Zenga v. Greenberg Glusker CA2/8 ( 2014 )


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  • Filed 9/24/14 Zenga v. Greenberg Glusker et al. CA2/8
    NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS
    California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for
    publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication
    or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.
    IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
    SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT
    DIVISION EIGHT
    BO ZENGA,                                                            B248318
    Plaintiff and Appellant,                                    (Los Angeles County
    Super. Ct. Nos. BC316459 &
    v.                                                          BC316318)
    GREENBERG GLUSKER FIELDS
    CLAMAN & MACHTINGER et al.,
    Defendants and Respondents.
    APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County,
    Elihu M. Berle, Judge. Affirmed.
    Dovel & Luner, Gregory S. Dovel and Julien A. Adams for Plaintiff and
    Appellant.
    Jones Day, Brian A. Sun, Jason C. Wright and C. Kevin Marshall, pro hac vice,
    for Defendants and Respondents Greenberg Glusker Fields Claman & Machtinger and
    Bert Fields.
    Eagan Avenatti, and Jason M. Frank and Ahmed I. Ibrahim for Defendant and
    Respondent Pacific Bell Telephone Company.
    Munger, Tolles & Olson, and Stephen M. Kristovich and Hailyn J. Chen for
    Defendants and Respondents Samax Enterprises, Inc., and Brad Grey.
    _______________________________
    This appeal arises from one of the many lawsuits involving the activities of private
    investigator Anthony Pellicano. Plaintiff and appellant Bo Zenga filed claims against the
    law firm of Greenberg Glusker Fields, Claman & Machtinger and attorney Bert Fields;1
    the media production company Samax Enterprises, Inc., and producer Brad Grey;2 and
    Pacific Bell Telephone Company.3
    Zenga appeals from the grant of a joint motion for summary judgment filed by
    Greenberg, Grey and PacBell based on the statute of limitations. We affirm.
    FACTS
    The Underlying Events
    In 2000, Zenga sued Grey for wrongs related to an alleged producing partnership
    agreement connected with a motion picture entitled Scary Movie. During the course of
    the Scary Movie litigation, Grey and his attorneys (the Greenberg firm) hired Pellicano to
    investigate Zenga. Pellicano, in turn, illegally wiretapped Zenga’s telephones. Events
    surrounding the wiretapping of Zenga’s telephones are discussed in more detail below in
    addressing the statute of limitations issues.
    In 2002 and 2003, federal authorities investigated Pellicano for illegal wiretapping
    activities. The mainstream and entertainment press widely reported on the investigation.
    In 2006, authorities indicted Pellicano, and, in 2008, a federal court jury convicted him of
    multiple counts, including wiretapping, racketeering and wire fraud.
    Meanwhile, Zenga’s Scary Movie lawsuit against Grey continued forward. At a
    deposition in September 2000, Zenga testified falsely. Grey thereafter discovered the
    matter, and filed a motion for an order dismissing Zenga’s case as a sanction for the false
    testimony. The trial court denied Grey’s motion to dismiss, but ordered Zenga to submit
    to another deposition session. In March 2001, Zenga repeatedly invoked his rights under
    the Fifth Amendment, declining to answer hundreds of questions. The trial court
    1
    Hereafter collectively Greenberg or the Greenberg firm.
    2
    Hereafter collectively Grey.
    3
    Hereafter PacBell.
    2
    thereafter ordered Zenga to answer a majority of the questions. When his deposition
    resumed, Zenga again invoked his Fifth Amendment privilege, and refused to answer
    almost all of the court-ordered questions. The court subsequently granted Grey’s motion
    in limine to preclude Zenga from testifying at trial of his Scary Movie lawsuit. At trial,
    the court granted Grey’s motion for nonsuit based on Zenga’s failure to testify. Division
    Three of our court affirmed the judgment of nonsuit. (See Zenga et al. v. Brillstein-Grey
    Entertainment (Nov. 4, 2003, B159566 [nonpub. opn.].)
    Zenga’s Current Lawsuit
    1.     The Pleadings
    In June 2004, Zenga filed a complaint for damages against Pellicano, the City of
    Los Angeles (specifically alleging claims involving the Los Angeles Police Department
    (LAPD)), Mark Arneson (a LAPD officer), and Does 1 through 100. Zenga’s complaint
    alleged that the LAPD, through Arneson, disclosed confidential police records about
    Zenga to Pellicano. Attorney Gregory Dovel represented Zenga at the time the Pellicano-
    related lawsuit was filed.
