Adler v. Beverly Hills Hospital

GUITTARD, Chief Justice.

The principal question presented is whether a cause of action for false imprisonment accrues for the purpose of the statute of limitations when the unlawful detention begins or when it ends. We hold that false imprisonment is a continuing tort and that the cause of action for the entire period of imprisonment accrues when the detention ends. We also hold that if a person is unlawfully detained and turned over to a mental hospital, where he is confined and prevented from taking any legal action, his cause of action against the persons who first detained him is tolled…