Limitation of actions | Lanbuk on the Law of Torts

In simple terms

You cannot wait forever to sue. Limitation rules set a time limit after which a claim is 'time-barred'. Time usually starts when the cause of action accrues: for , when the wrong is done; for torts that need damage, such as , when the damage happens.

Why limitation?

Limitation rules protect from stale claims, when evidence is lost and memories have faded. They also encourage claimants to act promptly. Limitation is a defence: the defendant must raise it, and if he does not, the court may hear the claim.

Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone has its own limitation statute, the Limitation Act. Students and practitioners should always check the exact periods and any special rules in the current version of that Act before advising, as periods differ for different kinds of claim (for example personal injury and claims against public authorities). English limitation statutes passed after 1880 do not apply directly.

When does time start to run?

Time runs from when the cause of action 'accrues', meaning when the claimant could first sue.

Torts actionable per se: Such as and . Time runs from the date of the wrongful act.

Torts needing damage: Such as negligence and . Time runs from when the damage occurs, not from the defendant's act. In Pirelli v Oscar Faber time ran from when cracks formed in a chimney, even though they could not have been discovered then.

Hidden damage: The harsh result in Cartledge v Jopling, where workers lost their claims for lung disease they did not know they had, led England to add rules running time from the date of knowledge. Whether a similar rule exists in Sierra Leone depends on the local Act.

Continuing torts: For a continuing tort, such as a nuisance that goes on, a new cause of action arises each day, so the claimant can recover for the period within the limit.

Extending time

Limitation statutes often postpone the start of time where the claimant is a child or of unsound mind, or where the defendant has concealed the facts by fraud. Check the Sierra Leone Act for the exact rules.

Death

At common law, personal actions in tort died with the person (actio personalis moritur cum persona). Statutes on fatal accidents and survival of actions change this, and they have their own time limits. Defamation claims still end on death.

Memory map

Limitation of actions

Purpose

Avoid stale claims
Encourage promptness
A defence to be raised

Accrual

Per se torts: date of act
Damage torts: date of damage (Pirelli)
Hidden damage (Cartledge)
Continuing torts: each day

Sierra Leone

Own Limitation Act
Check exact periods

Extension

Children
Unsound mind
Fraud or concealment

Words and Latin in this note

Nuisance: Unreasonable interference with a person's use or enjoyment of land (private nuisance) or with the rights of the public (public nuisance). Open the note.

Take-home points

A tort claim must be brought within the limitation period or it can be defended as time-barred.
Time runs from when the cause of action accrues: the act for torts actionable per se, the damage for negligence (Pirelli).
Hidden damage can cause injustice (Cartledge v Jopling); check whether the Sierra Leone Act has a knowledge rule.
Continuing torts give a fresh cause of action each day.
Sierra Leone has its own Limitation Act; always check the exact periods.