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08 September 2023 / Andrew Francis
Issue: 8039 / Categories: Features , Property , Limitation
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‘A good man always knows his limitations…’

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A trio of recent cases has proven the value of knowing the law of limitations: Andrew Francis sets out some key lessons on avoiding the perils they demonstrated
  • Three recent cases—Jalla v Shell, URS v BDW and Duke of Sussex v NGN—have highlighted the importance of staying abreast of the laws surrounding limitation and any legislative changes in which they may be hiding.

One of the commonest claims in negligence against lawyers is the failure to act in time to avoid clients’ claims being barred by the expiry of limitation periods.

Three recent judgments have brought this into focus. The range of facts between them demonstrates the importance of taking steps to avoid claims being time-barred. Putting the Clint Eastwood line ‘a good man always knows his limitations’ (as said in Magnum Force (1973)), into different context, the message is clear. We must know our limitation periods and ensure that the relevant period is not missed.

The best course is to mark any limitation

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NLJ this week: Renters’ Rights revolution begins—brace for tribunal chaos

The abolition of assured shorthold tenancies and section 21 evictions marks the beginning of a ‘brave new world’ for England’s rental sector, writes Daniel Bacon of Seddons GSC

NLJ this week: Civil procedure gets a spring overhaul
Stephen Gold’s latest Civil Way column rounds up a flurry of procedural and regulatory changes reshaping housing, alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and personal injury litigation
NLJ this week: Why GP complaints are going nowhere
Patients are being systematically failed by an NHS complaints regime that is opaque, poorly enforced and often stacked against them, argues Charles Davey of The Barrister Group
NLJ this week: Prenups meet a jurisdictional brick wall
A wealthy Russian divorce battle has produced a sharp warning about trying to challenge foreign nuptial agreements in the wrong English court. Writing in NLJ this week, Vanessa Friend and Robert Jackson of Hodge Jones & Allen examine Timokhin v Timokhina, where the High Court enforced Russian judgments arising from a prenuptial agreement despite arguments based on the landmark Radmacher decision
NLJ this week: Has Rylands v Fletcher come back from the dead?
An obscure Victorian tort may be heading for an unexpected revival after a significant Privy Council ruling that could reshape liability for dangerous escapes, according to Richard Buckley, barrister and emeritus professor of law at the University of Reading
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