    In May 2006, Zenga filed a first amended complaint re-alleging the claims noted
    above, and adding the Greenberg firm, Grey and PacBell. The first amended complaint
    alleged that Grey retained the Greenberg firm in connection with the Scary Movie
    lawsuit, and that Grey and Greenberg, acting together, hired Pellicano as a private
    investigator. It alleged that Pellicano wrongly wiretapped Zenga’s telephones with the
    knowledge and consent of Grey and the Greenberg firm, and that Grey and Greenberg
    accepted and used the fruits of Pellicano’s wrongdoing. It further alleged that Pellicano
    had been able to set up the wiretaps with the complicity of PacBell employees.
    In November 2008, Zenga filed his operative third amended complaint. It
    reiterated the claims against Greenberg, Grey and PacBell noted above; the amendments
    were mostly directed at the statute of limitations. The third amended complaint alleged
    three causes of action jointly against Greenberg, Grey and PacBell, listed respectively:
    (1) invasion of privacy, (2) illegal wiretapping, and (3) negligence, gross negligence, or
    deliberate wrongdoing in hiring and managing an agent who engaged in unlawful acts.
    3
    2.     The Motion for Summary Judgment
    In October 2012, Greenberg, Grey and PacBell filed a joint motion for summary
    judgment, or, in the alternative, summary adjudication of issues. The motion was based
    on the statute of limitations; it argued that Zenga’s causes of action had accrued no later
    than in the first half of 2004, meaning that his lawsuit filed against them in May 2006 had
    been filed too late. The evidence in support of the motion is discussed below in more
    detail, but it included undisputed evidence that Zenga began asking questions about the
    possibility that he had been wiretapped as early as 2001.
    In December 2012, Zenga filed an opposition, which was supported by evidence
    showing his investigation of his suspicions of wiretapping, including the efforts by his
    attorney, Gregory Dovel. Zenga argued that the accrual of his cause of action was
    delayed until the period within one year of the time he filed suit against Greenberg, Grey
    and PacBell because the investigation that he conducted from 2001 through 2006 was
    reasonable, and did not result in the discovery of facts supporting a cause of action.
    3.     The Trial Court’s Ruling and Judgment
    On December 21, 2012, the parties argued the joint motion for summary relief to
    the trial court, and the court granted the motion for summary judgment. The court
    explained that Zenga’s arguments in opposition to the statute of limitations failed under
    both of the discovery rule’s bases for beginning the limitations period. The court ruled
    Zenga subjectively suspected he was wiretapped by early 2004 at the latest because
    Zenga expressly admitted as much. Further, that Zenga objectively should have
    suspected such wrongdoing by no later than early 2004, given what he knew, as well as
    the information that would have been uncovered by a reasonable investigation based on
    obvious leads. Specifically, the court noted events concerning two other victims, Warren
    and Turner, the press reports in 2003-2004, especially the Times article mentioning
    Turner, and a Vanity Fair article detailing Pellicano’s methods. The court rejected, as
    conflicting with Supreme Court precedent, Zenga’s argument that a plaintiff does not
    discover his cause of action until he obtains knowledge of specific, hard facts needed to
    establish the cause of action.
    4
    On February 20, 2013, the trial court entered judgment in favor of Greenberg,
    Grey and PacBell, and against Zenga.
    Zenga filed a timely notice of appeal.
    DISCUSSION
    Zenga contends summary judgment in favor of Greenberg, Grey and PacBell must
    be reversed because he presented evidence from which a jury could determine that he did
    not suspect a factual basis for his wire-tapping claims and that he conducted a reasonable
    investigation but did not find sufficient facts to support filing a lawsuit until a period
    within one-year of filing suit against the moving defendants. We disagree.
    Standard of Review for Summary Judgment
    Summary judgment properly is granted if the “affidavits, declarations, admissions,
    answers to interrogatories, depositions, and matters of which judicial notice shall or may
    be taken” in support of and in opposition to the motion “show that there is no triable issue
    as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of
    law.” (Code Civ. Proc., § 437c, subds. (b)(1) & (c).) When it is the defendant who
    moves for summary judgment, summary judgment is proper if the defendant either
    proves an affirmative defense or disproves at least one essential element of the plaintiff's
    cause of action (Chevron U.S.A,. Inc. v. Superior Court (1992) 
    4 Cal. App. 4th 544
    , 548;
    Brunelle v. Signore (1989) 
    215 Cal. App. 3d 122
    , 127) or if defendant shows that an
    element of the cause of action cannot be established (Code Civ. Proc., § 437c, subd.
