KEM Res., LP v. Deer Park Lumber, Inc., 2024 Pa. LEXIS 243, 2024 WL 696763 (February 21, 2024) (Mundy, J.).
This case involved what seems like a contract breach involving a gas lease, but according to the court, Pennsylvania’s 6-year statute of limitations applies to any civil action or proceeding which is neither subject to another statute of limitations specified or excluded from the application of a period of limitation. The lower court rejected the contention that the only cause of action that could have been brought was for fraud or breach of fiduciary duty, subject to a 2-year statute of limitations or for unjust enrichment subject to 4-year statute of limitations. Instead, the court found that KEM’s accounting claim is a statutory cause of action to enforce its right as a co-tenant in common of real property. In that scenario, a co-tenant in real property was not in possession as a cause of action to obtain an accounting of its share of the income received by the other tenant in common from the jointly owned property. This apparently is governed by the 6-year statute of limitations.
The primary issue before this Court is whether KEM filed its accounting claim within the applicable statute of limitations. In order to answer that question, we must first determine the nature of KEM’s accounting claim. After a careful review of KEM’s Second Amended Complaint, we find that the Superior Court correctly held that KEM’s accounting claim is properly considered a statutory claim for an accounting between co-tenants under Section 101.
A review of our current statutes of limitations for civil actions, set forth in Chapter 55 of the Judicial Code, 42 Pa.C.S. §§ 5521-5539, reveals that they do not address an action between co-tenants of real property for an accounting for rents received from the property. Nor is such an action excluded from the application of the limitation periods set forth in Chapter 55. See 42 Pa.C.S. § 5531. “Any civil action or proceeding which is neither subject to another limitations specified in this subchapter nor excluded from the application of a period of limitations specified in 5531 (relating to no limitations) must be commenced within six years.” 42 Pa.C.S. § 5527. As no other statute of limitations period applies to an action under Section 101, the statute of limitations period applicable to an action between co-tenants for an accounting is the catch-all six-year statute of Section 5527. KEM’s predecessors in interest filed the initial complaint in this matter on July 18, 2014, six years minus three days from the date Ryvamat received the Lease payment from Unit Petroleum. Thus, KEM filed its accounting claim within the statute of limitations for a claim under Section 101.
We conclude KEM’s accounting claim is properly construed as a statutory claim for an accounting between co-tenants under Section 101. We further find that the statute of limitations for such a claim is six years. The holding of the Superior Court is affirmed.
