Judge Tolls Limitations Statute in Hit-and-Run Case

By Evan Mix

Published on April 26, 2007

The defendant, Joseph Constantino, successfully concealed his identity for a year after the accident that took the life of 16-year-old Janessa Kirschning in 1998. He was eventually turned in by an informant who wrote a letter to the plaintiffs. Police instructed Valerie and Bernd Kirschning to await the results of a criminal investigation before filing their suit, which they did.

The Kirschnings learned of Constantino's identity when he was indicted in 2002, and filed a wrongful death lawsuit in 2004 naming Constantino, his business, another person, and Constantino's insurance company as defendants.

The validity of the Kirschnings' suit was challenged by Constantino and his insurance company, who argued that the Kirschnings had learned of his identity from the informant's letter in 1999. Since the statute of limitations for this type of suit is three years in the state of Massachusetts, Constantino argued that the suit should be invalid.

The judge disagreed. He ruled that even if the Kirschnings had known Constantino's identity conclusively, the pending criminal investigation made filing a civil suit impossible. Because negotiations continued during the appeal process, the plaintiffs and the defendant are close to reaching a settlement.

Comment on this article →