As referenced above, acknowledgements and part payments of debts at common law have been held to restart applicable limitation periods. It was well established that such a part payment had to be on account of the debt for which the action was or would be brought in order to gain the benefit of a deferred limitation period (Tippets v. Heane (1834), 1 Cr. M. & R. 251, 149 E.R. 1074). The relationship between the payment and the debt, or cause of action, was clear; it had to be part payment of the debt. In my view, this requirement underscores the interpretation that any payment in respect of a cause of action must be a payment in respect of the specific debt or damages arising from the cause of action in issue. Accordingly, payment for a medical report respecting a potential plaintiff’s injuries respecting his or her cause of action is not a payment in respect of that cause of action.
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