Issue

Compulsory counterclaim—relation back to filing of complaint—permitted by Rules of Civil Procedure

Summary

In a case arising from a motor vehicle accident, the Rules of Civil Procedure did not preclude the relation back of defendant's counterclaim to the date that the complaint was filed, and therefore defendant's counterclaim–which was filed one day after both the filing of plaintiff's complaint and the expiration of the three-year statute of limitations in N.C.G.S. § 1-52(16)–was not time-barred. Since, pursuant to Rule 3, the filing of a compulsory counterclaim does not amount to the commencement of a civil action, counterclaims relate back to the date an action is filed, and the Supreme Court overruled a prior Court of Appeals decision that concluded otherwise.

Summary from the North Carolina Reports digest (official subject index). Read the opinion →