Jolly v. Eli Lilly & Co.
Supreme Court of California
751 P.2d 923 (1988)
Jolly (plaintiff) was exposed in utero to the drug DES, learned by 1972 that it could cause harm, was diagnosed with a precancerous condition, and eventually developed cancer requiring surgery by 1978, all while unable to identify which manufacturer had produced the DES her mother took. In 1980, the California Supreme Court's Sindell decision first allowed DES victims to sue manufacturers based on market share without identifying the specific source, and Jolly sued the DES manufacturers (defendants) less than a year after Sindell was decided; the trial court granted the manufacturers summary judgment as time-barred under the one-year statute of limitations, and the court of appeals reversed.
Whether, for purposes of the discovery rule, a change in the law may serve as a critical fact that tolls the statute of limitations for a tortious injury.