An advance payment extends the tort statute of limitations, the Oregon Supreme Court holds

Earlier this month the Oregon Supreme Court gave a broad reading to ORS 12.155, which suspends the statute of limitations on a tort claim when a "person" makes an advance payment on that claim, unless the person making the payment also gives written notice of the date that the statute of limitations expires.  While the Court of Appeals held that ORS 12.155 tolls the statute of limitations only when an insurer makes an advance payment, the Supreme Court reversed, holding that an advance payment by any person can extend the limitations period. 

In Hamilton v. Paynter, plaintiff alleged that she was injured when a forklift owned by defendants rear-ended her vehicle.  She claimed that defendants several months later made a $1,000 "partial payment" for the injuries she suffered, but did not give her written notice of the date the statute of limitations would expire on her claim.  She filed suit more than two years after the accident, which defendants claimed was beyond the limitations period.  The court disavowed earlier case law suggesting that only a payment by an insurer can toll the statute of limitations.  Because the defendants made an advance payment but failed to give notice of the limitations period, the statute of limitations was tolled and the claim was timely.