Statute of Limitations Lawsuit

You are wise to not ignore the summons.

The court is a neutral referee that is not all-knowing. That is why the defendant, and not the court, must raise the statute of limitations defense when responding to a lawsuit. In law, a statute of limitations defense is known as an affirmative defense. An affirmative defense is a justification or an excuse defense that limits or excuses the defendant's civil liability.

A defendant must raise an affirmative defense in a timely manner. In other words, it must raise the defense before or during the trial. Once the trial is over, an affirmative defense is almost always lost.

You indicated you reside in California. Neither in California or other jurisdictions that I am aware of is there a court form the defendant can file to ask the court to dismiss the case on the basis of an expired statute of limitations. Instead, you must file a custom pleading.

Consult with a lawyer in your state to file the pleading. You mentioned California's 30-day deadline. Other state have similar deadlines to respond to a summons. The failure to respond on time will result in a default judgment or summary judgment in favor of the plaintiff. Here, it would be foolish to not respond.

I hope this information helps you Find. Learn & Save.

Best,

Bill

Bills.com