Bradley v. Breen

In Bradley v. Breen (1999) 73 Cal. App. 4th 798, a plaintiff alleged he had been molested by the decedent. Four years after the decedent had died, he brought an action against two individuals, claiming they had aided and abetted the molestations. The defendants filed a cross-claim for indemnity against the decedent's estate and the estate demurred on the ground of the one-year statute of limitations in section 366.2. On appeal from the dismissal of the cross-claim, the court upheld the bar of section 366.2. Appellants argued that they could not have filed their action any sooner because their claim for equitable indemnity had not accrued. They pointed out that the extended statutes of limitations for molestation actions enabled the complaint against them to be filed well after the decedent had died, by which time it was impossible for them to seek indemnity within the time allowed by section 366.2. The court responded that the statute specifically applied to all "causes of action against a decedent that existed at the time of death, 'whether accrued or not accrued.'" ( Id. at p. 800.) "With section 366.2, the Legislature has made a public policy determination that effectively limits or qualifies the right of indemnity. The Legislature has determined that the one-year statute of limitations will best effectuate the strong public policy of expeditious and final estate administration, despite the possibility that in a rare case such as the present one, an action for equitable indemnity may be foreclosed." ( Id. at pp. 805-806.)