    (o)(2)). Although the trial court may grant summary judgment on one basis, this court
    may affirm the judgment under another that was presented by the motion. On appeal, this
    court examines the facts and independently determines their effect as a matter of law.
    (AARTS Productions, Inc. v. Crocker National Bank (1986) 
    179 Cal. App. 3d 1061
    , 1064-
    1065.)
    The Discovery Rule
    A statute of limitations prescribes the period of time past which a plaintiff may not
    commence a cause of action. (Code Civ. Proc., § 312; Fox v. Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc.
    (2005) 
    35 Cal. 4th 797
    , 806 (Fox).) The starting point for the running of a limitations
    5
    period is the date of the “accrual of the cause of action.” 
    (Fox, supra
    , 35 Cal.4th at p.
    806.) As a general rule, the accrual date of a cause of action is “‘when the cause of
    action is complete with all of its elements.’” (Ibid.)
    To avoid the unfairness that would result from the forfeiture of a cause of action
    by the expiration of a statute of limitations period before a plaintiff knows it may exist,
    there is an exception to the general rule of accrual noted above. This exception is known
    as the “discovery rule.” Under the discovery rule, the date for the accrual of a cause of
    action is delayed “until the plaintiff discovers, or has reason to discover, the cause of
    action.” 
    (Fox, supra
    , 35 Cal.4th at p. 807.) A plaintiff is said to “discover” a cause of
    action when he or she “suspects a factual basis, as opposed to a legal theory, for its
    elements, even if he [or she] lacks knowledge thereof . . . .” (Norgart v. Upjohn Co.
    (1999) 
    21 Cal. 4th 383
    , 397-398 (Norgart), italics added, citing Jolly v. Eli Lilly & Co.
    (1988) 
    44 Cal. 3d 1103
    , 1110 (Jolly).) A plaintiff is said to have “reason to discover” a
    cause of action when he or she “has reason . . . to suspect a factual basis for its
    elements.” (Norgart, at p. 398, italics added.) Thus, the discovery rule establishes two,
    alternate tests for the date of accrual of a cause of action: (1) a subjective test based on
    when a plaintiff actually suspected that an injury was caused by wrongdoing; or (2) an
    objective test based on when a reasonable person would have suspected that an injury
    was caused by wrongdoing. (See Kitzig v. Nordquist (2000) 
    81 Cal. App. 4th 1384
    , 1391.)
    Under either test, it is the suspicion of the existence of the elements of a cause of
    action that generally will be enough to trigger the accrual date. 
    (Norgart, supra
    , 21
    Cal.4th at p. 398, fn. 3; 
    Jolly, supra
    , 44 Cal.3d at p. 1112.) In applying the concept of
    suspicion, the discovery rule looks to “the ‘generic’ elements of wrongdoing, causation,
    and harm.” 
    (Fox, supra
    , 35 Cal.4th at p. 807, quoting 
    Norgart, supra
    , 21 Cal.4th at
    p. 397.) This means that courts “do not take a hypertechnical approach to the application
    of the discovery rule. Rather than examining whether the plaintiffs suspect facts
    supporting each specific legal element of a particular cause of action, we look to whether
    the plaintiffs have reason to at least suspect that a type of wrongdoing has injured them.”
    
    (Fox, supra
    , 35 Cal.4th at p. 807.)
    6
    Subjective or objective suspicion of one or more elements of a cause of action
    against a particular potential defendant, and thus, the accrual date of the cause of action
    against that defendant, cannot be avoided by “dilatory tactics.” 
    (Fox, supra
    , 35 Cal.4th at
    p. 807.) To employ the discovery rule to delay the accrual date of a cause of action, a
    potential plaintiff who suspects that an injury may have been caused by wrongdoing
    “must conduct a reasonable investigation of all potential causes of [action].” (Id. at
    p. 808.)
    In Fox, the Supreme Court clarified the issue of how this requirement of a
    reasonable investigation affects the date of accrual of a cause of action, and articulated
    this rule: “If such an investigation would have disclosed a factual basis for a cause of
    action, the statute of limitations begins to run on that cause of action when the
    investigation would have brought such information to light.” 
