Legal term
Statute of Limitations
The deadline for bringing a claim
Definition
The legally fixed period within which a claim must be brought, after which the right to sue is normally lost.
In more detail
Periods differ by claim type and by jurisdiction, and the clock does not always start on the date of the event — in some cases it starts when the harm was, or should have been, discovered.
Because the consequence of missing a deadline is absolute, timing questions are the most common reason to seek advice early rather than later.
Glossary entries are general explanations, not advice. Where a term appears in a contract or policy, the definition in that document governs.