Purcell

Plaintiff Joseph Purcell appeals from a judgment of dismissal following the granting of a motion for a judgment on the pleadings.

On March 27, 1968, plaintiff filed a complaint against his former insurance carrier Colonial Insurance Co. (hereinafter defendant) seeking $100,000 in damages for “grievous mental and physical pain and nervous pain and suffering,” and $3,500 in legal expenses. The pain and suffering was alleged to be the result of the defendant’s failure to settle, within the limits of its policy, a claim against plaintiff for bodily injury, property damage, and wrongful death. Defendant in moving for a judgment on the pleadings urged that (1) plaintiff was not the real party in interest, having assigned his cause of action, and (2) the action was barred by the statute of limitations.

The trial court assumed that plaintiff had a cause of action but ruled that said cause of action was barred by the one-year statute of limitations applicable to personal injury actions. (Code Civ. Proc., § 340, subd. 3.)

Factual Background

On June 20, 1962, the plaintiff was involved in an automobile accident near St. Louis, Missouri. The accident resulted in the death of two…