Though it be conceded, in deference to the arguments for appellee, that his complaint is in tort, his action, according to the uncontradicted evidence, was barred by the statute of limitations, and appellants should have had the general affirmative charge which the .record shows they requested in writing. _
We think the rule as to the statute of limitations applicable to this case is soundly stated in 25 Cyc. 1136, in the following language: “If the act of which the injury is the natural sequence is of itself a legal injury to plaintiff, a completed wrong,
This is the rule of our cases.—Mardis v. Shackleford,
There is a class of cases in which a different statement of the rule is necessary, though the basic principle is the same. They are cases in which the act complained of does not itself constitute a legal injury; that is, an injury giving rise to a cause of action because it is an invasion of some legal right. In such cases plaintiff’s injury, the invasion of his rights, depends upon a further and subsequent development of what defendant has done, and the cause of action accrues and the statute begins to'run when, and only when, the damages are sustained. This rule is illustrated in the case of West Pratt Coal Co. v. Dorman,
It follows that appellants should have had the general affirmative charge which they requested.
Reversed and remanded.
