Works v Oscar (1983) 1 All ER 65, the chimney
was constructed in 1969 but the faulty condition
of the chimney could not have been discovered
with reasonable diligence and was only in fact
discovered in 1977. The court held that the cause
of action accrues at the date when the cracks on
the chimney occurred and not when the plaintiff
could diligently have discovered it. In this case, the
plaintiff’s action is time-barred as the date when
he discovered the crack was over the limitation
period of six years.
To address the injustice caused by this, the UK
has enacted the Latent Damage Act 1986 which
provides that where the cause of action could not
be discovered when it arose, the plaintiff can sue
within three years of the time when it could be
discovered.
New Section 6A
The amendment of the Limitation Act introduces a
new section 6A as follows:
“Limitation of actions to claim damages for
negligence not involving personal injuries
6A. (1) Notwithstanding subsection 6(1), this
section shall apply to any action for
damages for negligence not involving
personal injuries, where the starting
date for calculating the period of
limitation period under subsection (2)
falls after the date on which the cause
of action accrued.
(2) An action to which this section applies
shall not be brought after the expiration
of three years from the starting date if
the period of three years expires from
the starting date if the period of three
years expires later than the period of
limitation prescribed in subsection 6(1).
(3) Notwithstanding subsection (2), no
action shall be brought after the
expiration of fifteen years from the date
on which the cause of action accrued.
4) For the purposes of this section –
(a) “starting date” means the earliest
date on which the plaintiff or any
person in whom the cause of action
was vested before him first had both
the knowledge required for bringing an
action for damages in respect of the
relevant damage and a right to bring
such action;”
Therefore the new section 6A(1) enables a
person to take action founded on negligence not
involving personal injuries by allowing an extended
limitation period of three years from the date of
knowledge of the person having the cause of
action.
This proposed new section 6A considers
negligence cases involving latent damage in
construction cases, where the damage was not
discoverable through general inspection and that
the person having the cause of action did not
know or could not have been reasonably expected
to know of the damage.
It must first be noted that the six year limitation
period remains as the starting point. Section 6A
only applies to actions brought after the expiration
of the said six years, and where the claim is for
damages for negligence not involving personal
injury only. The limitation period for breach of the
contract remains at six years from the date of
cause of action arises.
In addition, such action must be brought within
three years from the “starting date” and is subject
to a longstop of 15 years. In this respect, the Act
is similar to the corresponding legislation in the
United Kingdom and Singapore.
Application of Sections 6A(1) and 6A(2)
The new sections 6A(1) and 6A(2) provide three
illustrations to explain the operation of this
section.
a. C bought a house from D in 2000. In 2010,
C discovered a crack which damaged the
walls badly. A building report made by a
consultant revealed that the cracks had
occurred in 2002, two years after C moved
into the house. C has three years from
2010 to file an action in court against D for
damages.
b. C bought a house from D in 2000. In 2006,
C discovered a crack which damaged the
walls badly. A building report made by a
consultant revealed that the cracks had
occurred in 2002, two years after C moved
19