THE world is well entrenched into the Covid-19 pandemic.
While there is hope with the introduction of several vaccines, life returning to what we knew as normal is still very much far away.
In Trinidad and Tobago, we have a law called the Limitations of Certain Actions Act, Chapter 7:09 (the Act) which sets out time limits to file lawsuits. These time limits are applicable to certain types of matters, such as those that are based on the law of contract, or in tort (e.g., nuisance and negligence). Examples would be you suing for breach of a contract where your customer failed to pay for goods within 30 days of receiving them (contract law) or you suing a driver who negligently damaged your car in a road accident (law of torts).
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Section 3(1) of the Act implements a four-year time limit to sue, starting from the day that your right to sue arose. This law is primarily based on the principle that there should be finality to litigation, and within this concept, there should be finality to a person’s exposure to being sued by another.
Using the car accident example, if the collision occurred on the 30th day of March 2017 and other driver refused to settle the matter out of court, you would need to sue by the 29th day of March in 2021. If you don’t meet that deadline, you could lose the right to receive compensation for your damaged car, if the other side raises the defence of the statute of limitations. The Judge could find that your matter is statute barred.
Our Attorney General, in his wisdom, passed a law last year which served to automatically extend the time you have to sue if your matter would have become statute barred during that time the country was in Covid-19 lockdown. This initial law was found under section 6 of the Miscellaneous Amendments Act, No. 10 of 2020 as extended by Legal Notice No. 96 of 2020 (called The Limitation of Certain Actions (Extension of Period) Order, 2020).
Over time, the Attorney General passed several more laws to continue to extend the amount of time you have to sue. The latest incarnation is found in Legal Notice No. 82 of 2021 (called The Limitation of Certain Actions (Extension of Period) Order, 2021) – available online. Time is extended to June 30, 2021.
To figure out the four-year time limit when your matter becomes statute barred, the period March 27, 2020 to June 30, 2021 is not to be included in this calculation.
Using the above car accident scenario, the car accident happened on March 30, 2017 and ordinarily would have become statute barred on the 29th day of March 2021. With the said extensions, the period 27 March, 2020 to 30 June, 2021 (a period of 461 days by my calculations) are not to be included in the computation of the period of limitation. On March 27, 2020 there would have been 363 days left to run before the matter became statute barred. If the Attorney General passes no more extensions, time starts to run again from July 1, 2021. By my calculations, it is now possible to sue the other driver (in the car accident example) up to June 28th 2022.
Now is a good time to check with your lawyer on those statute barred dates. With this new law, you may just be in luck to have that extra time you need to file your lawsuit! Be safe Trinidad and Tobago!
Civil Litigation Attorney at Law & Certified Mediator.
Disclaimer: The contents of this article are for general informative purposes only. It does not provide legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship with any reader. For legal advice on your specific situation, please contact an Attorney-at-Law of your choosing directly. Liability for any loss or damage of any kind whatsoever allegedly incurred a consequence of using content in this article is thus hereby excluded to the fullest extent permitted by law.
You Still Have More Time to Sue
THE world is well entrenched into the Covid-19 pandemic.
While there is hope with the introduction of several vaccines, life returning to what we knew as normal is still very much far away.
In Trinidad and Tobago, we have a law called the Limitations of Certain Actions Act, Chapter 7:09 (the Act) which sets out time limits to file lawsuits. These time limits are applicable to certain types of matters, such as those that are based on the law of contract, or in tort (e.g., nuisance and negligence). Examples would be you suing for breach of a contract where your customer failed to pay for goods within 30 days of receiving them (contract law) or you suing a driver who negligently damaged your car in a road accident (law of torts).
CSP advertisement
Section 3(1) of the Act implements a four-year time limit to sue, starting from the day that your right to sue arose. This law is primarily based on the principle that there should be finality to litigation, and within this concept, there should be finality to a person’s exposure to being sued by another.
Using the car accident example, if the collision occurred on the 30th day of March 2017 and other driver refused to settle the matter out of court, you would need to sue by the 29th day of March in 2021. If you don’t meet that deadline, you could lose the right to receive compensation for your damaged car, if the other side raises the defence of the statute of limitations. The Judge could find that your matter is statute barred.
Our Attorney General, in his wisdom, passed a law last year which served to automatically extend the time you have to sue if your matter would have become statute barred during that time the country was in Covid-19 lockdown. This initial law was found under section 6 of the Miscellaneous Amendments Act, No. 10 of 2020 as extended by Legal Notice No. 96 of 2020 (called The Limitation of Certain Actions (Extension of Period) Order, 2020).
Over time, the Attorney General passed several more laws to continue to extend the amount of time you have to sue. The latest incarnation is found in Legal Notice No. 82 of 2021 (called The Limitation of Certain Actions (Extension of Period) Order, 2021) – available online. Time is extended to June 30, 2021.
To figure out the four-year time limit when your matter becomes statute barred, the period March 27, 2020 to June 30, 2021 is not to be included in this calculation.
Using the above car accident scenario, the car accident happened on March 30, 2017 and ordinarily would have become statute barred on the 29th day of March 2021. With the said extensions, the period 27 March, 2020 to 30 June, 2021 (a period of 461 days by my calculations) are not to be included in the computation of the period of limitation. On March 27, 2020 there would have been 363 days left to run before the matter became statute barred. If the Attorney General passes no more extensions, time starts to run again from July 1, 2021. By my calculations, it is now possible to sue the other driver (in the car accident example) up to June 28th 2022.
Now is a good time to check with your lawyer on those statute barred dates. With this new law, you may just be in luck to have that extra time you need to file your lawsuit! Be safe Trinidad and Tobago!
Copyright © 2021 Neela Ramsundar, LL.B (HONS), L.E.C is a
Civil Litigation Attorney at Law & Certified Mediator.
Disclaimer: The contents of this article are for general informative purposes only. It does not provide legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship with any reader. For legal advice on your specific situation, please contact an Attorney-at-Law of your choosing directly. Liability for any loss or damage of any kind whatsoever allegedly incurred a consequence of using content in this article is thus hereby excluded to the fullest extent permitted by law.