A two-year limitation for filing a civil lawsuit has come into effect in B.C.
The Limitation Act, passed by the provincial legislature last spring, sets two years as the "basic limitation period" for most civil claims, officials said in a press release, such as those that involve personal injury or defamation.
The clock starts as soon as plaintiffs discover they have a legal claim.
Exceptions to the two-year basic limitation period uare civil claims that enforce a monetary judgment, exempted claims and actions that have limitation periods set by other statutes.
The act also creates an "ultimate limitation period" of 15 years for claims which may not be discovered right away, such as undetected medical complications resulting from surgery.
Also under the new law, plaintiffs have 15 years from the date that the "act or omission" occurred - whatever action that gave rise to their legal claim - to discover their claim and start a civil lawsuit.
B.C.'s former limitation law allowed for a variety of different basic limitation periods and had an ultimate limitation period that could extend up to 30 years.
That often lead to confusion around time limits and resulted in complex trials, officials said.
The changes follow a model that the Uniform Law Conference of Canada put forward to
harmonize limitations law across the country.
"As a result, B.C.'s Limitation Act now is more in line with other provinces, helping B.C. businesses and professionals remain competitive, since limitation periods can affect things like the cost and availability of insurance, how financial arrangements are structured and how organizations determine their records management policies," officials said.
The old Limitations Act was passed in 1975 and the new act came into effect June 1.
