UCL statute of limitations question
As touched upon elsewhere, the UCL's "unlawful" prong "borrows" violations of other laws (state or federal, statutory or court-made) and makes them independently actionable. If the "borrowed" law's statute of limitations differs from the UCL's 4-year statute of limitations (see Bus. & Prof. Code section 17208), which statute governs? UCL practitioners know the answer is the UCL's 4-year statute of limitations, as the Court of Appeal implicitly acknowledged in a recent decision, Taiheiyo Cement Corp. v. Superior Court, ___ Cal.App.4th ___ (Mar. 30, 2004) (fn. 10). This rule makes sense because the UCL can "borrow" any law regardless of whether it creates a private right of action, much less adopts a limitations period. Bear in mind, too, that the UCL's 4-year statute is probably subject to the delayed discovery rule.
- posted by Kim Kralowec @ 7:58 AM