Also known as: limitation periods · period of limitation · periods of limitation · statute of limitations · time limit · limitation act
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A statutory period within which a claim or prosecution must be commenced or be barred. The period begins to run when the cause of action accrues and may be tolled, extended by relation back, or revived by acknowledgment or promise under applicable rules.
Levi Lowe filed a complaint against Lattice Systems alleging breach of a supply contract. After the limitation period expired, he sought to amend to add a fraud claim arising from the same transaction. The court permitted the amendment to relate back because the governing statute of limitations allowed it under the relation-back rule.
Lena Lawson owed Lotus Pharmaceuticals for past deliveries. After the limitation period had run, she wrote to the company admitting the debt still existed and promising partial payment. The acknowledgment made the promise binding despite the expired limitation period.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Lola Langley sued Lakeshore Industries in state court. The action was dismissed solely because the limitation period had run. When she later filed a federal suit on the same claim, the court held that the prior dismissal did not operate as an adjudication on the merits for claim-preclusion purposes.
Lila Lin and Lance Lee ended their cohabitation. Lila sued for breach of their oral economic agreement six months later. The claim accrued on the date of breach and remained timely under the contractual limitation period even though the relationship had terminated.
Lucy Liu retained an attorney who missed the limitation period on her personal-injury claim. The attorney paid her personally without disclosing the error or advising her to seek independent counsel. The conduct constituted serious professional misconduct warranting discipline.
Lumen Capital's lawyer miscalculated the limitation period and the client's claim was lost. The single error supported a malpractice action but did not demonstrate unfitness to practice law. No bar discipline was imposed.
The period begins when the cause of action accrues, typically on breach. Under the Uniform Cohabitants Economic Remedies Act, a claim for breach of a cohabitants agreement accrues on breach and may be brought during or after cohabitation subject to the contractual limitation period.
Supporting sources
Yes. A promise to pay all or part of an antecedent contractual indebtedness is binding if the debt would be enforceable except for the statute of limitations. A voluntary acknowledgment admitting the present existence of the debt operates as such a promise.
Supporting sources
An amendment relates back when the law that provides the applicable statute of limitations allows relation back. Relation back is also permitted when the amendment asserts a claim arising out of the same conduct or occurrence set out in the original pleading.
Supporting sources
No. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b) does not itself determine whether such a dismissal counts as on the merits for claim preclusion. Jurisdictions may adopt different views on whether a limitations dismissal precludes a later action.
Supporting sources
…solved by reference to any traditional or common-sense substance-procedure distinction: "And so the question is not whether a statute of limitations is deemed a matter of procedure' in some sense. The question is . . . does it significantly affect the result of a litigation for a federal court to disregard a law of a State that would…