    (Fox, supra
    , 35 Cal.4th at
    pp. 808-809.) Given Fox’s repeated discussions of the Norgart and Jolly cases with
    approval, we believe that Fox’s rule must be read as follows: “If such an investigation
    would have disclosed a suspected factual basis for a cause of action, the statute of
    limitations begins to run on that cause of action when the investigation would have
    brought such information to light.” The unstated, but necessarily implied corollary rule is
    that, if a reasonable investigation would not have disclosed a suspected factual basis for a
    cause of action, the statute of limitations does not begin to run. But once a plaintiff
    suspects or has reason to suspect a factual basis for a cause of action, he or she may not
    wait to sue until he or she corrals the facts that are “necessary to establish the claim; that
    is a process contemplated by pretrial discovery.” (
    Jolly, supra
    , 44 Cal.3d at p. 1111.)
    Fox was a physical injury case alleging harm from a medical device, and arose in
    the context of a demurrer. In Fox, the Supreme Court accepted as true a plaintiff’s
    allegations that she conducted a reasonable investigation after filing a medical
    malpractice action, but had not found facts to suggest a cause of action existed against the
    medical device maker until later, when she deposed her doctor. 
    (Fox, supra
    , 35 Cal.4th
    at p. 811.)
    7
    The Supreme Court noted that, in a number of opinions in physical injury cases,
    it had addressed delayed accrual and the discovery rule in the context of summary
    judgment motions where it was presented with a record of undisputed material facts
    “for determining when and how the plaintiff discovered an injury, whether the plaintiff
    conducted a reasonable investigation, when such an investigation would have brought to
    light the factual basis for a cause of action . . . and whether the plaintiff could have
    discovered the factual basis for cause of action earlier by exercising reasonable
    diligence.” 
    (Fox, supra
    , 35 Cal.4th at p. 810.)
    The court went on to explain “[i]n our previous [physical injury] cases addressing
    the discovery rule, we affirmed that ignorance of the identity of the defendant does not
    delay accrual of a cause of action, but that ignorance of a generic element of the cause of
    action does. 
    (Norgart, supra
    , 21 Cal.4th at p. 399.) Such a distinction certainly exists in
    the context of a products liability action. Although the identity of the manufacturer-
    wrongdoer is not an essential element of a products liability cause of action, and therefore
    ignorance of its identity will not delay the running of the statute of limitations . . . , a
    plaintiff’s ignorance of wrongdoing involving a product’s defect will usually delay
    accrual because such wrongdoing is essential to that cause of action. . . .
    “It is therefore consistent with our prior applications of the discovery rule to delay
    accrual of a products liability cause of action even when a related medical malpractice
    claim has already accrued, unless the plaintiff has reason to suspect that his or her injury
    resulted from a defective product. More broadly stated, if a plaintiff’s reasonable and
    diligent investigation discloses only one kind of wrongdoing when the injury was actually
    caused by tortious conduct of a wholly different sort, the discovery rule postpones accrual
    of the statute of limitations on the newly discovered claim.
    “In both Jolly and Norgart, the plaintiffs suspected or had reason to suspect that a
    product had caused their injury. . . . [¶] . . . [¶] . . . Jolly and Norgart presuppose a
    situation in which the factual basis for a claim was reasonably discoverable through
    diligent investigation. In both Jolly and Norgart, the court emphasized that the plaintiffs
    had ample reason to suspect the basis of their claims. [Citations.] . . .
    8
    “[¶] . . . [¶]
    “As the allegations in this case illustrate, a diligent plaintiff’s investigation may
    only disclose an action for one type of tort (e.g., medical malpractice) and facts
    supporting an entirely different type of tort action (e.g., products liability) may, through
    no fault of the plaintiff, only come to light at a later date. Although both claims seek to
    redress the same physical injury to the plaintiff, they are based on two distinct types of
    wrongdoing and should be treated separately in that regard. Accordingly, the . . . rule
    [articulated in Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. v. Superior Court (1995) 
    32 Cal. App. 4th 959
    ]
    that all claims arising from an injury accrue simultaneously, even if based upon distinct
    types of wrongdoing, is inconsistent with the generic elements approach prescribed by
    Norgart. . . .
    “[¶] . . . [¶]
    “It would be contrary to public policy to require plaintiffs to file a lawsuit ‘at a
    time when the evidence available to them failed to indicate a cause of action.’ . . .”
    
    (Fox, supra
    , 35 Cal.4th at pp. 813-815.)
    Analysis
    Zenga alleges a single type of harm -- an invasion of his privacy, by a single type
    of wrongful instrumentality -- wiretapping. In other words, unlike Fox, we do not have
    one defendant who allegedly committed one type of wrongdoing and a second defendant
    who allegedly committed a distinct type of wrongdoing. In Zenga’s case, the three
    defendants are alleged to have been actors in the single type of wrongdoing, as noted,
    wiretapping. With this foundational perspective in mind, we turn to Zenga’s appeal.
