Statutes of limitations are deadlines for filing specific types of claims in court, in arbitration, or in other legal proceedings. Statutes of limitations generally require a person or entity to file a lawsuit or initiate an arbitration proceeding within a certain number of years from the date the cause of action accrues or arises—often the date of the injury, whether a physical injury or a breach of contract, for example.

The discovery rule is a judge-made exception to statutes of limitations that stops or “tolls” the limitations period from beginning to run until the person with the right to assert the claim (the plaintiff) has sufficient knowledge to discover the facts regarding the injury or breach.

Similarly, a statute of limitations may be suspended or “tolled”—extending the time period in which the plaintiff may file a lawsuit or make a claim—if the plaintiff lacks the legal capacity to file a lawsuit or make a claim when the cause of action accrues (the person is under a legal disability). For example, if a person’s cause of action accrues when the person is a minor child, the statute of limitations will often by tolled until the child reaches the age of majority (often 18).

In New Hampshire (NH), statutes of limitations set deadlines for filing various types of legal claims. The time limits depend on the nature of the claim. For example, personal injury claims must generally be filed within three years of the date of injury, while contracts have a three-year limit for oral contracts and a twenty-year limit for written contracts. The discovery rule in NH allows the statute of limitations to begin when the injured party discovers or reasonably should have discovered the injury, rather than the date of the injury itself. This rule is particularly relevant in cases where the harm is not immediately apparent. Additionally, NH law provides for the tolling of the statute of limitations in certain circumstances, such as when the injured party is a minor or lacks legal capacity. In such cases, the statute of limitations may be extended until the disability is removed, such as when the minor reaches the age of majority, which is 18 years in NH.