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STATUTE OF





​LIMITATIONS

What is a Statute of Limitations?

A statute of limitations is the deadline for filing a lawsuit. Most lawsuits must be filed within a certain amount of time. In general, once the statute of limitations on a case “runs out,” the legal claim is no longer valid.

​
Every state has its own time limits and the period of time during which you can file a lawsuit varies depending on the type of legal claim (battery, defamation, contracts, etc.). Even a prosecutor has a statute of limitations in bringing criminal charges to a defendant. But here we are only concerned with civil court. 

Why Have a Statute of Limitations?

There are three reasons to have a statute of limitations:
  1. So that people can move on with their lives without worrying about a case hanging over their heads
  2. Because witnesses forget details and
  3. Witnesses can die.
Picture

What Does This Mean for You?

You need to know definitively the date by which your claims becomes invalid.

​Jurisdiction of Claims

State courts (superior courts) are different than federal courts (district courts) so here we separate these out. In addition, if you are suing a government entity, there is an extra step in filing a “claim” first. This is required prior to filing a lawsuit against the government.
State
Claims against:
  • ​Private parties
    • Individuals
    • Corporations
    • Other non-governmental groups
  • Government
  • Tolling (extensions allowed by court)
Federal
​Claims against:
  • ​Private parties
    • Individuals
    • Corporations
    • Other non-governmental groups
  • Government

States


Claims Against Private Parties
​
Limits​

Every state has their own statute of limitations for the same tort issue. For instance, for “written contracts,” the limit to file is 3 years ​for Alaska, 4 years for California, 5 years for Arkansas, 6 years for Arizona, and 10 years for Illinois. All the different torts such as injury, property damage, defamation, etc. have their own limitations varying by state. Targeted America recommends that you verify the statute of limitations by your state and type of tort.

Here is a rough guide for limitations by tort and state for all 50 states. Nolo is a respectable source; nonetheless, even Nolo states “We provide this chart as a rough guide. Check your state's actual statute of limitations for the time limit for your specific claim, because it might be different from what you read here. Then be sure to mark it on your calendar.

Example - California

Here are the California statutes of limitations for some common types:
• Injury to Person
  • Personal injury: 2 yrs. from the injury. Civ. Proc. §335.1. If the injury was not discovered right away, then it is 1 year from the date the injury was discovered.
  • False imprisonment: 1 yr. Civ. Proc. §340(c)
  • Libel/Slander 1 yr. Civ. Proc. §340(c)
  • Breach of a written contract:  4 yrs. from the date the contract was broken.
  • Breach of an oral contract: 2 yrs. from the date the contract was broken.
  • Property damage: 3 yrs. Civ. Proc. §338(b), (c)
  • Professional Malpractice: 1 yr. (but could be longer)
  • Trespass: 3 yrs. Civ. Proc. §338(b)

​Claims Against Governments

​
Limits​

​Rules regarding claims against government agencies are different. You file the lawsuit in the same superior court of your state, BUT FIRST you must file a claim with the agency within 6 months (for some cases, 1 year) of the incident. If the claim is denied, you can then file your lawsuit in court but there are strict limits as to when. For example, if you are denied money for your government claim, then you must file in court within 6 months, after that denial, but it could be as short as 60 days, so read the guidelines for your jurisdiction.

Example - California

​When you sue a California government agency, you first have to file a special claim (called an "administrative claim") with the government office or agency before you file in court. It is REQUIRED that you use the government’s form to file the claim. It might be on-line or you may have to go to the city clerk or county clerk for the state form.

​When you sue a government agency, you first have to file a special claim (called an "administrative claim") with the government office or agency before you file in court. It is REQUIRED that you use the government’s form to file the claim. It might be on-line or go to the city clerk or county clerk or the state form.
  • For personal injury or personal property damage, you must file your administrative claim within 6 months of the date of the injury. (There are a few exceptions. Review California Government Code section 905 and section 911.2 or talk to a lawyer.)
  • For breach of contract and real property damage cases: You must file your administrative claim within 1 year of the date the contract was broken or the real property damage occurred.

After you file your claim, the government has 45 days to respond.  If the government agency denies your claim during the 45 days, you have 6 months from date the denial was mailed or personally delivered to you to file a lawsuit in court.  If you do not get a rejection letter, you have 2 years  from the day the incident occurred to file.  But do not count on having 2 years to file your claim. If you have questions, contact your county pro se clinic or contact a lawyer.