    1.     Subjective Suspicion
    It is undisputed –– because it was admitted–– that Zenga subjectively suspected,
    long before mid-2005, that his privacy had been was invaded, and that the instrumentality
    of the invasion was wiretapping. In responding to defendants’ separate statement of facts
    in support of their motion for summary judgment, Zenga admitted that the following facts
    were undisputed: Zenga knew, during the time of the Scary Movie litigation, that
    Greenberg and Grey had retained Pellicano. Zenga’s attorney “wondered if wiretapping
    9
    was going on” during the Scary Movie litigation, and “took steps to determine whether
    there was a possibility that some unlawful wiretapping was going on” at that time. Zenga
    had multiple conversations with different people during 2001 about their suspicions that
    Pellicano had wiretapped their telephones.
    In 2003 and 2004, Zenga had even more conversations with others about being
    wiretapped. In 2003, Zenga went to the FBI to ask the agency to look into whether he
    had been wiretapped. Zenga told the FBI that a neighbor had reported to Zenga that
    someone representing to be from PacBell asked to enter the neighbor’s yard to set up
    phone service to Zenga’s home. After hearing the report from his neighbor, Zenga began
    to hear “weird noises” on his telephone. Zenga read and heard multiple news reports
    during the 2001-2004 time frame about Pellicano’s wiretapping activities. In 2003,
    Zenga testified before a grand jury that was, as Zenga understood, investigating whether
    Pellicano had wiretapped telephones, including Zenga’s telephone. A Los Angeles
    Times reporter interviewed Zenga in the fall of 2003 for a story regarding Zenga’s
    suspicion that Pellicano had wiretapped his telephones. The Times article was published
    in November 2003.
    We could go on, but see no need to do so. Zenga’s argument on appeal that he
    offered evidence from which a jury could conclude that he “did not suspect” a factual
    basis for his wiretapping claims earlier than one year period before he filed his lawsuit
    simply denies the existence of the undisputed facts in the record. It is undisputed that
    Zenga did suspect a factual basis that he had been the victim of an invasion of privacy by
    wiretapping well before mid-2005. Indeed, it is undisputed that Zenga actually acted on
    his suspicions by undertaking efforts to investigate possible wrongdoing.
    2.     Objective Suspicion
    It is equally undisputed that Zenga objectively should have suspected, long before
    mid-2005, that his privacy had been invaded, and that the instrumentality of the invasion
    was wiretapping. Our discussion above applies with equal force here. Any reasonable
    person faced with the circumstances described above should have suspected he had been
    the victim of an invasion of privacy by means of wiretapping. We presume that Zenga is
    10
    a reasonable person, and he actually suspected the harm of an invasion of privacy by
    wiretapping. Thus, it is undisputed that a reasonable person should have suspected the
    harm of an invasion of privacy by wiretapping.
    3.       The Effect of Investigation
    This leaves the only true issue on appeal which is Zenga’s argument that he
    presented evidence from which a jury could conclude that he conducted a reasonable
    investigation upon suspecting wiretapping, but did not find sufficient facts to support
    filing a lawsuit until a period within one-year of filing his current suit against Greenberg,
    Grey and PacBell. Zenga’s evidence on this point largely relied on the deposition of his
    attorney, Gregory Dovel. Zenga’s legal argument was that the accrual date of his cause
    of action was delayed until he obtained “actual knowledge” that he had been wiretapped.
    In accord with the standards for reviewing summary judgment motions, the
    following facts must be accepted as being true: In April 2005, Zenga’s counsel received
    a letter from the United States Attorney’s Office (USAO) requesting that Zenga waive his
    attorney-client privilege regarding documents in possession of the USAO. Later, Zenga’s
    counsel reviewed the documents to determine whether they contained privileged matter.
    In May 2005, Zenga’s counsel reviewed copies of records summaries prepared by Tarita
    Virtue, a Pellicano employee, showing telephone calls of Zenga that were intercepted by
    Pellicano. Zenga first learned that he “was actually wiretapped” by Pellicano when the
    government unsealed the criminal indictment of Pellicano in early 2006. Prior to that
    time, Zenga’s counsel had contacted phone company representatives, a security expert,
    the FBI and federal prosecutors in attempts to learn facts showing that Zenga actually
    was wiretapped, but Zenga’s counsel did not “discover a factual basis” for a wiretapping
    claim.
