statute of limitations
Hi, we did a public job in 1998. It was completed in 1998. An incicident happened in 2003. We received a claim from the hotel in 2008. It has been 10 years since the job was completed. Are we still responsible?
Re: statute of limitations
There is a ten-year statute of limitations for latent defects in the design and construction of improvements to real property. The ten year period starts upon the substantial completion of the particular phase of the work resulting in the claim. Code of Civil Procedure section 337.15.
If you were doing a public works job, there may be different limitations periods in the Government Code.
Determining whether this claim could result in a lawsuit, i.e., whether you have a valid defense based on a statute of limitations, is probably going to require knowing the exact date of "substantial completion" of your phase of the work; maybe the limit has expired, but more likely the very reason the claim is being pushed now is that the limit is fast approaching.
By the way, the thing that has to happen before the time runs out is the filing of suit - not making a written claim, nor service of the suit. It's the filing date at the court that counts.
I recommend that you take all the facts about the job, the completion date, the incident and the claim to a defense lawyer for evaluation and possible action.
