Statues of limitation vs Statues of repose

practice management
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Can someone please explain:

1 - The difference between statues of limitation & statues of repose?
2- How are they used? Are they segments in contracts?

Thanks

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Hi @lina80 & welcome to the ARE Community!

That’s a great question! Let’s see if one of our expert architects are able to clarify the difference between ‘Statues of limitation vs Statues of repose’.

@coachjasongolub do you mind jumping in?

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@lina80
Statute of limitations establishes the lawsuit-filing time limit based on when the potential plaintiff suffered harm.
The statute of repose establishes a deadline based on the passage of time or the occurrence of a certain event that doesn’t itself cause harm or give rise to a potential lawsuit.

These would be based on state laws and not contracts.

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Thank you for your reply, but I am still not sure I understand the difference. Can you give examples? And which of them is related to the time period after finishing the building construction?

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Statute of Repose is a law that cuts off a right of action after a specified time period has elapsed, regardless of when the cause of action accrues. Most states have statutes of repose specific to construction projects that prohibit claims for a construction defect beyond a specified number of years after the construction is completed. These statutes vary widely with regard to the limitation periods, what is covered, and whom the statute protects. A statute of repose differs from a statute of limitation in that the time periods specified in statutes of limitations usually do not begin to run until the injury or damage actually occurs, irrespective of when the work was performed or the product was sold.

So in the instance of repose- think of condominium buildings and the limit of repose. Usually this is when the majority of claims occur due to a last ditch effort of unit owners to make claims. Say the HOA has a 10 year limit of repose- claims can occur up to that deadline.

Limitations start once an individual is injured or damage occurs. For instance, you slip and fall, you have xx amount of months to file a claim.

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