McAfee v. Cole

In the absence of explicit legislative direction, determining when a cause of action accrues remains a judicial function. Anderson v. Neal, 428 A.2d 1189, 1190-91 (Me.1981). A cause of action generally accrues when the wrongful act occurs. In certain limited circumstances, however, we have held that a cause of action accrues not when the wrongful act occurs, but when the plaintiff discovers the harm. Our determination of what circumstances merit the application of the “discovery rule” has depended on four factors: (1) the nature of the relationship between the plaintiff and the defendant; (2)…