General statutes of limitations as of 2022.
Disclaimer: These statutes are provided solely for general educational informational purposes only, and although they are valid as of the date of publication mentioned above, the law changes. Use them as a starting point for your research, but do not rely upon them.
If you're here, you probably already know that a statute of limitation is a law that proscribes the maximum time after an event takes place that a legal proceeding based on that particular event may be initiated. In other words, if you take too long to assert a cause of action, you may be barred.
Keep in mind that many of these statutes are not always the final say in a matter, as there may be other relevant statutes or case law that could modify any applicable statute of limitation. As one simple example, the statute of limitations for medical malpractice is generally 2 years, but if a foreign object is left in a patient's body, the limitation is actually 1 year after such an object is discovered. Similarly, such a statute can be "tolled" until the individual reaches the age of 10. If a statute of limitation is "tolled", then the statute of limitations does not begin to run until a specified time-- in the previous example, it would begin to run when the individual reaches the age of10. As another example, actions based on fraud can be tolled until they are (or should have been) discovered. There are many other nuances relating to many other causes of action, so if you have a question about any potential statute of limitation, I encourage you to contact Delgado Heidari LLC. Even if you choose not to contact my firm, I still encourage you to contact a local attorney, and to do so quickly. Sometimes, there are other requirements that must be met prior to filing a lawsuit, which can be extremely time sensitive. For instance, you must generally provide an ante litem notice to the government within 6 months as a prerequisite prior to filing a lawsuit against the government.
Breach of Restrictive Covenant: 2 years (4 years for assessment of fees) O.C.G.A. § 9-3-29.
Actions on Bonds or Sealed Instruments: 20 years O.C.G.A. §9-3-23.
Breach of Written Contract: 6 years O.C.G.A. § 9-3-24.
Breach of Oral Contract: 4 years O.C.G.A. § 9-3-26.
Actions on Open Account: 4 years O.C.G.A. § 9-3-25.
Actions against Executors, Guardians, or Administrators: 10 years O.C.G.A. §9-3-27.
Actions against Land Surveyors: 6 years O.C.G.A. §9-3-30.2.
Actions for Defamation: 1 year O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33.
Actions for Loss of Consortium: 4 years O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33.
Actions for Personal Injury: 2 years O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33.
Recovery or Destruction of Personal Property: 4 years O.C.G.A. §9-3-32.
Actions for Childhood Sexual Abuse: 5 years (after turning age 18) if the abuse took place before July 1, 2015; if the abuse took place on or after July 1, 2015, survivors have until their 23rd birthday or two years after connecting their injuries to the abuse to file a case. O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33.1.
Fraudulent Transfers: 1 or 4 years depending on circumstances O.C.G.A. §18-2-79.
Deficiency In Planning, Supervising, Or Constructing Improvement To Realty: 8years; for personal injuries and/or wrongful death claims, however, 2years after the date of injury and 10 years after substantial completion O.C.G.A. § 9-3-51.
Medical Malpractice: 2 years (unless tolled) O.C.G.A. §9-3-71.
Unjust enrichment/quantum meruit: 4 years O.C.G.A. § 9-3-26
Fraud:4 years O.C.G.A. § 9-3-30
Violations of the Fair Business Practices Act: 2 years after the person knew or should have known of alleged violation O.C.G.A. § 10-1-401
Breach of warranty under the UCC: 4 years O.C.G.A. § 11-2-725
Collection of debt on account: 4 years O.C.G.A. § 9-3-25
Actions on judgments obtained outside Georgia: 5 years from date on which judgment was obtained, except judgments for child support or spousal support O.C.G.A. § 9-3-20
Negligent construction: 4 years from substantial completion of work (not discovery of defect) O.C.G.A. § 9-3-30
Schedule a call today to speak with a skilled attorney at Delgado Heidari LLC
Schedule a Call