statutory limitations
Lawsuit filing deadlines
Statutory limitations are legal time limits within which lawsuits, criminal charges, or other legal actions must be filed.
Once the period expires, the claim is typically barred regardless of its merit.
Different offenses carry different limits—minor crimes may have short windows while serious felonies like murder often have none: The statutory limitations had run out, so prosecutors couldn't bring charges.
Also called statutes of limitations.
- filing deadlineFinal submission date
- tollingSlow, solemn bell-ringing
- criminal chargesFormal accusations of lawbreaking
- civil claimsNon-criminal legal actions
- legislationOfficial enactment of statutes
service of process · defense attorney · enactment · codification · provision · regulation · clause · ordinance · mandate · decree · time-barred · running out of time · legal deadline · sentencing guidelines
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