Barrio v. San Manuel Division Hospital for Magma Copper Co

In Barrio v. San Manuel Division Hospital for Magma Copper Co., 143 Ariz. 101, 104-07, 692 P.2d 280, 283-86 (1984), the court found unconstitutional a special statute of limitations that required a minor injured when below the age of seven to bring the action by age ten because it "abrogated" rather than "regulated" the action in violation of Article 18, Section 6 of the Arizona Constitution (the anti-abrogation clause). Article 18, Section 6 provides: "The right of action to recover damages for injuries shall never be abrogated, and the amount recovered shall not be subject to any statutory limitation." In doing so, the court distinguished Rutledge as an example of the legislature setting reasonable limits on the time in which to exercise rights guaranteed by the Arizona Constitution.