Tolling of the Statute of Limitations

​There are some situations in which the statute of limitations is suspended (“tolled”) for a period of time, then begins to run again. For example, tolling may happen when the Plaintiff is incarcerated (max 2 yrs.) or the Defendant is out of the state. There are other reasons the statute of limitations can be tolled. Check the rules governing your state.

Federal

Claims Against Private Parties

​
As determined in United States Supreme Court decision in Erie v. Tompkins, federal courts apply the statute of limitations of the state in which the federal court lies. In the vast majority of cases, statutes of limitations begin to run when the cause of action arises.

Claims Against the Government

In a normal lawsuit claiming negligence, you proceed more or less straight to court. But if you wish to sue under the FTCA, within 2 years you must first file a claim with the federal agency responsible for the alleged misconduct. For example, if your claim is based on an accident at the post office, you would file your claim with the U.S. Postal Service. During this phase of the process, while your claim is being reviewed by the federal agency, it is referred to as an "administrative claim."

Although not strictly necessary, the easiest way to prepare your administrative claim is to use the federal government's standard claim form, known as a Standard Form 95 or SF 95, which has boxes for all the information you will need to provide. You can get a copy of the form from the Department of Justice's website www.usdoj.gov, type "standard form 95" into the search box or request a copy from the federal agency to which you will be submitting your claim.
 
Administrative Claim Process Overview

  1. You must file within two years. You have two years from the time your claim arises to file your administrative claim with the appropriate federal agency. Because the exact date when your claim arose may be a legal issue in your case, it is important to file your administrative claim as soon as possible to avoid any chance of it being rejected as untimely.
  2. Include facts and damages in your claim. Your administrative claim must include the exact amount of money damages you are claiming, as well as enough facts about your case to allow the federal agency to investigate the merits of your claim. Using a SF 95 form will help ensure that you've included all of the necessary information.
  3. The agency has six months to respond. Once your claim is submitted, the federal agency has six months to rule on it. In some cases, the federal agency may "admit" your claim (that is, agree that your claim is valid) and agree to pay you some or all of the money damages you demanded, and you may not need to go to court.
  4. You then have six months to file a lawsuit. If the federal agency rejects your claim or refuses to pay all the money damages you demanded, you have six months from the date on which the decision is mailed to you to file a lawsuit. Again, file your lawsuit as soon as possible after receiving this decision to avoid any chance of having your lawsuit dismissed as untimely.
 
You don't have to sue until the agency rules on your claim. If the federal agency fails to rule on your administrative claim within six months, you have the choice of either waiting for the agency's decision or going ahead with your lawsuit. As long as the federal agency is still considering your claim, there is no time limit for you to file a law suit in federal court; the six-month time limit only begins to run once the agency has ruled on your claim.
 
Once you have gone through the procedures listed above -- a process known as "exhausting your administrative remedies" -- you are eligible to file a lawsuit in federal court to pursue financial damages from the government.

Disclaimer: Targeted America is not a law firm. The information contained in this website is provided for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice on any matter.

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  • Home
    • Vision, Mission and Values
    • Targeted America Overview
    • Our Team
    • Advisers
    • Volunteers
    • Contact Us
    • Disclaimers
  • CointelPro 2022
  • Christiana v. Lighthouse
  • Newsletter
  • In the News
  • Legal
    • Targeted Cases
    • Ways to Afford a Lawsuit
    • How to Represent Yourself >
      • Introduction >
        • Should You Sue?
        • Statute of Limitations
        • What to Expect and When
      • The Pleadings >
        • Causes of Action
        • Private Nuisance
    • FOIA Requests
    • Federal Laws >
      • The Constitution
      • Constitutional Case Law
      • Treaties
      • United States Codes
      • Administrative Law
      • Executive Orders
      • Human Rights and Experimentation
    • State Laws >
      • Constitutional Case Law
      • State Codes >
        • Human Experimentation
        • State Civil Codes
    • Class Action Versus Mass Tort and Local Lawsuits
    • Common Law Torts
  • Targeted Evidence
  • Medical
  • Call To Action
  • Public Awareness
  • Events
  • Organizations and Research Resources
  • Glossary
  • Site Map
  • spare CointelPro 2022