Responding to a request for certification from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the California Supreme Court held that when a later-discovered latent disease is separate and distinct from an earlier-discovered disease, the earlier disease does not trigger the statute of limitations for a lawsuit based on the later disease.
Nikki Pooshs smoked cigarettes from 1953 until 1991. At the time she began smoking, Pooshs was unaware that smoking could be injurious to her health. In 1989, Pooshs was diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (“COPD”). Pooshs believed the COPD was caused by smoking. In 1990, Pooshs was diagnosed with periodontal disease. Her periodontist told her the disease was directly caused by smoking. In January 2003, Poohs was diagnosed with lung cancer.
