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Statute Of Limitations Expiration Information
Once the statute of limitations on a case runs out, if a
party raises it as a defense any further litigation is foreclosed. Most
jurisdictions provide that limitations are tolled under certain circumstances.
Tolling will prevent the time for filing suit from running while the condition
exists. Examples of such circumstances are if the aggrieved party (plaintiff) is
a minor, or the defendant has filed a bankruptcy proceeding. In those instances,
in most jurisdictions, the running of limitations is tolled until the
circumstance (i.e. the injured party reaches majority in the former or the
bankruptcy proceeding is concluded in the latter) no longer exists.
There may be a number of factors which will affect the tolling of a statute of
limitations. In many cases, the discovery of the harm (as in a medical
malpractice claim where the fact or the impact of the doctor's mistake is not
immediately apparent) starts the statute running. In some jurisdictions the
action is said to have not accrued until the harm is discovered, while in others
the action accrues when the malpractice occurs, but an action to redress the
harm is tolled until the injured party discovers the harm. An action to redress
a tort committed against a minor is generally tolled in most cases until the
child reaches the age of majority. A ten-year-old who is injured in a car
accident might therefore be able to bring suit one, two or three years after he
turns eighteen.
It may also be inequitable to allow a defendant to use the defense of the
running of the limitations period, such as the case of an individual in the
position of authority over someone else who intimidates the victim into never
reporting the wrongdoing, or where one is led to believe that the other party
has agreed to suspend the limitations period during good faith settlement
negotiations or due to a fraudulent misrepresentation.
Generally speaking, in the case of private, civil matters the limitations period
may be shortened or lengthened by agreement of the parties. While such
limitations periods generally are issues of law, limitations periods known as
laches may apply in situations of equity, i.e. a judge will not issue an
injunction if the party requesting the injunction waited too long to ask for it,
such periods are not clearly defined and are subject to broad judicial
discretion.
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