Mohammadi v. Kinslow.

2022 COA 103. No. 21CA0109. Statute of Limitations—Limitations for Persons Under Disability—Tolling.

September 8, 2022

Mohammadi was injured when Kinslow hit her bicycle with his car. Mohammadi was 16 years old when the accident occurred on November 6, 2015. Mohammadi turned 18 on January 1, 2017, and she sued Kinslow on December 30, 2019, alleging negligence and negligence per se. Kinslow moved to dismiss the lawsuit as untimely. The district court ruled that because Mohammadi turned 18 before the three-year statute of limitations expired, she had either three years from the date of her accident or two years from the date she turned 18, whichever was later, to file suit. Because she did not meet the later deadline, the court concluded that her suit was time barred, and it dismissed the case.

On appeal, Mohammadi argued that the district court’s interpretation of CRS § 13-81-103(1)(c) is inconsistent with Colorado Supreme Court precedent. Generally, a person injured in a motor vehicle accident must bring suit within three years of the accident’s date. However, the Court has interpreted CRS § 13-81-103(1)(c) to toll the applicable limitations period until a minor plaintiff reaches age 18. Here, Mohammadi was 16 when the accident occurred. Under the Court’s interpretation of CRS § 13-81-103(1)(c), because no legal representative was appointed, the applicable three-year limitations period was tolled and did not begin to run until she turned 18. Consequently, Mohammadi had until January 1, 2020, to file her action, and the district court erred by dismissing her case.

The judgment was reversed and the case was remanded with directions to reinstate Mohammadi’s complaint.