How Much Time Do I Have to Bring a Civil Lawsuit?
Understanding the Statute of Limitations and Protecting Your RightsThere are specific time limits for different kinds of civil cases. The clock generally begins running when you know or should have known that the Defendant's actions harmed you. The exception is in claims based on breach of contract, where the time limit begins when the contract was breached, in most cases even if you did not know about it right away.
For most civil actions, the statute of limitations is three years. An important exception is cases involving discrimination, retaliation for complaining about discrimination, and sexual harassment. These all must first be brought either in the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination ("MCAD") or the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") within 300 days of the events at issue. 300 days is about 10 months, and is a relatively short period of time. You may have multiple types of claims, each with different limitations periods. You should make sure you consult with an attorney long enough before the earliest date will run out to make sure you can fully address all of your legal rights. Learn more here about statutes of limitation in Massachusetts. |
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Meet Our Trial Attorneys
Emily Smith-Lee is the owner and founder of slnlaw. She is a 1996 graduate of Boston College Law School. She was previously a partner at the Boston office of a large international firm, where she worked for thirteen years, with a focus on complex business litigation. In 2009, she started the firm that became slnlaw. She has been recognized as Massachusetts Superlawyer each year since 2013, and in 2018 earned recognition as one of Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly's Lawyers of the Year for a precedent-setting victory at the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. She has written a book on employment law: Rules of the Road, What You Need to Know About Employment Laws in Massachusetts, and helped thousands of clients with business and employment disputes. Emily has handled cases at every level of the state system, in the federal trial court, and before the First Circuit Court of Appeals.
Elijah Bresley: Eli is a 2014 graduate of Seton Hall Law school, and has worked with slnlaw since 2020. He previously worked for a boutique employment law firm outside of Boston, and then for the Labor and Employment department of a large Boston firm. He also spent a year clerking for the judges of the Superior Court in Hartford, Connecticut. Eli has successfully defended numerous employers in the MCAD, and litigated other business and employment disputes throughout the state court system and in the federal trial court.
Sharleen Tinnin: Sharleen is a 2010 graduate of Northeastern University School of Law, and has been with slnlaw since 2023. Prior to joining slnlaw, she worked with King, Tilden, McEttrick & Brink, P.C. on complex civil litigation matters. She previously worked for the United States Department of Justice, and received an "Excellence in Justice" award in 2017. Sharleen has litigated both plaintiff and defendant cases in the state court system, MCAD, and the federal trial court.
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