation, and Jimmy Dowdle

STEVENS, Circuit Judge.

Plaintiff appeals from the dismissal of his complaint as barred by the Illinois Statute of Limitations. Suit was commenced within the period permitted by the law as it existed at the time the cause of action accrued. The question is whether subsequent statutory amendments shortened the period so as to bar the claim.

Plaintiff was injured on July 22, 1971; he was then 17 years old. He brought suit on January 31, 1974, when he was 20 years old. The action was thus not commenced within two years after the claim arose, as required by the statute generally applicable to…