Bartalo

This petition for writ of mandate states that petitioner Robert D. Bartalo (Bartalo) is a defendant in a personal injury case arising out of an automobile accident which occurred on June 15, 1973. Irene Rosman (wife), who was injured in the accident, filed her lawsuit against Bartalo on June 29, 1973. She was the only named plaintiff. On August 21, 1974, Rodriguez v. Bethlehem Steel Corp., 12 Cal.3d 382 [ 115 Cal.Rptr. 765 , 525 P.2d 669 ], was decided. It established for the first time in California that the spouse of an injured person in a tort action has a right of recovery for loss of consortium. In December of 1974, wife and her husband Eugene Rosman (husband) noticed a motion for an order permitting them to file an amended complaint naming husband as an additional plaintiff and adding a second cause of action for loss of consortium. Their motion was granted. Bartalo demurred to the second cause of action of the amended complaint on the ground that it was barred by the statute of limitations (one year from date of the accident). The demurrer was overruled and the instant petition followed. We issued an alternative writ of mandate.

Argument

Bartalo contends that…