The rules for filing a lawsuit state that a plaintiff can appeal to a court to defend his rights only for a three-year period from the moment he finds out that his rights have been violated. It is the filing of the application for the application of the limitation period that may serve as a reason for the court to withdraw the claim, of course, if the period for submitting the application has really passed. Such a “knight” move will significantly affect the course of the entire civil case, putting a bullet in the plaintiff’s claims, even if they were legal and justified.
Concept and Features
The statute of limitations for a lawsuit is a period of time during which a person whose legitimate interests have been violated can go to court. Upon expiration of the period for filing a claim, the term for prosecution for an offense also expires.
Article 196 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation regulates that in the general case, the time limit for filing a claim is 3 years. However, it can vary from 3 to 10 years, depending on the associated conditions.
As a supplement, you can watch a lecture by Aleksey Solokhin, a state judicial officer, on the statute of limitations.
Term calculation
According to the general rules, the time during which the plaintiff can file an application begins with the period:
- the time when a person found out about the violated right or should have known (Article 196 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation);
- filing an application with the court (Articles 204 and 205 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation);
- the completion of the elimination of the offense, if before that the responsible person tried to eliminate the consequences of the violation, but did not fulfill his obligations.
Types of Dates
Shorter than one year (for labor relations - illegal dismissal can be appealed within one month, in all other cases - 3 months).
One-year limitation periods are established for:
- contract work that was performed poorly;
- agreements on the carriage of goods if one of the parties was not satisfied with the actions of the other party;
- recognition of disputed transactions invalid;
- recovery from the employee of material damage to the employer.
A biennium (for example, for disputes that arise from a property insurance contract).
Long periods that exceed the general (the period of the application for the elimination of damage from sea pollution by oil - up to 6 years).
The Civil Code does not establish statutes of limitations for cases of:
- issuing bank deposits;
- protecting intangible goods;
- termination of violations of property rights;
- compensation for damage to human life and health.
However, this period cannot be more than ten years from the date of calculation.
What to do if the statute of limitations has been missed?
The judge does not undertake to check whether the application period was missed or not. However, he will have to do this at the request for the application of the limitation period; he can only be sent by the defendant.
If the person in charge is legally illiterate, this can play into the hands of the plaintiff, up to winning a civil case. Relying on this is still not worth it.
For an individual, the legislation provides an opportunity to renew the limitation period. But the court does this only in exceptional cases. For example, if a person suffered from a serious illness and could not send an application, the judge may grant his application for the restoration of the application period.
In most other cases, after the statute of limitations, the court has the right to reject the statement of claim, leaving it unsatisfied.
Submission of petition for application by the court of the limitation period
Only the respondent himself is entitled to refer to the omission of the application period. You can also make a statement yourself by reviewing the recommendations below.
A motion to apply a limitation period by a court may give a significant advantage to the defendant. Even if there is no certainty that the period has been missed, an application can still be submitted as insurance.
When to write a petition
Compliance with the plaintiff's statute of limitations is considered at a preliminary court hearing. After receiving a lawsuit in your hands, it is better to immediately write the corresponding petition.
The application must be sent to the court that is considering the case. You can send it by registered mail by mail or take it personally to the office.
The requirement to apply the limitation period must be made in two copies - one for the plaintiff, the second for the court. You can also make a third copy and keep it with you. When sending by mail, a confirmation of the appeal will be a mail notification.
If you personally contact the office on your own copy, you will need to put a mark with the incoming number, date, signature and position of the person who accepted the application.
Statement content
The application for the application of the limitation period, although it has a free form, must contain several mandatory points.
In the heading of the appeal, it is necessary to indicate the data of the court considering the application, the serial number of the civil case, information about the plaintiff and the defendant (name, address of registration, actual or legal address, contact details).
After the heading and heading follows a descriptive part, which contains arguments for the content of the case. Here you must specify:
- period of occurrence of the obligation;
- the moment when the plaintiff found out about the violated rights (he should have known);
- expiration time.
The demanding part of the application contains a request for the application of the relevant deadlines and for the court to refuse the plaintiff's claims.
The court does not have the right to leave the applicant’s claim without consideration, just as it cannot refuse to accept the application. The procedure for applying the limitation period provides for the court to refuse the plaintiff to satisfy the claim due to the missed application period. In this case, the consideration of a civil case is essentially not conducted.
A sample application for the application of the limitation period is presented below.
Result
The consequences of applying the limitation period may be different. If the court considers the application justified, the plaintiff will be denied satisfaction of his claims, and the defendant will have a significant advantage in the trial. This rule applies even to cases where the applicant’s rights have indeed been violated. Filing a petition will also affect out-of-court procedures - the creditor will not be able to recover the debtor's property, set off, and so on.
In cases where the court does not consider the application or considers it unreasonable, leaving it unsatisfied, the defendant may appeal such a decision to a higher judicial authority. A decision on the application of the limitation period may be taken by another court, considering it the basis for withdrawing the plaintiff's claims.
The applicant may appeal the court decision by sending a petition to a higher authority.
The deadlines for filing a lawsuit are an important part of the civil process. Upon completion, the plaintiff is unlikely to be able to prove his case and protect violated rights and interests. For some, this can be an advantage, while for others it can be a burden.
Conclusion
The period for filing an application shall be calculated from the day when the person learned about the violated rights or should have learned about it. As a rule, the total period of protection of rights in a civil court is three years. In some cases, it can reach a mark of up to ten years, but this term cannot be exceeded.
A petition for the application of the limitation period is possible both during the preliminary consideration of the case and in the trial.