“Act now! This offer won’t last long!” Most of us have seen advertisements to that effect at some point throughout our lives. But did you know that the law imposes limitations like that on your ability to sue? Using what are known as statutes of limitation and statutes of repose, the law puts a deadline on when you can file suit for a legal wrong. Let’s look at each in turn.
But first, why should the law care when a person sues? If she was injured by the unlawful conduct of another, why not just let her sue whenever she feels like it? There are generally two reasons that the law puts a deadline on lawsuits. First, courts and legislators want to encourage people to be diligent in protecting their own rights. Second, because memories fade with time, they want to be sure that witnesses to be called in the case accurately remember what happened. To further those two ends, legislatures have enacted statutes of limitation and statutes of repose.
Statutes of Limitation
Statutes of limitation establish a deadline for lawsuits based on when a legal claim accrues. A legal claim normally accrues on the date when the legal injury occurs. For example, if a person is involved in a car accident with a reckless driver, then the legal injury occurs, and his legal claim accrues, on the date of the accident. However, courts sometimes delay the accrual of a legal claim because the injured person could not have been aware of his injury. For instance, if a surgeon messes up while operating, but doesn’t disclose his mistake to the patient, then the patient’s legal claim might not accrue until she actually learns of the surgeon’s error. Whatever the case may be, statutes of limitation set a deadline by which the injured party must file a lawsuit. If they miss the deadline, then their lawsuit will be thrown out if the defendant asks the court to do so. Typical statutes of limitation set deadlines of anywhere from one to six years, depending on the type of legal claim.
Statutes of Repose
Statutes of repose are like statutes of limitation in that both set a deadline for lawsuits. However, statutes of repose differ from statutes of limitation in what triggers the timer. While a statute of limitations might not begin to run until a person can learn of his injury, the statute of repose begins to run immediately upon some specified occurrence. For example, federal securities law, which governs the offering and sale of securities like corporate stock, establishes a deadline of five years after a person purchases a security. So, if the seller of a security misled the buyer, and the buyer didn’t—and couldn’t—realize that until five years and one day after she bought the security, her lawsuit will still be barred by the statute of repose.
Statutes of limitation and statutes of repose are important concepts in controlling when a lawsuit can be filed. Because they set a deadline for filing suit over a legal injury, and because what that deadline is won’t always be obvious to a layperson, you should consult with a knowledgeable attorney promptly upon discovering that you have—or even merely that you may have—a legal claim against another person.
source http://www.winterwoodlodge.com/statutes-of-limitation-and-statutes-of-repose/
