Also known as: limitation period · limitations periods · limitation periods
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A statutory time limit that bars assertion of a claim after a specified period measured from accrual. The period requires diligent prosecution of known claims to promote finality and preserve evidence while it remains fresh.
Lamar Lewis, a nonmarital child, sought support from his father six years after birth. State law imposed a six-year limitations period only on nonmarital children while allowing marital children to seek support indefinitely. The court applied intermediate scrutiny and held the disparate period unconstitutional because the state failed to show it substantially advanced the interest in preventing stale claims.
Luna Lang conceived children using her deceased husband's gametes sixteen months after his death. State intestacy law imposed a limitations period for paternity claims against the estate. The court upheld the period as a means to achieve certainty of filiation and orderly estate administration.
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Lakeshore Industries held a claim against a decedent's estate. The probate court published notice and set a nonclaim period. The court held that due process requires reasonable notice to known creditors before the period can bar the claim, because significant state action through court supervision is involved.
Luis Lopez sought to inherit from his father's estate. State law required a formal paternity adjudication during the father's lifetime. The court upheld the requirement because it substantially related to the state's interest in orderly estate distribution.
Legacy Motors owned severed mineral interests that had not been used for twenty years. A state statute automatically extinguished unused interests after that period. The court upheld the self-executing limitations period as a valid exercise of state power to clear title.
Yes. Statutes of limitations and their associated tolling rules are substantive for Erie purposes because they determine whether a claim exists when filed. Applying federal rules instead would produce different outcomes and encourage forum shopping.
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It does when the period is not substantially related to an important governmental objective such as preventing stale claims. Classifications based on illegitimacy receive intermediate scrutiny, and a shorter period for nonmarital children fails that test absent a demonstrated connection to the asserted interest.
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It begins at the date of the decedent's death or the date the claim accrues, subject to any statutory tolling or discovery rules. The period serves the state's interest in certainty of filiation and prompt estate administration.
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Yes when significant state action is involved through court supervision. The self-executing nature of ordinary statutes of limitations does not apply. Due process therefore requires reasonable notice before the period bars a known claim.
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…in providing repose for potential defendants and in avoiding stale claims. The State has no role to play beyond enactment of the limitations period. While this enactment obviously is state action, the State’s limited involvement in the running of the time period generally falls short of constituting the type of state action required to…