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Serving San Diego Since 1998

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Did Covid affect my deadline to sue?

April 5, 2022

In California, most civil actions, like personal injury, have a deadline to sue the defendant.  This is called a Statute of Limitations.

During Covid-19, the CA state courts were closed for some time and as a result there was an emergency rule in response to the COVID-19 pandemic extending all statutes of limitations and all statutes of repose. On April 6, 2020, the Judicial Council of California issued Emergency Rule 9, which provided that: “Notwithstanding any other law, the statutes of limitation for civil causes of action are tolled from April 6, 2020, until 90 days after the Governor declares that the state of emergency related to the COVID-19 pandemic is lifted.”

What this means is that all statutes of limitations are extended, regardless of whether they may have otherwise expired within the April 6, 2020 to October 1, 2020 period.  Assuming a statute of limitations that started before April 6, 2020, you should have tolling for 178 or 179 days.  Statutes of limitations are complex and the current emergency orders do not yet have much judicial opinions to interpret, but if you have any questions, please contact Brett at brett@brettpetersonlaw.com

Filed Under: General Legal Matters

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