I am taking a short break from the law-like substance posts. So, I will leave you in the meantime with two things; a brief legal concept, poorly explained. And a request for feedback. If you post a legal-y question below (subject to the terms and conditions at the end of this post), I may answer it in a forthcoming thread. Whether that's a promise, or a threat, is up to you.
Timing matters when it comes to legal claims. For those of you who followed the travails of Dr. Cliff “Jello Pudding Pop” Huxtable, you might have asked yourself a series of questions, such as-
Different crimes have different statutes of limitations. In a fairly famous case, former FBI agent James Connolly had his conviction for murder in Florida thrown out because it was past the statute of limitations (“SOL”). The jury convicted him not of first degree murder, but of the lesser included charge of second degree murder. Second degree murder was “just” a first degree felony, with an SOL of five years. Since Connolly was charged in 2005 for a 1982 killing, the prosecutors were ... SOL. The lesson, as always, is Florida .... man, if you're worried about Florida Man, wait until you meet Florida Prosecutor.
But in addition to being a hoary device used for criminal procedurals on television, the SOL is important in civil litigation as well. Most civil actions have relatively short SOLs- no more than five years. And sometimes, to discourage certain litigation, the legislature will shorten the SOL for certain classes of litigation- many states have embraced very short SOLs for medical malpractice lawsuits, for example. So if the doctor left his scalpel in you during the surgery, you should probably run, not walk, to an attorney. Um, well, ambulate as quickly as you can with that scalpel.
So there are two things to know about SOLs.
1. A statute of limitations is not inherently unfair. The whole purpose behind them is “you snooze, you lose.” Yes, it can take time to find an attorney, decide to file a lawsuit, and so on. But we are talking about years. A statute of limitations exists both to encourage someone to bring a lawsuit within a reasonable amount of time, but also to preserve the defendant’s right to a fair trial. Memories fade, documents get lost, and a fresh lawsuit, like fresh food, is just better. They exist for a good reason!
2. There are exceptions to the statute of limitations. The most common is called equitable tolling. That’s a fancy way of saying that if the Plaintiff did not, or could not have, discovered the injury that would give rise to the lawsuit until a later date, the SOL is tolled (stopped) until the discovery is made.
A lot of you might have noticed a certain uptick recently in lawsuits alleging certain types of misconduct... let's call this the P. Diddy Effect. The reason for this is that certain states chose to legislatively allow certain lawsuits. For example, New York waived the statute of limitations for one year to allow anyone to file lawsuit alleging sexual assault, regardless of when it occurred.
One final note. While not very common, there is a serial killer relative of the statute of limitations called a statute of repose. A statute of repose is exactly like a statute of limitations, except for one, small, thing. The statute of repose will kill an action dead. Deader than the syndication rights to the Cosby show. There is no escape. The statute of repose can’t be bargained with. It can’t be reasoned with. It doesn’t feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, or be tolled, ever, until your claim is dead. Because it is so merciless and so harsh, it usually only applies to really important things ... like actions against banks. ahem
With that, I am taking a hiatus from the series, at least until an answer brief is filed in the RPG-adjacent case (see the nuTSR thread). However, if there is interest, I might post an answer thread at some point. If you have any questions that you’d like me to (briefly) address in a forthcoming, comment-answering thread, please post them below. Note the following-
Timing matters when it comes to legal claims. For those of you who followed the travails of Dr. Cliff “Jello Pudding Pop” Huxtable, you might have asked yourself a series of questions, such as-
- Did Jello Pudding Pops really come in Nyquil flavoring?
- Was it legal to wear sweaters that looked like a cat threw up on them?
- I was always confused about irony because of that song- is it more like rain on your wedding day, or more like some guy lecturing us about morality and then getting nailed because he was an immoral scumbag, or more like Flannery O’Connor?
- Why the heck couldn't Dr. Huxtable be charged with more crimes and sued by more people?
Different crimes have different statutes of limitations. In a fairly famous case, former FBI agent James Connolly had his conviction for murder in Florida thrown out because it was past the statute of limitations (“SOL”). The jury convicted him not of first degree murder, but of the lesser included charge of second degree murder. Second degree murder was “just” a first degree felony, with an SOL of five years. Since Connolly was charged in 2005 for a 1982 killing, the prosecutors were ... SOL. The lesson, as always, is Florida .... man, if you're worried about Florida Man, wait until you meet Florida Prosecutor.
But in addition to being a hoary device used for criminal procedurals on television, the SOL is important in civil litigation as well. Most civil actions have relatively short SOLs- no more than five years. And sometimes, to discourage certain litigation, the legislature will shorten the SOL for certain classes of litigation- many states have embraced very short SOLs for medical malpractice lawsuits, for example. So if the doctor left his scalpel in you during the surgery, you should probably run, not walk, to an attorney. Um, well, ambulate as quickly as you can with that scalpel.
So there are two things to know about SOLs.
1. A statute of limitations is not inherently unfair. The whole purpose behind them is “you snooze, you lose.” Yes, it can take time to find an attorney, decide to file a lawsuit, and so on. But we are talking about years. A statute of limitations exists both to encourage someone to bring a lawsuit within a reasonable amount of time, but also to preserve the defendant’s right to a fair trial. Memories fade, documents get lost, and a fresh lawsuit, like fresh food, is just better. They exist for a good reason!
2. There are exceptions to the statute of limitations. The most common is called equitable tolling. That’s a fancy way of saying that if the Plaintiff did not, or could not have, discovered the injury that would give rise to the lawsuit until a later date, the SOL is tolled (stopped) until the discovery is made.
A lot of you might have noticed a certain uptick recently in lawsuits alleging certain types of misconduct... let's call this the P. Diddy Effect. The reason for this is that certain states chose to legislatively allow certain lawsuits. For example, New York waived the statute of limitations for one year to allow anyone to file lawsuit alleging sexual assault, regardless of when it occurred.
One final note. While not very common, there is a serial killer relative of the statute of limitations called a statute of repose. A statute of repose is exactly like a statute of limitations, except for one, small, thing. The statute of repose will kill an action dead. Deader than the syndication rights to the Cosby show. There is no escape. The statute of repose can’t be bargained with. It can’t be reasoned with. It doesn’t feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, or be tolled, ever, until your claim is dead. Because it is so merciless and so harsh, it usually only applies to really important things ... like actions against banks. ahem
With that, I am taking a hiatus from the series, at least until an answer brief is filed in the RPG-adjacent case (see the nuTSR thread). However, if there is interest, I might post an answer thread at some point. If you have any questions that you’d like me to (briefly) address in a forthcoming, comment-answering thread, please post them below. Note the following-
- Please do not request detailed advice regarding your personal legal situation. I do not care, and I will not offer good advice. And no, “You won’t believe what happened to, um, my best friend when he slipped in the shower, and I’d like to know if he has a claim against the shower head company,” isn’t a good enough dodge, Derek.
- I am more likely to address general questions about the law, the court system, or ways to kill bards and get away with it.
- Finally, if the question is legal AND RPG related, then I am very likely to be interested.