    We agree with Greenberg, Grey and PacBell that Zenga reads too much into Fox
    in relying upon the case to support the proposition that, until a reasonable investigation
    obtains hard evidence of a cause of action, the cause of action does not accrue. We do
    not read Fox as broadly as does Zenga. Fox did not change the Supreme Court’s prior
    11
    discovery rule jurisprudence that the statute of limitations begins to run when a plaintiff
    “suspects” the “generic” elements of a claim. 
    (Fox, supra
    , 35 Cal.4th at p. 807.)
    Under Zenga’s construction of Fox, a cause of action does not accrue until a
    plaintiff conducts a reasonable investigation which finds evidence “to support a cause of
    action,” rather than evidence which raises a suspicion of harm caused by a particular
    type of wrongdoing. If this is what Fox holds, it must be read as a complete overhaul of
    the Supreme Courts’ previous discovery rule jurisprudence, without any indication in Fox
    that this is what the court was doing. We simply do not read Fox to have done as much.
    Zenga’s construction of Fox is at odds with the Supreme Court’s decisions in Jolly
    and Norgart –– neither of which he seriously addresses in his reading of Fox. The
    problem is that Fox addressed an unusual situation of distinguishing the date of accrual of
    a products liability claim that was tangential to a medical malpractice claim. Fox stands
    for the simple proposition that the accrual date for each claim must be addressed on its
    own. Fox, as far as we read it, left the principles articulated in Jolly and Norgart
    undisturbed when it comes to addressing a particular claim.
    In Jolly, the Supreme Court unanimously upheld summary judgment against the
    plaintiff on the ground of the statute of limitations under the discovery rule, finding that
    her claim accrued when she suspected a factual basis for her products liability claim. In
    Jolly, the plaintiff filed her products liability suit in 1981. The limitations period was one
    year. The Supreme Court found that her cause of action accrued by no later than 1978,
    when she endured surgery for cancer and suspected, that her condition was a result of her
    mother’s ingestion of DES during pregnancy. (
    Jolly, supra
    , 44 Cal.3d at p. 1107-1108.)
    It was not telling that the summary judgment motions disclosed “no conclusive
    evidence . . . that a reasonable investigation by plaintiff in 1978 would have disclosed
    specific proven facts that would establish any wrongful conduct on the part of a DES
    drug manufacturer.” (Id. at p. 1108, italics added.) “In sum, the limitations period begins
    when the plaintiff suspects, or should suspect, that she has been wronged.” (Id. at p.
    1114.) The court expressly rejected a formulation of the discovery rule that would take
    into account the acquisition of evidence to prove a claim: “A plaintiff need not be aware
    12
    of the specific ‘facts’ necessary to establish the claim; that is a process contemplated by
    pretrial discovery.” (Id. at p. 1111.) Only “a suspicion of wrongdoing” was needed for
    the clock to start running. (Ibid.)
    Norgart follows a similar path. There, the plaintiffs sued a drugmaker in 1991 for
    the death of their daughter in 1985 from a drug overdose. The limitations period was one
    year. The plaintiff admitted in discovery that, in 1985, they had “thought” there had to be
    some reason that caused their daughter to commit suicide, and that, by 1986, he had
    “formed a belief” that somebody “‘did something wrong to [his daughter] that caused her
    to take her own life.’” 
    (Norgart, supra
    , 21 Cal.4th at p. 392.) The court affirmed a grant
    of summary judgment, ruling that the plaintiffs’ claim accrued by at least 1986, because
    they had admitted to having a suspicion, at that time, that someone had done something
    wrong to cause their daughter’s death. (Id. at p. 406, citing Jolly.)
    We see little difference between Jolly and Norgart on the one hand, and Zenga’s
    current case on the other hand. The record on appeal here is replete with admissions by
    Zenga that he suspected wiretapping long before mid-2005. That he did not obtain hard
    evidence to support those suspicions until later does not mean that the statute of
    limitations did not accrue long before mid-2005.
    We find the trial court did not err when it granted the summary judgment motion
    filed by Greenberg, Grey and PacBell.
    DISPOSITION
    The judgment is affirmed. Respondents are awarded costs on appeal.
    BIGELOW, P.J.
    We concur:
    RUBIN, J.                    GRIMES, J.
    13
    

Document Info

Docket Number: B248318

Filed Date: 9/24/2014

Precedential Status: Non-Precedential

Modified Date: 10/30/2014