- statute of limitations
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statute of limitations1 a: a statute establishing a period of time from the accrual of a cause of action (as upon the occurrence or discovery of an injury) within which a right of action must be exercised compare laches, statute of reposeb: a criminal statute establishing the period of time within which an offense can be punished after its commission2: a period of time established by a statute of limitations for commencing an action or prosecution3: an affirmative defense that the statute of limitations has expired
Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam-Webster. 1996.
- statute of limitations
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n.A statute that limits the time in which a lawsuit may be brought for an injury or a crime, after which the party with a grievance loses the right to sue; see also laches
The Essential Law Dictionary. — Sphinx Publishing, An imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc. Amy Hackney Blackwell. 2008.
- statute of limitations
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The legally prescribed time limit in which a lawsuit must be filed. Statutes of limitation differ depending on the type of legal claim and on state law. For example, many states require that a personal injury lawsuit be filed within one year from the date of injury — or in some instances, from the date when it should reasonably have been discovered — but some allow two years. Similarly, claims based on a written contract must be filed in court within four years from the date the contract was broken in some states and five years in others. Statute of limitations rules apply to cases filed in all courts, including federal court.Category: Accidents & InjuriesCategory: Business, LLCs & Corporations
Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary. Gerald N. Hill, Kathleen Thompson Hill. 2009.
- statute of limitations
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n. Law governing time permitted for filing various types of lawsuits, differing from state to state and as to type of matters; for example, states' statutes of limitations for filing a negligence action may vary from one to three years, a claim for breach of contract may have a statutory limit of some other amount of time; in all cases, statutes of limitations are specifically set forth and are strictly enforced; failure to comply by even one day will result in dismissal of lawsuit.
Webster's New World Law Dictionary. Susan Ellis Wild. 2000.
- statute of limitations
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A type of federal or state law that restricts the time within which legal proceedings may be brought.
Dictionary from West's Encyclopedia of American Law. 2005.
- statute of limitations
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I
A type of federal or state law that restricts the time within which legal proceedings may be brought.II A statute which limits the right of a plaintiff to file an action unless it is done within a specified time period after the occurrence which gives rise to the right to sue.
Short Dictionary of (mostly American) Legal Terms and Abbreviations.
- statute of limitations
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n.a law which sets the maximum period which one can wait before filing a lawsuit, depending on the type of case or claim. The periods vary by state. Federal statutes set the limitations for suits filed in federal courts. If the lawsuit or claim is not filed before the statutory deadline, the right to sue or make a claim is forever dead (barred). The types of cases and statute of limitations periods are broken down among: personal injury from negligence or intentional wrongdoing, property damage from negligence or intentional wrongdoing, breach of an oral contract, breach of a written contract, professional malpractice, libel, slander, fraud, trespass, a claim against a governmental entity (usually a short time), and some other variations. In some instances a statute of limitations can be extended ("tolled") based on delay in discovery of the injury or on reasonable reliance on a trusted person (a fiduciary or confidential adviser who has hidden his/her own misuse of someone else's funds or failure to pay). A minor's right to bring an action for injuries due to negligence is tolled until the minor turns 18 (except for a claim against a governmental agency). There are also statutes of limitations on bringing criminal charges, but homicide generally has no time limitation on prosecution. The limitations (depending on the state) generally range from 1 to 6 years except for in Rhode Island, which uses 10 years for several causes of action. Louisiana has the strictest limitations, cutting off lawsuit rights at one year for almost all types of cases except contracts. California also has short periods, usually one year, with two years for most property damage and oral contracts and four years for written contracts. There are also statutes of limitations on the right to enforce a judgment, ranging from five to 25 years, depending on the state. Some states have special requirements before a lawsuit can be filed, such as a written warning to a physician in a claim of malpractice, making a demand upon a state agency and then waiting for the claim to be denied or ignored for a particular period, first demanding a retraction before filing a libel suit, and other variations. Vermont protects its ski resorts by allowing only one year for filing a lawsuit for injuries suffered in a skiing accident as an exception to that state's three-year statute of limitations for other personal injuries.
Law dictionary. EdwART. 2013.
