Doyle

Code of Civil Procedure section 340.1 requires the filing of certificates of merit for actions alleging childhood sexual abuse where the plaintiff is 26 years old or more. The statute does not specify when the certificates must be filed.

In this case, following a sustained demurrer, appellant Felicia Doyle’s action for sexual abuse she allegedly suffered as a child was dismissed for failure to file certificates of merit within the statutory limitations period. She contends that it was error to grant the demurrer because the complaint itself was filed within the limitations period. We conclude that the statute requires the filing of the certificates of merit before the running of the statute of limitations, and we therefore affirm the judgment of dismissal.

Background

Section 340.1, subdivision (a) provides that an action for damages suffered as a result of childhood sexual abuse must be brought “within eight years of the date the plaintiff attains the age of majority or within three years of the date the plaintiff discovers or reasonably should have discovered that psychological injury or illness occurring after the age of majority was caused by the sexual abuse,…