General Rule. Civil actions and criminal prosecutions are limited by strict filing deadlines, called “statutes of limitations,” that must be followed. The filing deadlines are different for civil and criminal cases. Generally, the statutes of limitations for civil cases are much shorter than those for criminal prosecutions.
In Massachusetts, civil actions for personal injuries must be filed within three (3) years from the date of the occurrence. Employment discrimination cases must be filed within 300 days of the date of occurrence.
Exceptions. There are some important exceptions to filing deadlines in personal injury cases. If there are multiple incidents that are part of a continuing course of conduct, the time for filing may be calculated from the last occurrence, such as multiple incidents of sexual harassment. Civil actions by minors, defined as persons under 18 years of age, can be filed at any time until the victim turns twenty-one years of age, no matter when the event occurred. And the “Discovery Rule” permits victims of child sexual abuse to file a civil lawsuit within three (3) years from the time the victim “begins or should begin to appreciate that he has been harmed” by the childhood abuse. The Discovery Rule permits civil lawsuits to be filed by many child abuse victims who do not recognize the harm done to them until well into adulthood. Any period during which the defendant is not a resident of Massachusetts and his whereabouts are unknown may be excluded in calculating the filing deadline.
Criminal Prosecutions. In criminal prosecutions, most crimes must be charged within six (6) years. Rape complaints must be filed within fifteen (15) years. Robbery has a ten (10) year filing period. Murder has no time limit. Under a new law, rape and assault with intent to rape a person under sixteen, and indecent assault and battery on a child under 14, have no time limit either, but for cases charged more than 27 years after the event, the Commonwealth must provide independent corroboration of the crime. For all other crimes involving sexual abuse or exploitation of a child under 16, the “clock” does not begin to run until the child turns sixteen or the crime is reported to a law enforcement agency, whichever occurs first. In calculating filing deadlines, any period during which the defendant was not a resident of Massachusetts after the crime was committed, is excluded.
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