Handling Civil Matters in New Jersey

There may come a day when you have been injured, or feel that you have a civil lawsuit to file and are curious when your lawsuit must be filed?

To your surprise, however, you learn that you are unable to do so because the statute of limitations have expired. This hardly seems fair, yet, being aware of what the statute of limitations are and how they work in your case, could be one of the most important factors in bringing a lawsuit.

The Statute of Limitation for a civil offense impose certain deadlines for how long a case can be filed in a court of law. It functions as a way to prevent too much time from passing before a law suit can be filed by a Plaintiff. Another reason is that is serves to preserve evidence, so that when the time comes to file a lawsuit, evidence is not lost or destroyed and witnesses are able to recall information and testify to their knowledge of the case.

When preparing a lawsuit, knowing the statute of limitations is one of the most important factors of preparing your lawsuit, because if you miss the time to file, you may no longer proceed with the lawsuit and may be barred from ever seeking relief in court. Moreover, the type of case you have will determine the amount of time that you have to file a lawsuit. For instance, say you were a victim of a slip and fall accident, the statute of limitations begins to toll from the date of the injury.

As with many areas of the law, however, there are some caveats to how the statute of limitations works and there could be exceptions to how the statute of limitations could apply in your case. One example is in a medical malpractice suit, you may not have known that you were injured, and determining the statute of limitation could be more complex. Nevertheless, in any type of case where you’ve been injured, your main concern should be getting on the road to recovery. Hiring an attorney as soon as possible following an injury could help take the burden off of you to deal with the abundance of administrative matters that your case may entail.

Mark | Lavigne, LLC is dedicated to helping you navigate the intricacies of your case and to ensure that meet all the necessary deadlines so that you can successfully bring suit in the court of law.

New Jersey Statutes of Limitations for Civil Matters:

Most of the civil statutes of limitations are in Title 2A, Chapter 14 of the New Jersey Statutes. You need to use the navigation tools to see the contents of the Chapter. Also, you can scroll through the laws there to find the statute of limitations for civil claims or “causes of action” not listed below.

 

Cause of Action	Statute Length	Statute Identifier
Assault and Battery	2 years	N.J. Stat. § 2A:14-2(a)
Contract (in writing)	6 years	N.J. Stat. § 2A:14-1
Contract (oral or not in writing)	6 years	N.J. Stat. § 2A:14-1
False Imprisonment	2 years	N.J. Stat. § 2A:14-2
Fraud	6 years	N.J. Stat. § 2A:14-1
Enforcing Court Judgments	20 years	N.J. Stat. § 2A:14-5
Legal Malpractice	2 years	N.J. Stat. § 2A:14-1
Libel	1 year	N.J. Stat. § 2A:14-3
Medical Malpractice	2 years	N.J. Stat. § 2A:14-2(b)
Personal Injury	2 years	N.J. Stat. § 2A:14-2
Product Liability	2 years	N.J. Stat. § 2A:14-2
Property Damage	6 years	N.J. Stat. § 2A:14-1
Slander	1 year	N.J. Stat. § 2A:14-3
Trespass	6 years	N.J. Stat. § 2A:14-1
Wrongful Death	2 years	N.J. Stat. § 2A:31-3

New Jersey Statutes of Limitations for Criminal Matters:

The criminal statutes of limitations have also been listed below for review:

 

Cause of Action	Statute Length	Statute Identifier
Arson	5 years	N.J. Stat. § 2C:1-6(b)
Assault	1 or 5 years (Depending on the facts of the case)	N.J. Stat. § 2C:1-6(b)(1) or (2)
Burglary	5 years	N.J. Stat. § 2C:1-6(b)
Disorderly Conduct	1 year	N.J. Stat. § 2C:1-6(b)(2)
Kidnapping	5 years	N.J. Stat. § 2C:1-6(b)
Manslaughter	No time limit	N.J. Stat. § 2C:1-6(a)(1)
Murder	No time limit	N.J. Stat. § 2C:1-6(a)(1)
Rape (“Sexual Assault”)	No time limit	N.J. Stat. § 2C:1-6(a)(1)
Receiving Stolen Property	1 or 5 years (Depending on the facts of the case)	N.J. Stat. § 2C:1-6(b)(1) or (2)
Robbery	5 years	N.J. Stat. § 2C:1-6(b)
Theft	1 or 5 years (Depending on the facts of the case)	N.J. Stat. § 2C:1-6(b)(1) or (2)