Helen Trout Arrowood, of the Estate of James Broadus Arrowood, Deceased v. General Motors Corporation

DONALD RUSSELL, Circuit Judge.

The issue in this appeal is the proper construction of the North Carolina statute of limitations as applied to a wrongful death action arising out of an alleged defective product. It is undisputed that until 1971, when N.C.G.S. § l-15(b), was enacted, the appropriate statute of limitations for an action for personal injuries arising out of a defect in a product began to run from the date of the sale and delivery of such product — not from the date of the ultimate failure of the product or the occurrence of an injury on account of such failure. 1 The enactment of…